Albert Lea boys’ hockey team keeps Rochester Mayo out of the net

After dropping its last game on the road, the Albert Lea boys’ hockey team returned to Roy Nystrom Arena Tuesday night to attempt to get back on track against Rochester Mayo.

Despite a slow first period, the Tigers used a big second period to propel themselves over the Spartans, 2-0.

Head coach Jason Fornwald talked about what the bounce-back win meant for the team.

“It helps us grow,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors, but we also have a lot of sophomores and they’re still building confidence in this game. Our seniors are doing a great job leading by example both on the ice and with their words in the locker room.”

The first period was fairly uneventful for both teams. Both the Tigers and the Spartans were called for one penalty each throughout the opening period. The Tigers recorded seven shots on goal, while the Spartans recorded three. However, neither team was able to find the back of the net.

The Tigers came out quick in the second period and scored the first goal of the game just 30 seconds in. The goal came unassisted from senior captain Michael Savelkoul, and gave the Tigers their first lead of the game.

The Tigers would score again in the second period coming nearly 12 minutes in. The goal came from senior captain Bergan Lundak off an assist from senior Alex Goodmanson. It would put the Tigers up by two as the second period ended.

Albert Lea recorded nine shots on goal in the period, with two finding their mark. Rochester Mayo upped their shots on goal from three to 11, but were still unable to score.

The Spartans added more shots on goal in the third period, but once again they were stifled by the work in the net by senior Calen Hoelscher. Although they were outshot by the Spartans, the Tigers used smart passing and precision shooting to be more efficient as they won their third game of the season.

“I thought we played three solid periods with a lot of intensity,” Fornwald said. “We’ve been preaching it since the start of the year. We’ve got to come out, especially in the first period, to come out with a really good effort. I thought tonight we came out and played the best first period we’ve played all year.”

Albert Lea moves to 3-1 on the season and will travel to Mankato West on Thursday to take on the Scarlets.