After entering the new year with a 5-6 record, the Albert Lea boys’ hockey team has surged, winning five straight games in 2019, climbing to the fourth spot in the Section 1A standings.

Head coach Jason Fornwald talked about the Tigers’ confidence through the five-game run.

“In any sport, confidence is very important and with winning some games our confidence as a team has improved,” he said. “We still have many things to work on, but I like how our team is progressing at this point in the season.”

In the five games, the Tigers have dominated the competition with their closest game being a 3-1 victory over the Scarlets of Mankato East. In total the Tigers have outscored their opponents 24-8 through the streak.

A large part of the offense is due to the stellar play of seniors Cole Wentzel and Carson Goodell. However, younger players like junior Campbell Cichosz and sophomores Blake Ulve and Isaiah VanRyswyk have formed a reliable core of players who are capable of scoring any time.

“The boys seem to be playing well together right now and gelling as a team,” Fornwald said. “Our veteran players have continued to play well and our underclassmen have really stepped up their games. One of our main strengths with our team is our depth. We have three solid lines that can play with any team in our section and in our conference. We continue to tinker with our lineup with the hope that we will be playing our best hockey come sectionals.”

After starting the year 1-4, the Tigers seemed to have hit their stride. Fornwald said he has always known his team was better than its 1-4 start indicated. Three of those losses were by just one goal, including two heartbreaking overtime losses. Fornwald said since the rough start, he has seen players come together as a group and all of them have a better understanding of their roles on the team, which has led to the wins.

“We have a great group of boys on this team that are a pleasure to coach every day and it’s been very exciting to see their development as a group,” Fornwald said.

The Tigers are currently 10-6 and are scheduled to be back on the ice Thursday, when they host the Austin Packers in a rematch of one of the early-season overtime losses.