OWATONNA– Dillon Stolt scored a goal and added two assists on Saturday as the Albert Lea Tigers boys’ hockey team defeated the Owatonna Huskies 3-1 in Owatonna.

With the win, the Tigers claimed the Big Nine Title. This marks the second time the Tigers have claimed the Big Nine championship in the past three seasons.

This one is different though as this is the first time Albert Lea has clinched the Big Nine out right.

“The biggest thing is this is the first time Albert Lea Hockey has won the Big Nine out right,” Albert Lea coach Roy Nystrom said. “It’s really a nice thing for the kids.”

Albert Lea got on the board in the first period at the 15 minutes and nine second mark when David Enstad took a pass from Dillon Stolt and put the puck in the net on the power-play to give Albert Lea a 1-0 lead.

In the second, the Tigers again struck on the power-play.

At the 16:34 mark, Stolt notched his second assist of the game when he fed Eric Carlson for a power-play goal that saw Albert Lea take a 2-0 lead after two periods of play.

In the third, Owatonna cut the lead to one goal as Paul Swenson scored at the 12:17 mark to make it a 2-1 game.

Just under a minute later, Stolt provided an answer for Albert Lea as he notched a goal at the 13:09 mark to give Albert Lea a 3-1 lead.

Stolt was involved in all three goals for Albert Lea.

Griffin Wangen was the winning goal-tender for Albert Lea as he made 24 saves on 25 shots.

Luke Ebeling took the loss for Owatonna as he made 33 saves on 36 shots.

Albert Lea finishes the season with 18-6-1 overall record, while they finished with a record of 12-2-1 in the Big Nine and finished with 31 points.

Albert Lea 3, Owatonna 1

Albert Lea 1 1 1 – 3

Owatonna 0 0 1 – 1

Scoring

First Period

AL- David Enstad (Dillon Stolt) 15:09 (PP)

Second Period

AL- Eric Carlson (Dillon Stolt) 16:34 (PP)

Third Period

O- Paul Swenson (Zack Klein, Jesse Ebeling) 12:17

AL- Dillion Stolt (unassisted) 13:09