ST.

Wednesday, February 27, 2002

ST. PETER – The program was wrong. It wasn’t Rochester Lourdes that the Albert Lea Tigers faced in the semifinals of the Section 1A boys’ hockey tournament. But their nickname was the Eagles, they wore purple and they gave the Tigers a tough time.

Albert Lea’s season ended with a frustrating 4-2 loss to New Ulm at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Tuesday night.

&uot;It was a pretty even game, but you have to give New Ulm credit,&uot; said Tigers coach Roy Nystrom. &uot;They did what they had to do to win the game.&uot;

So did the Tigers, who outshot the Eagles 23-13 through the final two periods but were turned back most of the night by senior netminder Gary Wurtzberger.

&uot;We don’t want to hang our heads over this one,&uot; said Nystrom, whose team finished 14-11. &uot;We played hard. That’s the character of this team. It’s sad to see it end, but this team went a lot farther than a lot of people expected. These kids have nothing to be ashamed about.&uot;

The tone of the game was set early, with both teams skating hard and both goalies keeping it close. The Tigers’ Matt Tubbs made the first of several sprawling saves on a tough shot in the second minute of play, but the Eagles’ Jay Geisthardt got the rebound and put in an even tougher shot for a 1-0 New Ulm lead.

The Tigers, outshot 15-6 in the first period, turned up the intensity in the second. The game remained fast-paced and got a little physical, with the Eagles taking two penalties and the Tigers one. Neither team scored.

Albert Lea knotted it just 38 seconds into the third, when Matt Bracker picked off a pass and finally beat Wurtzberger with a shorthanded score.

New Ulm answered less than a minute later, when Corey Schnobrich put the puck past Tubbs. Geisthardt and Adam Macho assisted.

It remained 2-1 until the 6:47 mark, when Chris Reinarts scored on a wrist shot from straight on, between the faceoff circles. Scott Stueber and Kyle Marti assisted.

The Tigers, refusing to fold, continued to apply pressure and pulled within a goal at the 9:28 mark on a shot by Wade Westland that appeared to deflect off at least two players.

Reinarts added an insurance goal with 1:46 remaining. The Tigers pulled Tubbs in favor of a sixth skater, but to no avail.

New Ulm advances to face a heavily-favored Lourdes crew for the section championship and state tournament berth.

Albert Lea graduates a group of seniors Nystrom won’t soon forget.

&uot;The seniors this year provided the leadership our younger guys needed to come back and play some good hockey next year,&uot; said the veteran coach. &uot;They showed these guys how to win. Everyone thought it would be a rebuilding year, but it wasn’t a rebuilding year. These guys went out and did what they had to do to win games. And this one wasn’t decided until the end either.&uot;