Tigers win a big one at Owatonna
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 4, 2002
OWATONNA &045; An injury left the Albert Lea High School boys’ hockey team with a bit of a dilemma for the Big Nine opener.
Josh Tubbs was more than willing to solve it.
Tubbs, who normally plays defense, logged a lot of time as a forward and figured in all three goals as the Tigers won a thrilling 3-2 overtime decision at Owatonna.
&uot;Josh Tubbs had a very stellar performance,&uot; said ALHS coach Roy Nystrom. &uot;He played both defense and forward and, of the 53 minutes in the game, he must have logged 40. He’s just a physical specimen out there.&uot;
Tubbs’ twin brother, Matt, also had an outstanding night at goalie, totaling 28 saves.
&uot;He kept us in the game until we could get our legs and get going ourselves,&uot; said Nystrom. &uot;Every time we go on the ice, it has to be a total team effort and that’s what we had tonight, but those two boys had stellar performances.&uot;
The Huskies, mentioned as a preseason Big Nine favorite, scored the only goal in the first period and led 2-0 before the Tigers got on the board in the second, with Josh Tubbs scoring on assists from Egan Mattson and Travis McKinney.
The Tigers tied it on Josh Tubbs’ goal with 1:54 left in regulation. Jon Breuer and Dustin Trail assisted.
The gamewinner was scored by Casey Schumaker with 17 seconds remaining in the eight-minute overtime, with Josh Tubbs assisting.
Albert Lea was outshot 30-26. The Tigers had two penalties, Owatonna three.
The Tigers were without Tony Dugstad, who’s expected to be sidelined a week with a rotator cuff injury.
The Tigers, 2-0 overall, host New Ulm in a nonconference game Thursday.