The Albert Lea U-12 girls’ hockey team finished second at the Owatonna Invitational Tournament over the weekend.

In the first game, Albert Lea faced Cold Springs from District 5.

Albert Lea came out on top by a score of 9-0.

Scoring in the first period were Sophia Jepson with two and Megan Pulley with one.

Getting assists were Natasha Moyer, Mariah Leach and Lauren Draayer.

In the second period Jepson would score twice with Adison Wangen assisting, and Anna Anderson would score once unassisted.

In the third period, Anna Anderson would score with Leach assisting and

Wangen would score twice assisted by Draayer.

Sydney Conley was in goal to record the shutout.

In the second game, Albert Lea faced another District 5 opponent from Sartell.

Albert Lea completely dominated the game recording 59 shots on goal while only allowing two shots on goalie Sydney Conley.

The final score was 6-0.

The goalie from Sartell had a strong but frustrating game, quite often getting into scuffles with some of Albert Lea’s forwards.

Scoring for Albert Lea were Jepson with three, Leach, Anderson, and Draayer all had one.

Samantha Stanley assisted on one of Jepson’s goals with a nice shot from her defensive position.

In the championship game, Albert Lea faced rival and host Owatonna. Jepson scored for Albert Lea 45 seconds into the game, assisted by Nicole Wilson.

Owatonna would tie the game four minutes later on a controversial goal as the net was moved by one of the Owatonna forwards.

The game would remain tied until 57 seconds left in the third period when Owatonna would score the game winner.

Conley played a strong game in goal making 20 saves.

With their hard work and great team play, head coach Mike Gordon could not single out one standout player and presented the entire team with the MVP trophy.

The team’s overall record is 23-4-1, and is currently ranked second in Lets Play Hockey.

The team is back in action this weekend when it travels to Orono for a tournament.