A game between two high scoring offensive teams turned into a one-sided affair Friday at the City Arena when Mankato West and the Albert Lea boys’ hockey team met up.

The Tigers dominated the Scarlets in a 3-0 win in the first round of the Section 1A playoffs and came through with a resounding victory that propelled them to the semifinals of the section tournament. Albert Lea, the No. 4 seed, will meet No. 1 seed Red Wing Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Rochester Rec Center for the right to move on to the section championship.

The Tigers had the third highest amount of goals scored this season among Big Nine teams with 120 while West finished tied for the lead with Winona with 124 goals on the season.

Albert Lea (18-8-0 overall) started the game strongly and Tyler Prihoda found the back of the net 6 minutes, 33 seconds into the first period on a shorthanded goal on an assist from Jordan Prescher-Smerud for his 35th goal of the season.

Albert Lea outshot West 23-5 in the period and went on to finish with 50 shots in the game while holding the Scarlets (14-8-3 overall) to just 16 as Johnny Wrolson picked up his third shutout of the season between the pipes for the Tigers.

“We backchecked hard all night long and as a result they were held to 16 shots on goal and Wrolson gets a shutout, pretty solid effort,” said Albert Lea head coach Roy Nystrom. “The last few games we’ve come out rolling, a lot shots on net.”

Tyler Brackey added a goal six minutes later in the first period at 12:42 when he beat Scarlets goaltender Adam Trautman to make the game 2-0.

Prescher-Smerud got a goal in the second period to make the game 3-0 on an assist from Grant Stadheim. It was Stadheim’s first game back since breaking his wrist Jan. 17 against Red Wing.

The Albert Lea defense was the story of the night as it contained and frustrated Mankato West’s talented top line which includes 44-goal scorer Andrew Bruggeman.

“We shut them down defensively, didn’t give them many shots which was good,” Stadheim said. “We just played really good in the defensive zone.”

The game turned ugly in the third period as the season was quickly coming to an end for the Scarlets.

With less than a minute to play Bruggeman and Albert Lea’s Dillon Stolt got in a scruffle near the Mankato West blueline which resulted in Bruggeman getting ejected for fight and Stolt receiving a five-minute major for elbowing.

There were a total of 12 penalties in the period with West picking up seven penalties.

Albert Lea had a goal waved off in the third period which would have made the game 4-0, but the referee ruled that the goal was off its housing when Tyler Prihoda fired a shot from the back post into the net.

Although the Tigers fired 50 shots in the game, team felt it could have capitalized more.

“That goaltender was telescoping all night long and coming out all night long,” Nystrom said. “We just couldn’t get anyone over on the pipe quick enough to send them a little pass to get an open net goal. We tried, we had a lot of shots.”

Still a shutout victory in the opening round has given Albert Lea some more confidence heading into its second meeting with Red Wing. The Wingers defeated Northfield Friday 9-0 in Red Wing.

The last time the two teams met the Wingers (20-7-0 overall) scored a 5-3 victory which included an empty net goal. Red Wing capitalized in the first period with three goals and the Tigers made a late comeback behind the efforts of Prihoda, who scored all three goals for Albert Lea in the game.

“When we played Red Wing at home last time, they’re goals were they walked out of the corners on us and our guys stick-checked. We can’t have that,” said Prescher-Smerud. “I feel we’re playing a lot better defensively now than we were at that point in the season.”

The Wingers have won 12 of their last 13 games entering Saturday.

“We have to play our game, we can’t be worried about what they’re going to do,” Nystrom said. “We just have to make sure what we do, we do it well.”

Albert Lea 3, Mankato West 0

Mankato West 0 0 0 — 0

Albert Lea 2 1 0 — 3

First period— 1, Albert Lea, Tyler Prihoda (Jordan Prescher-Smerud), 6:33 (sh.). 2, Albert Lea, Tyler Brackey (Robert Peterson, Mitchell Sorenson), 12:42. Penalties— Dillon Stolt, AL, (high sticking), 5:44; Brock Lloyd, MW, (slashing), 7:41.

Second period— 3, Albert Lea, Prescher-Smerud (Taylor Draayer, Grant Stadheim), 8:05. Penalties— Stadheim, AL, (slashing), :33; Drew Weber, MW, (interference), 2:04; Stolt, AL, (high sticking), 10:31; Weber, MW, (slashing), 10:31; Blake Jensen, MW, (elbowing), 12:57; Tyler Haaland, AL, (hooking), 15:57.

Third period— no scoring. Penalties— Mike Falk, AL (holding), 5:42; Joe Gustafson, MW, (holding), 7:49; Jensen, MW, (cross checking), 9:30; Blake Adams, AL, (tripping), 10:27; Draayer, AL, (roughing), 10:27; Andrew Bruggeman, MW, (elbowing), 10:27; Stadheim, AL, (roughing), 12:54; Lloyd, MW, (roughing); 12:54; Gustafson, MW, (slashing), 14:11; Nick Jose, MW, (roughing), 16:20; Stolt, AL, (elbowing major), 16:44; Bruggeman, MW, (fighting, game disqualfication), 16:44.

Shots on goal— Mankato West 5-5-6 — 16. Albert Lea 23-11-16 — 50.

Power-play opportunities— Mankato West 0 of 5. Albert Lea 0 of 7.

Goalies— Mankato West, Adam Trautman (50 shots, 47 saves); Albert Lea, John Wrolson (16 shots, 16 saves).