With a playoff spot hanging in the balance the Albert Lea Thunder delivered a gritty effort Friday to beat the North Iowa Outlaws 5-2 in Mason City to dramatically increase their chances of sneaking into the North American Hockey League playoffs.

Thunder head coach Chuck Linkenheld only said they were happy to get the win, rather than say anything more about the tenuous situation Albert Lea faces.

With the victory the Thunder moved one point behind the Outlaws for fourth place in the Central Division and have two more games against North Iowa this weekend and an opportunity to leapfrog the Outlaws.

Colton Warner scored the game-winning goal in the third period to help Albert Lea rally from a sloppy second period North Iowa dominated.

Niko Kapetanovic added a goal in the third and Matt Johnson added an empty-net goal to give the Thunder a vibrant pulse in a run at the final playoff spot.

Kapetanovic’s goal broke open a game that was tied after the second period and gave Albert Lea a much-needed insurance goal.

But it was Brian Nehring’s second-period goal that perhaps meant the most for the Thunder.

Trailing 2-1 and seemingly fading in the game Nehring connected on a blast from the slot to tie the game with less than a minute left in the second period.

The Outlaws outshot Albert Lea 16-10 in the second period and the Thunder spent nearly half of the period with a man in the penalty box.

The penalty kill came up big throughout the night for Albert Lea. The Thunder surrendered just one power-play goal and it came in the first period while Anthony Iaquinto served a five-minute major for elbowing. Albert Lea killed eight other penalties in the game.

The Thunder also overcame the loss of starting goaltender Nikifor Szczerba, who made 28 saves prior to leaving the game with an apparent shoulder injury that came after Warner’s go-ahead goal.

Joe Rogers came in cold and made 15 saves in the final 8:28 of the game to help preserve a victory where the Outlaws outshot Albert Lea 45-33.

Alex Niestrom scored the game’s first goal on an assist from Nehring and Kapetanovic at 7:04, but North Iowa’s Derek Loisel tied it with a shot from the blue line on a power-play.

Micky Knox scored the go-ahead goal at 17:41 of the second period, but Albert Lea rallied in the third.

Kapetanovic finished with three points while Nehring, Warner, and Johnson finished with two points.

The Thunder face North Iowa Saturday in Mason City for a chance to move into fourth place in the division with a victory and conclude the series Sunday at City Arena.

Albert Lea 5, North Iowa 2

Albert Lea 1 1 3 — 5

North Iowa 1 1 0 — 2

First Period—1, Albert Lea, Alex Niestrom 12 (Brian Nehring, Niko Kapetanovic), 7:04. 2, North Iowa, Derek Loisel 7 (Markus Gander, Ryan Bohrer), 16:29. Penalties—Dane Shaugabay, Nor (slashing), 2:26; Zach May, Alb (slashing), 7:50; Brett Meyers, Alb (cross checking), 12:28; Iaquinto, Alb major-(elbowing), 15:37

Second Period—3, North Iowa, Micky Knox 14 (unassisted), 17:41. 4, Albert Lea, Nehring 9 (Kapetanovic, Brandon Lubin), 19:05. Penalties—Zack Smoot, Alb (tripping), 3:24; Shaughabay, Nor (elbowing), 3:35; Blake Adams, Alb (interference), 6:06; Knox, Nor (cross checking), 7:37; Colton Warner, Alb (interference), 8:31; Mike McDonald, Nor (hooking), 11:27; Kapetanovic, Alb (hooking), 13:30.

Third Period—5, Albert Lea, Colton Warner 2 (Matt Johnson, Joe Kozlak), 11:32. 6, Albert Lea, Kapetanovic 16 (unassisted), 14:49. 7, Albert Lea, Johnson 2 (Warner, Bryan Mitchell), 18:59 (en.). Penalties—Kapetanovic, Alb (tripping), 6:57; Mitchell, Alb (holding), 15:31.

Shots on Goal—Albert Lea 9-10-14—33. North Iowa 14-16-15—45.

Power-play opportunities—Albert Lea 0 of 4; North Iowa 1 of 9.

Goalies—Albert Lea, Nikifor Szczerba 4-5-3 (30-28); Joe Rogers 9-16-2 (15-15). North Iowa, Paul Moberg 10-18-3 (32-28).

A—562. T—2:35.

Referee—Ken Anderson. Linesmen—Steve Reneau, Eric Burnes.