Opportunities were seized by the Albert Lea boys’ hockey team on both ends of the ice.

The Tigers’ offensive production tied their best mark of the season, and sophomore goalie Ben Witham made his varsity debut in a 4-0 win Tuesday over New Ulm at Albert Lea City Arena.

With senior captain Garrett Matz at home with flu-like symptoms, Witham filled the shoes of a veteran player who posted a .920 save percentage through six games. Witham didn’t miss a beat with 28 saves.

“He played a whale of a game tonight,” said Albert Lea coach Roy Nystrom. “We didn’t even know if he was going to play until this morning.”

Witham said the first few saves and help from the rest of the Tigers’ defense helped him get acclimated.

“I was a little nervous at first, but then I got into a groove,” he said.

Along with strong play in their own goal, four Tigers lit the lamp on the opposite side: freshman Bergen Lundak, junior Lucas Hacker and seniors Matt Carlson and Brady Loch.

About five minutes after the opening faceoff, Lundak scored on a pass from Tanner Bellrichard.

Albert Lea extended its lead to three goals in the second period when Hacker found the net with assists from Alex Claassen and Jack Pulley, and Matt Carlson scored unassisted.

Brady Loch scored the game’s final goal on a power play with 13 minutes remaining in the final period.

“That was our first power-play goal of the season,” Nystrom said. “We’re 1-for-1 on the power play. It was a good win.”

The Tigers peppered New Ulm’s Matt Berkner with 38 shots on goal. Albert Lea had a five-shot edge in the first and third periods, and the teams each had 13 in the second.

“In the second period we gave up a lot of two-on-ones, a lot of odd-man rushes,” Nystrom said. “But our goaltender was really strong.”

The Tigers (4-3 overall, 3-3 Big Nine Conference) have won four out of their last five games, and Nystrom said the team is starting to hit its stride.

At the junior varsity level, Albert Lea is 7-0 and has outscored its opponents 44-4.

“We’ve got a real good JV team,” Nystrom said. “The future looks pretty good.”

Next, Albert Lea will host Austin at 1 p.m. Saturday. The last time the Packers (0-7-1 overall, 0-4-1 Big Nine Conference) beat the Tigers was Feb. 7, 2006. Albert Lea has won the last 16 meetings.