After finishing their previous meeting this season in a 3-3 tie, the Albert Lea and Faribault boys’ hockey teams faced off again Tuesday night, this time on Albert Lea’s home ice.

The game got off to a rough start for the Tigers and they were never able to come back from the early troubles, falling to the Falcons 5-3.

Less than 30 seconds into the match, the Falcons took a quick lead when junior Zach Siegert scored on assists from senior Noah Murphy and junior Jordan Nawrocki.

The Falcons scored against the Tigers with under four minutes remaining in the first, then Murphy scored a goal of his own with Siegert there for the assist.

The Tigers scored their first goal of the game 30 seconds later, when senior Owen Zelenak scored a goal assisted by senior Carson Stadheim.

The first period came to an end with Faribault leading 2-1.

Faribault extended its lead midway through the second period. However, Albert Lea answered back with a goal in the 15th minute. Junior Sam Witham scored the goal for the Tigers. He was assisted by junior Caden Severtson.

Heading into the final period, the Falcons again scored in the opening minute with a goal at the 0:20 mark.

Witham scored his second goal of the game in the 10th minute of the final period, assisted by junior Logan Barr and senior Danny Chalmers. However, the Falcons shored up the game by scoring a goal in the final minute to extend their lead to two goals.

The Tigers fall to 8-11-1 this season and will be back on the ice Thursday night when they host the 15-6-1 Eagles of New Ulm.

There are five games left on the Tigers’ schedule before the start of the Section 1A postseason tournament.