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The Albert Lea boys’ hockey team looked to make it two victories in a row Tuesday night, hosting a winless Austin team. 

The Tigers used a huge first-period performance and a hat trick by senior Blake Ulve to gain an insurmountable lead and dominate the Packers to a 7-1 win. 

Albert Lea scored four unanswered goals in the first period, all of which came in the final six minutes. Sophomore Joseph Yoon scored the first goal of the game, assisted by sophomore Tim Chalmers. The goal came on a power play with 5:25 left in the period. Senior Logan Barr found the back of the net less than a minute later with a goal assisted by Ulve. 

All of Albert Lea’s goals were scored with at least one teammate in with an assist. Barr talked about how important it is for everyone to be on the same page throughout the game.

“It’s definitely a confidence booster for everyone on the team to be involved in the goals we score,” Barr said. “We’re at the point of the season where the chemistry is building up within everyone. Going forward we just need to keep trusting our teammates and good things will happen the rest of the season.”

The Tigers busted the game wide open with three minutes left in the period after freshman Spencer VanBeek scored a goal assisted by seniors Jack Waltman and Dylan Carlson. Just as the period was about to end, Yoon scored his second goal of the game and the fourth for the Tigers. Chamlers was again in on the assist. 

Austin committed two penalties in the period, compared to Albert Lea’s one. Sophomore Max Edwin was the lone Tiger called for a penalty in the period — a two-minute cross check penalty in the ninth minute.  

Sophomore Dakota Jahnke was in the goal for the Tigers and saved all seven shots on goal by the Packers. The Tigers took a total of 23 shots on goal in the period. 

Austin came out in the second period and closed the gap with a goal in the sixth minute. However, Albert Lea came back with a goal of their own about seven minutes later when Ulve scored his first goal of the game on a power play assisted by senior Logan Hacker. 

The second period ended with the Tigers putting up a whopping 39 shots on goal. Jahnke saved seven shots in the period. 

Senior Caden Severtson was called for an elbowing penalty, and Chalmers was called for a hooking penalty. 

Albert Lea scored two more goals in the third period, shutting down any hope Austin had for a comeback. Ulve scored both of the third-period goals, recording a hat trick. The first goal came in the third minute and was assisted by Yoon and Barr, the second came in the 13th minute and was assisted by Yoon and Chalmers. 

“Our speed and skill ended up too much to handle for Austin,” Ulve said. “We came out flying, and they came out a bit slow. It’s always good to get a big win and boost the confidence of our team. Hopefully we will keep rolling over teams like we did (Tuesday) for the rest of the season.”

Jahnke saved another four shots in the period for a total of 18 saves in the game. 

The Tigers move to 4-2 on the season and play again Thursday night when they hit the road to take on the 3-3 Spartans of Rochester Mayo.