Albert Lea hockey No. 2 in section, wrestling No. 3 at state

The Albert Lea Tigers hockey and state-bound wrestling teams were seeded Sunday in their respective upcoming tournaments.

The hockey team was seeded No. 2 in the 12-team Section 1A tournament, which begins tonight.

The Tigers receive a bye in the first round and play the winner of No. 7 Faribault and No. 10 Waseca at 7 p.m. Thursday at City Arena. The Tigers beat Waseca 10-2 on Nov. 30 and won at Faribault 5-2 on Jan. 27.

If the Tigers win, they’ll likely face No. 3 New Prague, who also receives a first-round bye, No. 6 Northfield or No. 11 Austin. The Tigers escaped with one-goal wins over both New Prague and Northfield in early December, but swept the season series Austin, outscoring them 17-1.

The section’s top seed, on the opposite side of the bracket, is No. 5-ranked Rochester Lourdes. The Tigers lost to Lourdes 4-0 on Jan. 4 at City Arena.

Wrestling team is No. 3, will face Hopkins

The No. 4-ranked Albert Lea wrestling team is seeded third in the upcoming Class AAA state wrestling tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The Tigers will face Hopkins in the first round and likely the second seeded, No. 3-ranked St. Michael Albertville in the semifinals.

The entire state team tournament is on March 3 with the quarterfinals at 11 a.m., semifinals at 1 p.m., third-place match at 5 p.m. and championship match at 7 p.m.