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The Albert Lea girls’ hockey teams hosted Mankato East/Loyola Saturday and was out for revenge after falling 4-3 in overtime the last time these two teams met.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Cougars came to play, scoring five goals through the first three periods before the Tigers scored their first goal. The Tigers ultimately fell to the Cougars, 5-2.

Mankato East wasted no time in scoring the first goal of the game during a power play after eighth grader Olivia Ellsworth was called for a minor checking penalty. East added another goal before the end of the period, taking a 2-0 lead into the first break.

Senior Maddie Schneider started in goal for Albert Lea and saved 12 of Mankato East’s 14 shots. Albert Lea totaled six shots on goal in the period. On top of the early checking penalty, eighth grader Mika Chichosz was called for a minor checking penalty in the 11th minute. East failed to take advantage of the power play opportunity that time.

The Cougars tacked on another two goals in the second period both were unassisted. Senior Ally Rasmussen was called for a minor slashing penalty in the 11th minute of the period, but the Cougars did not score a goal during the power play.

Schneider snagged another 21 saves in the period as the Tigers added five more shots on goal.

Mankato East scored another goal in the sixth minute of the third period to take a commanding 5-0 lead.

The Tigers finally put an end to their scoring drought when senior Alli Dulitz scored an unassisted goal in the eight minute. Eighth grader Shelby Evans added another goal for the Tigers with around four minutes left in the game, but it was far too late for the Tigers to mount any sort of comeback attempt. 

The game ended with Schneider saving a total of 42 shots and the Tigers amassing a total of 18 shots on goal, two of which found the mark.

The loss drops the Tigers to 9-5 this season with at least two games remaining in the regular season. They were scheduled to travel to Rochester Tuesday night to take on the Spartans of Mayo; however, the game was postponed and a makeup date has yet to be determined. Their next game on the schedule is slated for Wednesday when they host the Huskies of Owatonna. The Tigers lost 5-1 the last time these two teams met this season.