It’s been all about timing for the Albert Lea girls’ hockey team lately and Wednesday proved no different.

Freshman forward Mariah Leach found herself in the right position at the right time as she scored the game-winner on a wide open shot in front of the net with 4 minutes, 43 seconds to give the Tigers (13-14-0) a 4-3 win over No. 1 seed Northfield in the Class A Section 1 semifinals at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna.

“Last week I told her she needs to be right in that crease a little bit,” said Albert Lea head coach Brian Blatti. “She heeded the words and she got the winning goal there.”

Lauren Draayer fired a shot from the point that hit the pipe and dropped in front of Leach who scored easily, sending the Tigers to their first section championship game since 2003.

“It was one of those games, we told the gals before, it’s not going to be the better team that wins because they’re both great teams, it’s going to be the team that wants it the most,” Blatti said.

Lauren Klick scored twice and Madi Passingham added a goal as the Tigers picked up their fourth consecutive victory.

Albert Lea got on the board early in the first period when Klick scored on an assist from Passingham at 2:19 in the first.

“That was humongous,” Passingham said. “The stress lifted off our chest with that first goal.”

The Raiders (14-11), ranked No. 11 in Class A, responded near the end of the first period when Riley Seitz scored a power-play goal on a rebound at the back post of the Albert Lea cage.

In the second period Northfield took the lead on a power-play goal from Maren Dvorak just 2:37 into the period.

“They were down a little bit (after the Raiders took the lead) but they came back,” Blatti said. “They’re confident in themselves enough that they can come back in situations like that. It’s a big improvement from last year.”

It started to appear as things were beginning to unravel for the Tigers, but Albert Lea remain composed. Klick came through for her second goal of the game at 4:04 on an assist from Sophia Jepson and Passingham to tie the game at 2.

Passingham added a goal at 10:46 that gave Albert Lea a 3-2 lead.

Northfield came out strong in the third and found the equalizer once again. Seitz scored her second goal at the 5:30 mark and it appeared the game might be headed for overtime.

Overtime never came.

The Tigers held off a late charge from the Raiders. With 13 seconds remaining in regulation, Leach was whistled for a tripping call just outside the Albert Lea zone. The Raiders pulled their goaltender for a 6-on-4 advantage but the Tiger defense held strong and didn’t surrender a goal.

It was a penalty-filled game with both teams combining for 13 penalties. Northfield scored two power-play goals and the Tigers had one.

“We’ve got to watch our penalties, we’re going to work on our penalty kill this week for Saturday and get that tweaked out better so we can go into Saturday’s game fully confident,” Blatti said.

Albert Lea handed the Raiders their eighth consecutive loss.

Kelli Hanson stopped 22 shots in net for Albert Lea.

Albert Lea will face Red Wing Saturday at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna for a chance to move on to state.

Albert Lea and Red Wing (15-10-1) met Jan. 10 at the City Arena and the Wingers came through with a 2-1 overtime win courtesy of a 5-on-3 power play in overtime. Saturday’s game begins at 1 p.m.

Red Wing defeated Faribault 6-5 in the other semifinal game Wednesday in Owatonna.

Albert Lea 4, Northfield 3

Albert Lea 1 2 1 — 4

Northfield 1 1 1 — 3

First period— 1, Albert Lea, Lauren Klick (Madi Passingham), 2:19. 2, Northfield, Riley Seitz (Katie Jirik), 14:45 (pp.). Penalties— Tasha Moyer, AL (holding), 2:41; Annie Pumper, N (tripping), 5:20; Sam Stanley, AL (high sticking), 13:38.

Second period— 3, Northfield, Maren Dvorak (Maddie Carras, Riley Seitz), 2:37 (pp.). 4, Albert Lea, Klick (Sophia Jepson, Passingham), 4:04 (pp.). 5, Albert Lea, Passingham (Sophia Jepson), 10:46. Penalties— Jirik, N (holding), :54; Lauren Draayer, AL (hooking), 1:08; Katie Nelson, AL (checking), 1:24; Dvorak, N (tripping), 3:48; Jirik, N (interference), 6:44; Carly Oto, N (tripping), 14:45; Passingham, AL (slashing), 15:19.

Third period— 7, Northfield, Seitz (Jirik), 5:30. 8, Albert Lea, Mariah Leach (Draayer), 12:17. Penalties— Klick, AL (tripping), :37; Chelsea Trebelhorn, N (interference), 6:44; Leach, AL (tripping), 16:46.

Shots on goal— Albert Lea 5-10-5—18. Northfield 13-4-8 – 25.

Power-play opportunities— Albert Lea 1 of 6. Northfield 2 of 7.

Goalies— Albert Lea, Kelli Hanson (25 shots, 22 saves). Northfield, Sam Stark (18 shots, 14 saves).