The Albert Lea boys hockey team is one of the school’s most accomplished sports teams this year. They won the Big 9 title outright for the first time in Albert Lea history (two years ago they tied for a championship) On top of that, Coach Roy Nystrom now has the most wins as a coach in Minnesota and has the third most wins in the nation.
       The boys team beat Owatonna on Feb. 19 to secure its first place title in Big 9. The team has a record of 18-6-1 in the regular season, and the Big 9 win is a huge accomplishment for the team.
       “The season has gone really well this year,” said senior Dillon Stolt, one of the captains of the team. “It started out rough, but we pulled it off toward the end.”
       Stolt has been on the team since his sophomore year. He is really close with his teammates.
       “We’re pretty close,” Stolt said. “We are open in the locker room.”
       Nystrom, being an accomplished coach, has brought the team far. Other than winning the Big 9, he now holds first place in Minnesota for most wins as a coach. He got his 619th win when the team beat Rochester John Marshall. He is third in the nation for number of wins.
       The team lost on Saturday, Feb. 26 to New Prague in the section semifinals. Their season was ended with the 4-1 loss.
       Griffin Wangen, junior, is one of the goalies for the team. He has, along with senior Nick Dulas, brought the team many wins throughout the season.
       Wangen said, “Even though we lost in the semifinals, it was still a successful season.”

       The team is hoping to make it past semifinals next year and have a chance at state. The last time the team made it to state was in 2005. Even though the team is losing some valuable senior players, they have a pretty good shot at section finals next year.

       “We are going to have a good run next year,” said Wangen. “We are probably going to be even better than we were this year.”

       The boys team may have lost in the section semifinals this year, but they still have a good chance next year. There will be new players stepping up to play varsity to replace the seniors leaving this year.

       The team may have not made it to state, but it was still a successful season. By winning the Big 9 and helping their coach become 1st in the state for most wins, the team proved that there is more to a sports season than making it to state.