Red Wing, which is ranked No. 12, tried a number of different things to stay sharp — including scrimmaging the boys varsity (lost) and JV (won) — but the long build-up still wore on their nerves. Sophomore standout Paige Haley didn't eat on game day and junior goalie Lisa Nibbe wasn't a whole lot better.

"I never, ever get nervous, but today I was like uhhhh," Nibbe said.

While the Wingers actually started strong, things got sloppy for the home team late in the first period and throughout most of the second before the two team leaders settled back into their groove and led Red Wing to a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

The Wingers advance to Friday's section title game in Owatonna looking for their second state tournament berth in three years. They will play Missota Conference rival Northfield, which they split with during the regular season. The Raiders topped third-seeded Faribault 6-0 Tuesday night.

After a goal by Red Wing freshman Emily Stegora erased a short-lived Albert Lea lead late in the second period, Nibbe stepped up to stone Tigers' standout Anna Anderson on a short-handed breakaway to keep the score tied 3-3.

Haley, the coach's daughter, did her part less than a minute later, going top shelf to beat Albert Lea's eighth-grade goalie Sydney Conley for her second goal of the game. It came with just 39.7 seconds left on the clock after Albert Lea had successfully killed off a penalty, sending her team into intermission with momentum on its side.

Those two plays marked the return of the squad Red Wing coach Scott Haley had become accustomed to seeing before the extended break. And with it came some attitude.

"It was more shove it in their face — there!" Nibbe said of her statement stop on Anderson, who finished with two goals.

Nibbe had 22 saves, including all eight she faced in a sharp third period.

Winger seventh-grader Reagan Haley, Paige's younger sister, got the team off to a quick start. She scored a goal in the first and drew a penalty that set up her sister's power-play goal later in the period.

The physical game was marred by 13 penalties, including seven against Albert Lea. The Wingers scored two power-play goals, while Tigers senior Sophia Jepson scored hers in the second period to give her team a brief 3-2 lead.

Red Wing's coach characterized the win as "ugly" and expressed disappointment with stretches of the game, but he also recognizes that the result is all that matter in the postseason.

His oldest daughter was one step ahead of him as she prepares for her third straight trip to the section title game.

"I just think we need to focus on the game and not what happens after it," Paige Haley said.