This is an intriguing all-southern Minnesota showdown between the Tigers of Albert Lea and the Cougars of Mankato East.  

The Tigers are coming off a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Metro South on Saturday in their own setback this season. Albert Lea is led at forward by sophomore Shelby Evans (6-1-7) and freshman Hannah Austinson as well as her sister, seventh-grader Haley Austinson (3-3-6), give the Tigers good scoring depth up front.

Eighth-grader Morgan Goskeson switches between forward and defense and chips in offensively (3-3-6). On defense, sophomores Mika Cichosz (8-1-9) and Olivia Hansen (2-1-3) also provide some scoring from the back end. Albert Lea has split starts at goaltender between junior Rachel Doppelhammer (.944 save percentage) and sophomore Jayda Moyer (.914 save percentage) this season.

Mankato East is a senior-laden squad coming off a hard-fought 2-0 loss to Northfield. The Cougars' attack is led by forwards senior McKenzie Keller (5-3-8) and junior Jessica Eykyn (4-3-7). On defense, seniors Emmy Schulz (2-2-4) and Trinity Jackson (2-0-2) are Mankato East's workhorses at both ends of the ice. Senior Annaliese Rader (.955 save percentage) has carried most of the goaltending workload this season.