The Austin boys hockey team gave a tough New Ulm team all it could handle for two periods, but it came up short in a 5-2 loss on the road Tuesday.

The Packers (2-7 overall) led 2-1 after one and were tied going into the third, but the Eagles (10-1-2 overall) pulled away with three goals in the third period.

“We played the whole game and that’s the first time we’ve really done that against a tough opponent, this is a confidence builder,” Austin head coach Tim Peterson said.

Josh Detwiler and Josh Hart had first period goals for Austin, while Jaret Retterath had two assists and Ethan Larson had one assist.

Rainer Londino-Green stopped 34 shots for Austin, which had 17 shots on goal.

“Rainer played fantastic and this is the best defensive game we’ve played all year,” Peterson said. “If wee keep playing like that, we’ll be in a lot more games and we’ll get some wins.”