Prior to this season, Orono and Delano had developed a fierce rivalry across sports as neighboring cities and Wright County Conference foes. But with the Spartans moving into the Metro West Conference, the two teams are now non-conference foes and only get to meet once.

Despite the conference change, the matchup is still important to both squads. Besides bragging rights, both teams reside in Class 1A, Section 2 and are no stranger to facing off in the postseason as Delano ended Orono’s 2021 season in the section semifinals.

“Before, you could try and get back at them if you lost the first one,” said Orono coach Will Scholz. “Now, you just get the one chance for bragging rights all year.”

Coming into the matchup, things looked tilted toward the Tigers (6-2, 2-0). They had lost just once entering Thursday’s game and were ranked No. 5 in the Dec. 15 Class 1A coaches’ poll.

Meanwhile, Orono (4-5-1, 2-1-1) had struggled out of the gate with a tough schedule and young roster that featured just one senior. 

Despite Orono’s slow start to the season, the two teams looked evenly matched to start the game on Wednesday. The Spartans had a slight edge early and outshooting Delano 11-8 in the first period.

In the second, Orono got the game’s first goal as sophomore defenseman Brody Finnegan fired a shot in from the slot to put the Spartans ahead 1-0.

After peppering Orono goaltender Brock Peyton through the first two periods, Delano got its first goal early in the third period as Teague Collings converted on his chance from the slot to tie things at 1.

With the announcement of the Tigers’ goal still ringing throughout the arena, Orono junior forward Bradley Walker scooted down the ice. He threw a backhand at the net that beat the Delano goaltender. Walker’s team-leading eighth goal of the season put the Spartans back ahead just 34 seconds after the Tigers had tied the game.

“I could kind of feel a little momentum leaving our bench,” Scholz said. “Our captain, our leader made a play. That’s what he’s supposed to do.”

The 2-1 score stood while Peyton continued to turn away chances from Delano. The junior goalie held the Tigers to just two goals. Delano entered this game averaging more than 4 goals per game.

“(Peyton) stood on his head a lot of the night,” Walker said. “That paired with us going as hard as we could the whole night. We wanted it.”

In the game’s final minute, Orono picked up what turned out to be the winning goal as Caden Bickett hit the empty net to make it 3-1 Spartans. But with 23 seconds to go, Delano made its rival sweat as Anders Peterson cut the lead to 3-2.

“We got the goal from Bradley and then just held on for dear life,” Scholz said.

As Orono left the ice, the hoots and hollers were blaring from the Spartan players. They’re a group that has struggled early but looks to build off this important win.

“I think the thing is our guys were lacking confidence,” Scholz said. “We’ve had some chances at a big win and had not gotten one yet. They should be confident going into next week.”