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Class 1A preview: Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato vs. Orono, 1 p.m. Wednesday

By Star Tribune, 03/06/18, 8:04PM CST

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Success at Orono's youth levels — state Bantam A championships in 2015 and ’16 and a runner-up finish last year — has filtered up to the high school program.


Orono forward Jack Suchy (16) celebrated with coach Will Scholz after their overtime win against Breck School in the 2A section championship in Minneapolis on Thursday, March 1, 2018. ] RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER • renee.jones@startribune.com

Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (16-11-1) vs. Orono (No. 3, 20-7-1), 1 p.m.

Scouting the Dragons: Junior Brandt Pedersen is the team’s runaway scoring leader with 44 points (27 goals, 17 assists). The 6-2, 200 Pedersen also excels in football as a receiver and free safety, in track as a sprinter and hurdler, and in baseball as an outfielder. The Dragons’ second- and third-leading scorers are defensemen. Senior Orrin Grangroth (14 goals, 26 points) and converted forward Paul Raisanen (11 goals, 13 points), a junior, are always eager to join the rush. Freshman goalie Darby Halonen has been impervious to playoff pressure (1.67 goals-against average, .930 save percentage in section games).

Scouting the Spartans: Success at the youth levels — state Bantam A championships in 2015 and ’16 and a runner-up finish last year — has filtered up to the high school program. Senior forwards Jack Suchy and Thomas Walker, who each top 6-1 and weigh more than 200 pounds, anchor the top line as the team’s scoring leaders. First-year head coach Will Scholz previously served as an Orono assistant under former NHLer Mark Parrish. The pair swapped roles just before the start of the season when Parrish landed a job doing on-camera broadcast work for New York Islanders games.

Worth knowing: Orono has defeated Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 36 consecutive times, dating to Dec. 8, 2001.

LOREN NELSON

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