Orono's Lucas Jorgenson tried to score against Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato's Darby Halonen, but the puck hit the pipe. Here, Jorgenson got the rebound and put it in the net in the second period. Photo: Brian Peterson * brian.peterson@startribune.com
Orono held a recent practice at Xcel Energy Center to prepare for the state tournament environment.
But no lights and no crowd meant the Spartans did not get the full effect. That came Wednesday afternoon.
Nerves and Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato conspired to keep No. 3 seed Orono off the scoreboard for the first period. But the Spartans found their groove with a four-goal second period and rolled to a 6-1 victory.
Orono (21-7-1) defeated the Dragons by a combined score of 17-1 in two prior games this season. The Spartans’ victory Thursday extended the program’s mastery of the Dragons to 37 consecutive games dating back to December 2001.
Photo gallery: Orono vs. Litchfied/Dassel-Cokato, Mahtomedi vs. Mankato East
“There was some of that intimidation factor,” Dragons coach Chris Olson said. “And as soon as they got one, you could kind of feel like, ‘Here we go again.’ ”
Goals scored just 27 seconds apart from Lucas Jorgenson and Davey Burns calmed the first-period jitters. Daniel Eckerline and Jack Kubitz doubled the advantage. Jorgenson scored again in the third period.
“After we put one in, I think we knew we could beat them because of our past games,” Kubitz said. “We knew once we started scoring we weren’t going to stop.”
The Dragons (16-12-1) felt it, too. Their plan to grind out a victory through smart, physical play failed.
“Once they start getting goals, it’s just kind of hard to stay in the game,” said senior defenseman Orrin Grangroth, who scored his team’s lone goal.
First report
No. 3 seed Orono seized control during its 6-1 victory against Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato with a four-goal outburst in the second period.
Goals scored just 27 apart from Lucas Jorgenson and Davey Burns set the wheels in motion. Daniel Eckerline and Jack Kubitz doubled the advantage. The Dragons (16-12-1) were unable to respond.
The Spartans snapped their 0-3 slump in state tournament quarterfinals since 2006. Speaking of streaks, Orono (21-7-1) extended its mastery of the Dragons to 37 consecutive games dating back to December 2001.
Check back later for more on the game.
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