Coming into the season the Orono girls hockey team had some high expectations. The girls lost a few key players last year but returned with a majority of their players. Their goal: make it to the state tournament.

“I didn’t know what to expect of this team coming into the season, but were a hard working team who never takes a game off and that’s why were doing well,” senior forward Brooklyn Duffy said.

The Spartans are currently ranked number 8 in the December 18 poll according to Minnesota Girls Hockey Hub.

The girls have played many close games so far and the teams they have faced are strong.

They opened up the season in Duluth against Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and won in overtime thanks to freshmen Grace Limesand who recorded her first varsity goal.

The Spartans then either tied or lost their next four games before defeating Alexandria 4 to 2 at Orono Ice Arena on November 29.

Junior forward Sarah Harrison had two goals in the win and senior goalie Sophia Sterling did a good job between the pipes. She faced 30 shots and only let two goals by her.

The girls biggest win this season might have been against Red Wing. The Spartans won on a final score of 4 to 3 and shut down one of Minnesota’s leading scorer in Reagan Haley, who is committed to the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Leading the charge was freshmen Holly Harrison who scored a goal and picked up two assists. Limesand recorded three assists in the win against Red Wing.

“The win against Red Wing was good. We played really well and we played as a team. We managed to limit one of the state’s top scorers to only one assist,” junior forward Brianna Bren said.

Bren is the Spartans leading scorer with 15 points as of January 5.

Another key player for the girls is Maddie Carlson who is doing well in goal for the Spartans. She is only a sophomore but has a .926 save percentage according to Minnesota Girls Hockey.

The girls defeated Bismarck (N.D.) in the annual holiday tournament in Blaine by a score of 5 to 2.

Next up was a game against Blaine to determine who is in the championship game.

Orono lost a heartbreaker in overtime by a score of 2 to 1 in favor of Blaine.

In the third place game, the Spartans played another AA team in Forest Lake and lost 3 to 1.

The Spartans record stands at 5-7-3, but they have a chance to win some upcoming games against conference opponents.

They currently sit third in the conference behind Mound Westonka, but they have two games left to play against them.

Holy Family/Waconia is another tough team in the conference that is challenging for the Wright County Conference title.  Orono and Holy Family/Waconia played to a 3-3 tie earlier on in the season.

The Spartans next game is against Hutchinson on Tuesday January 6.

Rosie Hust