No. 6 Orono goes on offensive onslaught to defeat No. 3 Northfield

by Rob Brent

The Orono Spartans pulled off a minor upset with an offensive onslaught in which they scored seven goals. The no. 6 seeded Spartans defeated the Northfield Raiders Wednesday afternoon in their Class A Quarterfinal matchup.

The Spartans played the game with a significant handicap, given the absence of leading scorer Jackson Knight. Knight, an 11th-grade forward, led the team in goals (33) and tied for the team lead in assists (29). 

Despite Knight’s absence, the Orono top line is still a potent attacking unit, and they proved it when Trey Landa scored the first goal of the game to put the Spartans in the lead. Landa’s goal came on a fantastic shot from the top of the faceoff circle. 

The Northfield Raiders got two golden opportunities towards the end of the first period with two powerplay chances. The Raiders hit the post on their first powerplay, but Orono stood firm and maintained their one-goal lead. 

The Spartans then added to their lead on a powerplay with minutes remaining in the period. A pass from behind the net found Ethan Pagel in front. Pagel backhanded the puck into the net during a scramble to extend the Spartan lead before the end of the first period.

Northfield came into the second period needing an answer to the first frame, and they got it immediately. Griffin Kennelly brought the Raiders to within one just 33 seconds into the second period on a backhand rebound effort.

The Raiders’ one-goal deficit wouldn’t last long as Orono answered Northfield’s goal with an odd-man rush tally of their own. Talan Reuter scored the goal to put the Spartans up 3-1. Both defenses hadn’t been allowing much offense in the way of shots, but the Orono attack was opportunistic.

Orono added another goal to their lead when Rory Kvern scored his 14th goal. Kvern made a great play to get from the goal line to the front of the net all alone before backhanding it home to give Orono a 4-1 lead. 

The Spartans’ onslaught continued with another goal from Rory Kvern. Pagel picked up an assist this time when he sent Kvern a pass from behind the net. Orono’s offense was imposing in the second period, especially considering they were missing their top scorer and Northfield’s defense was so stingy during the regular season.

The Raiders would get their goal back on a powerplay goal at the end of the period. Evan Schmidt, the Spartans goaltender, made the initial save on a shot by Northfield, but the puck bounced into the air and landed behind him. A scramble to the loose puck led to Michael Steward scoring for the Raiders to bring the game to 5-2 heading into the third period. 

Northfield scored to generate some momentum at the end of the second period, but Orono put the game out of reach shortly into the third period with a goal by Lachlan Hoffman. The Spartans later added two more goals to skate away with a resounding victory. Ethan Pagel, Trey Landa and Rory Kvern each scored twice for the Spartans.

Orono punched their ticket to the Class A semifinals with the 7-2 victory. The Spartans will go on to face defending champions St. Cloud Cathedral after the Crusaders won their quarterfinal game 3-0. Orono and the Crusaders face off Friday at 11:00 AM with a trip to the championship game on the line.

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