State Tourney: Orono moves on to semifinals in girls hockey with win over Luverne

Orono (21-3-4) posted the first shutout of the 2023 Class A Girls Hockey State Tournament with a 6-0 victory over Luverne (21-7) in the second game of tourney play on Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

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Orono opened the game’s offense at 5:43 of the first period with a goal by Mae Grandy on the power play.  Orono’s started the play from behind the Luverne net when Anika Fortin hit Grandy, who was open in the slot and connected on the goal to make it 1-0.

The Spartans pushed their lead to 2-0 with an even-strength goal at 7:07 by Macy Rasmussen, which included an assist from Maddy Kimbrel.  To complete the first period scoring, Orono’s Zoe Lopez took a feed off a face-off in the Luverne zone and connected on a shot from the left side that found an opening inside the post.  Fortin had the solo assist on the goal, which made it 3-0.

In the second period, Orono extended its lead to two goals starting with a second goal by Grandy at 5:21.  A pass from Kimbrel to Grace Brickett near the net resulted in the goal-producing feed to Grandy.  The Spartans extended their lead to 5-0 at 10:09 of the second period with a second goal by Lopez, which came on a breakaway that was set up with an assist by Fortin.

To complete the game’s scoring, Orono’s Kimbrel connected on a one-timer from the left circle at 12:40 of the third period that was set up with a picture-perfect feed from Bickett.  The goal pushed the final score to 6-0.

The Spartans owned a 39-13 edge in shots against the Cardinals, which started with a 15-3 shot margin in the first period.  On the power play, Orono was 1-of-2 and it was 4-of-4 on the penalty kill in the contest.

Celia Dahl gained the shutout for Orono with 13 saves to her credit, while Mallory Von Tersch was the goalie of record for Luverne with 33 saves in the game.

 Orono will continue its trip to the 2023 Class A Girls Hockey State Tournament with an 11:00 a.m. semifinal match against Proctor-Hermantown on Friday, Feb. 24 at the Xcel Energy Center.   Luverne will continue in the consolation bracket with a game against Mankato East at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22 at the TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center in St. Paul, Minn.