Four Orono players scored a goal and six players recorded a point in the team's Class 1A state quarterfinal victory Wednesday. Of those six, four were underclassmen.
"One of the biggest assets for us is our depth," Orono first-year coach Larry Olimb said. "It was certainly an advantage for us today to roll three lines."
Those three lines helped the third-seeded Spartans roll to a 6-0 shutout over unseeded Luverne in the girls hockey state tournament at Xcel Energy Center.
Sophomore Zoe Lopez and senior Mae Grandy each scored a pair of goals, and sophomore Anika Fortin recorded a career-high three assists. Grandy kicked off the scoring for the Spartans (21-3-4) with a power-play goal at the 5:43 mark of the first period.
"After Mae got her goal, I think our team started to get really good momentum and get excited and pumped," said sophomore Macy Rasmussen, who scored her 17th goal of the season 1 minute, 24 seconds later for a 2-0 lead.
Lopez gave her team a 3-0 lead before the first intermission, then added a backhander in the second period for her team-leading 36th goal of the season. Freshman Maddy Kimbrel had a goal and two assists.
Luverne (21-7-0) couldn't match Orono's depth.
"They kind of caught us on our heels early," Luverne coach Tony Sandbulte said. "We panicked a little bit more than we'd like with the puck and had some unforced turnovers and didn't quite get back in the right spots, and they took advantage."
David Festa's return to Twins goes south in a hurry

NBA Finals: Haliburton caps huge rally with winning jumper as Pacers stun Thunder 111-110 in Game 1

Twins call up pitching prospect Travis Adams to bullpen
