Orono Spartans boys hockey team heads back to state tournament with new, yet familiar, coach
ORONO, Minn. – A section final win over rival Delano launched Orono back to state.
"I think everyone's bought in. I think our coaches are happy with that. The plan they've given us has obviously been successful," said senior forward Bradley Walker. "One of the best years Orono's had so far and we're looking to keep it going."
The Spartans have a new, but familiar head coach this season. Sean Fish came over from the girl's team after bringing that program to its first state tournament a year ago.
"Very tough decision. I loved those kids in that locker room, too," said Fish. "It was tough for both of us to leave. And I think for me the ultimate decision was just to get back to boys hockey, and to build a program like Andover and [Minnetonka] have where both the boys and the girls are really good hockey teams."
Orono has nearly doubled its win total from a year ago, adopting a new approach with a whole new staff.
"These guys are great," said senior forward Avery Anderson, who scored two goals in the section championship game. "Last year, you'd go out there and you'd come back to the bench if you did something wrong, you most likely would have gotten yelled at or maybe benched. These guys let you play how you want. They let you play free, and you're not scared to make mistakes. You get to play confident and be the player that you are for the team."
This will be Orono's 10th state tournament appearance. They won it all in 2018. This year's squad remembers exactly where they were when that happened.
"My brother was the captain of the team," said Walker. "I think I was in seventh or eighth grade, staying with my family. I mean, it was unbelievable."
"I was up in the nosebleeds," recalled Anderson. "I remember they played Alexandria. Me and my little friends were cheering, hoping that one day we'd get there, and that's come."
The Spartans are the four-seed this week, hoping to skate by more highly-touted teams.
"The state of Minnesota has been counting us out all year," said Anderson. "People have been saying there's only three [Class] A teams that have a chance this year. And we're here to prove them wrong, and so winning that would be absolutely unbelievable."
The Spartans play Northfield in the state quarterfinals Wednesday at 8 p.m.
