This might not be the state’s most hyped rivalry, but Orono and Delano, neighbors in the far west-metro suburbs, have developed a serious love-hate relationship over the years.
Sure, there’s a mutual respect between the programs. But they sure love beating up — and just plain beating — each other. Losing to their neighbor 13 miles down U.S. Highway 12? Hate isn’t a strong enough word for that scenario.
The teams formerly meet twice each regular season, but Orono’s move from the Wright County Conference to the Metro West this season means Wednesday’s game is the teams’ lone meeting before the playoffs and doubly important for the purposes of bragging rights.
Delano is off to a fantastic start. The Tigers are 6-1-0 and No. 4 in the Class 1A in the Legacy Hockey Power Rankings. They’ve defeated a string of traditionally strong Class 1A programs, including East Grand Forks and longtime playoff nemesis Breck. Junior Will Brown has been the catalyst of the offense, scoring a team-best 10 goals, five more than than the team’s No. 2 scorer, senior Gunnar Paulson.
Junior Bradley Walker is to the go-to guy for Orono. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound forward, also a football standout, has seven goals among his 13 points. Junior Avery Anderson and sophomore Easton Sankey each have four goals for the Spartans, state Class 1A champions in 2018.
Delano has reached the state tournament four of the last five years but has yet to win a quarterfinal game.