The game was close, with the Orioles tying the score with less than 15 seconds on the clock. Park’s Orioles took the ice to play the Minneapolis Lions Dec. 23. After eight minutes of overtime, the Orioles took home a 5-5 tie.

Head coach Tyler Broderson said the Orioles came in aiming to score and were happy with the tie.

“Our goal was scoring tonight. We’ve struggled with scoring goals this year and we were able to get (the score to) five and (a goal was) the ability to tie it up at the end,” Broderson said. “We could’ve easily rolled over and lost the game, but we stayed with it and we were able to come back and get a tie.”

Junior Tony Kruse said the team had a positive outlook on the game due to recent wins against other teams.

“We felt confident going into the game coming off of two big wins,” Kruse said. “We thought we were going to come in here and get a win, but it didn’t work out that way.”

According to Broderson, preparation for the game was cut short due to obstacles throughout the week.

“This was a tough week for us prep wise. We played a game on Tuesday night and then Wednesday we got canceled and Thursday we got canceled because of weather,” Broderson said. “We didn’t get prep time for this game. We played off Tuesday, came back and had to play tonight. That was different for us, I don’t think we played super well because of it.”

Junior Griffin Krone said limited practice time impacted how the team played.

“We haven’t skated together in two days, we haven’t had practice together in two days. It was tough,” Krone said.

Kruse said the team was motivated by the various team success efforts.

“Henry Schultz had a great shot that got tipped in. That gave the team a big boost of energy. Griffin Krone’s goal at the end to tie the game up was a big moment,” Kruse said.

Krone said that going forward the team needs to work on being fully prepared.

“Coming out ready to play and not putting on a performance. Putting our best foot forward every game,” Krone said. 

Kruse said that not winning was hard, but despite that the team was successful in making a comeback. 

“It was tough not coming out with a win, but it was good to fight back and get a tie,” Kruse said.

According to Broderson, throughout the game the team showed dedication and didn’t give up.

“It felt good that we were able to fight back and tie the game. That’s all about heart and commitment and the team showed we have that,” Broderson said. “We’re bummed we didn’t win, but happy we didn’t lose and were on the right track.”

The Orioles’ next hockey game is 12 p.m. Dec. 27 at the St. Louis Park Rec Center.