Giuliani’s effort for the team’s second goal of the game was also only his second goal of the season. He missed the first four games of the year while out with mononucleosis. Giuliani said he’s “getting back to normal” now, and Tuesday’s game was evidence of that.

A healthy Giuliani helps the team dramatically, according to Crimson coach Todd Bergland.

“He’s a strong, physical kid,” Bergland said. “He knows when to hit and when not to hit. For some kids, that’s kind of a tough trait to learn. He plays the game the right way.”

Giuliani’s return complements an already stacked Crimson squad with talent up and down the lineup. Sophomore Danny Nelson gave the Crimson the 1-0 lead that stood for much of the game. On the first power-play chance and only second shot on goal of the game for Maple Grove, Nelson’s sharp-angle shot rang iron before settling into the net for the lead.

It was Nelson’s fifth goal of the season and fourth on the power play. Success with the man advantage is a bit of a staple with Maple Grove this season. It has at least one power-play goal in seven of the nine games, going 11-for-25 for 44% this season. Senior Nathan Jaglo has two power-play tallies, while junior Brink has two. Gunderson has five power-play assists.

The Crimson went 1-for-3 on the power play Tuesday.

“We work on our power play a lot,” said Bergland, who credited assistant coaches Tom Miller and Andy Hedlund.

They work on the power play against their penalty killers in practice, Nelson said.

“We tell them to go hard, game speed,” Nelson said. “So that really helps us get prepared for these big games.”

The Crimson outshot the Cougars 10-3 in the scoreless second period. A Lakeville South turnover in the Maple Grove slot didn’t net a goal but did generate another Crimson power play, which the Cougars successfully killed.

“We were starting to wonder if we’d be getting another goal… a lot of perimeter stuff and then you had some good net rushes and good stuff around the net, but nothing was seeming to get through,” Bergland said.

Defensively, Crimson senior Toby Hopp made 20 saves to improve to 4-2-1 this season. Bergland said they’ve all worked hard on defense, and it’s paying off.

“Defense played probably some of the best hockey I’ve seen all year by our team,” Hopp said. “We kept battling through.

“It was a great team win.”

The last time Lakeville South was shutout? Two seasons ago in the 2020 state tournament consolation semifinals, a 3-0 loss to: Maple Grove. Lakeville South’s last regular-season shutout loss came in the season opener on Dec. 1, 2018, a 1-0 loss at Hermantown.

The last time these two programs met on the ice in March, Lakeville South edged the Crimson 4-3 in Maple Grove. Ludtke scored a pair of goals for the Cougars.

“That’s exactly what the message was to the boys when I got in here,” Bergland said, outside the locker room after Tuesday’s game. “’Remember last year? What they did to us in our barn?’

“It was a sweet victory for us. We did some good things.”