"After the second period against Maple Grove I told him, 'You're going to have to do this,'" Aus said. "He told me, 'Don't worry, I'll take care of it.' It's not the Nick Bjugstad Bengals, but you need your big guys in big games."
Asked about Bjugstad's second goal against Maple Grove, when he darted across the crease and launched a rocket top-shelf, Harper, the Bengals goaltender, smiled and said, "Everything he does is beautiful."
Bjugstad now hopes for a perfect ending -- to help his buddies finish a state championship dream that grew from summer days spent on a tennis court, of all places.
"I've enjoyed this year," Bjugstad said. "Our co-head coach Pete Aus said he would have left after last season except for the way we all treat each other so well. That means a lot, because it goes way above hockey."