Beating a top-ranked team is tough enough. Beating two of them in as many days only adds to the degree of difficulty. Now try it on the road or at neutral site.

Sounds sort of like the state tournament — minus that all-important third game, of course.

Three teams have pulled off notable two-day doubles this season, with Maple Grove the latest to achieve the feat. The Crimson notched road victories over No. 11-2A Grand Rapids (8-4) and No. 1-1A Hermantown (6-3) on Friday and Saturday to move up from No. 10 to No. 7 in Class 2A.

Senior Josh Giuliani, Maple Grove’s unrelenting “hit man,” scored a combined five goals in the two games, as the Crimson imposed their will in the Thunderhawks and Hawks.

“That’s the heaviest, most physical team we’ve played,” Hermantown coach Pat Andrews said. 

By the time the Hawks knew what hit them, quite literally, they trailed 3-1 after Saturday's first period. Maple Grove scored five unanswered goals through parts of the first and second periods to surge to a 6-1 lead over Grand Rapids on Friday.

Maple Grove’s march of destruction was similar to that of Wayzata’s just more than a week ago, when the Trojans seized control of the Canadian border, beating Roseau 6-4 and Warroad 3-0 on Jan. 21 and 22.

Andover beat Cretin-Derham Hall 3-1 and Hill-Murray 2-1 on Dec. 28 and 29 in a holiday tournament at the Bloomington Ice Garden. The Raiders are currently ranked No. 2 and Hill-Murray No. 3 in Class 2A.

So which pair of wins was most impressive? Take your pick in the poll below.

Stock Rising
 

• Other than Maple Grove’s big jump, there wasn’t a lot of movement in Class 2A. Rogers moved up a couple of spots from No. 15 to No. 13 courtesy of its 2-1 overtime triumph over No. 1 Andover on Saturday, easily one of the biggest victories in program history.
   
• Speaking of program-defining victories, Cambridge-Isanti’s 4-3 come-from-behind win over Little Falls on Thursday night — in overtime, and after losing star freshman goaltender Jaxon Sibell to injury — served as a springboard to launch the Bluejackets from No. 14 to No. 10 in Class 1A. Rhetorical trivia question: When was the last time, if ever, Cambridge-Isanti was in the the top 10 of Class 1A?
   
• Also in Class 1A, Northfield played three of the best teams in the Big 9 Conference and went 2-1-0. The Raiders beat Mankato East 4-3 and Albert Lea 9-4 to before losing 2-1 to Rochester Mayo on Saturday. The mostly successful week bumped Northfield from No. 17 to No. 13 in Class 1A.