Goalie shuttle carries UMD past CC, into Final Five
Despite a particularly rugged week of playoff action, the top five teams in the WCHA standings — the five teams that finished with above-.500 records — all survived their first-round playoff series to gain the Final Five.
A year ago, UMD might have been sneaking up on foes when it won three games in three nights to capture a surprise playoff championship, but this year, nobody will be in position to sneak up on any opponent. Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota, who tied for fourth and fifth places, meet in Thursday’s game. That winner advances to Friday’s semifinals, where top-seeded Denver awaits. Wisconsin and St. Cloud State will clash in the other semifinal, then on Saturday, the 2 p.m. third-place game is followed by the final at 7.
The third-place game is not universally popular, but it could be important in NCAA tournament selections and placement this year. The WCHA is top-loaded in the PairWise ratings, which mimic the NCAA’s 16-team selection criteria. Going into the Final Five, Denver ranks No. 1, Wisconsin No. 3, North Dakota No. 5, St. Cloud State No. 6, and UMD No. 11.
UMD was teetering at a tie for 16th in the PairWise after splitting the first two CC games, and that status indicated the Bulldogs would have to win the Final Five again to reach the NCAA field via the automatic berth. With upsets going on around the country, UMD jumped up to the 11th slot by winning Game 3. That offers no guarantee, because surprises in other conference playoffs can bump teams out of the PairWise slots, but 11th is far better than 16th, and the WCHA appears ready to have five teams make the NCAA’s select field.
Exactly one year ago, the University of Minnesota-Duluth was a distinct underdog at the WCHA Final Five. The Bulldogs had floundered near the end of the season, but rose up to sweep two games at Colorado College, then make league history by beating Minnesota, first-place North Dakota, and then Denver to become the first team to ever go from the play-in game to the league playoff crown. One imposing reason for the surge was the goaltending of Alex Stalock, who shut down CC, then allowed one goal in all three Final Five games, boosting UMD to an automatic slot in the NCAA tournament.
This is another season, and all the teams are different, including UMD, primarily because Stalock passed up his senior year for a pro contract. Still, the Bulldogs have made various ripples through the WCHA season, leading the league for a stretch from midseason with a pair of unheralded sophomores in Brady Hjelle and Kenny Reiter trying to fill Stalock’s very large skates. Their competence has been reinforced by explosive scoring and power-play efficiency from a quick and exciting forward crop and a rangy but unheralded defensive corps. Still, the Bulldogs fell from grace by going 4-6 in their last 10 WCHA games and allowed onrushing North Dakota to gain a tie for fourth, and the seeding edge based on winning three of the four games between the two.
The Bulldogs were one of three WCHA teams that had to go to a deciding third game in the best-of-three first round of playoffs, and bring a 22-16-1 record to the Final Five. While top-seeded Denver (27-7-4) disposed of Michigan Tech, and second-seeded Wisconsin (24-9-1) put Alaska-Anchorage away, North Dakota (22-12-5) had to win a third game after Minnesota came back from a 6-0 drubbing to win Game 2 at Grand Forks. And St. Cloud State (22-12-5) spotted all-sport arch-rival Minnesota State-Mankato the first game, then came back to squeak past the Mavericks in the second and third games.
In Duluth,
UMD coach Scott Sandelin had to make some goaltending decisions against Colorado College, which wasn’t anything different from what he’s done all season. Sandelin has spent the season alternating his goaltenders, but in unusual fashion, seeming to pick one as his regular starter, but then changing to the other for similar status. It has been an unusual roller-coaster for both netminders, but they’ve maintained positive and upbeat attitudes all season.
Sandelin started the season with Hjelle as the regular goaltender, but after three starts he was relieved by Reiter in the second game at St.Cloud, and the two alternated in goal for the next five weekends, while UMD rose to a 10-5-1 record. Perhaps with flashbacks to the luxury Stalock afforded him, Sandelin elected to go with one goalie, and Hjelle started three more games, beating North Dakota and splitting against Denver. Reiter beat Mercyhurst, but Hjelle lost to Vermont, with Reiter relieving him, earning a promotion.
Reiter started five straight games, which included sweeps against CC and Mankato, but he was relieved by Hjelle in the first of two losses to Bemidji State. Hjelle lost the second game, so Reiter returned, starting six straight games, including a 4-0 shutout over Wisconsin. But he was relieved by Hjelle when UMD lost twice at North Dakota, and Hjelle stayed in to start the next three games, including a 3-0 shutout for a split against Minnesota. UMD still had a chance to finish as high as third on the final weekend, but the Bulldogs lost 3-2 at Anchorage, with Hjelle the victim. Reiter played and won the second game.
That brought Colorado College to Duluth for the playoffs, and Reiter beat the Tigers 3-2 in Game 1. That required a decision by Sandelin, and he went with Reiter again. Colorado College overturned a 3-2 deficit and won an intense second game 5-3 on an open-net goal. Sandelin was asked if he considered starting Hjelle in Game 2, which would serve the dual purpose of getting both goalies sharp for the Final Five, and would allow Reiter to return fresh for Game 3, if necessary.
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“If I did, and we lost, everybody would ask why I changed goalies,” said Sandelin. Nonetheless, that created a situation where he had to go with Hjelle or try Reiter for a third game in three days. Sandelin chose to go with Reiter.
In an intense and somewhat hostile third game, Reiter was superb and UMD won 4-0.
“The team played really well to try to help me get the shutout,” Reiter said. “I don’t think I’ve ever played three games in three days, unless it might have been in some youth hockey tournament. But I felt better than in the first two days.”
Colorado College, which had risen to proper desperation in Game 2, played that way again in Game 3, but the Bulldogs matched them. All three UMD goals in the 5-3 Game 2 loss were on power plays, meaning CC had outscored the Bulldogs 4-0 at even-strength. In Game 3, the ‘Dawgs changed that. Kyle Schmidt’s backhander from the right edge eluded Joe Howe for an early 1-0 UMD lead, and Brady Lamb snapped in his 11th goal to make it 2-0 in the second. Both goals were at full strength, and gave the scrambling Reiter all he needed to win. Lamb’s strong play earned him some power-play time, and he assisted Rob Bordson’s goal for the second poewr-play unit with 17 seconds left in the second period for a 3-0 cushion, and he also assisted Mike Connelly on the first power-play unit at 0:46 of the third.
“It’s nice to have the puck bouncing my way,” said Lamb. “I think we were able to wear down CC all weekend, and our power play is clicking. I think we can go down to St. Paul and win. It’s great to have a chance to defend our title.”
Seven Bulldogs have scored 10 or more goals, and while none of them won the league scoring title, they contended for it all year, and their team-leading stats are competitive enough. Jack Connolly leads with 18-31–49, while Justin Fontaine — who had three assists in the 4-0 Game 3 against CC — has a team-leading 21 goals and 21-25–46 stats, while Mike Connolly stands 14-26–40.
“I’m happy we’re getting a chance to defend our playoff title,” said Sandelin. “For our young guys, it’s a great chance to gain valuable experience, and for our seniors, it’s great to get another chance. Our special teams have been good, and it helps to have two power-play units. Lamber was strong all weekend, and Kenny played great in goal. Our guys really tightened up and sacrificed to get him the shutout.”
Hawks, Skippers lose at state, but win semifinal classics
When the Minnesota state high school hockey tournament was over, anyone who watched it will have to agree that it was full of surprise twists and turns. We also will have to acknowledge that Edina was a very deserving Class AA champion, and that Breck was a deserving winner in Class A. To get an accurate slice of the flavor of the big tournament, let’s go back to Friday’s semifinal round in both classes at St.Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.
To start the day, the best game of the entire tournament sent Hermantown against Mahtomedi. Hermantown had gotten past a hustling Virginia-Mountain Iron-Buhl team in the first round, and the Hawks managed it 2-1 when Adam Krause, who had sed up Cody Christopherson for the game’s first goal, rushed the puck after an outlet pass from Garrett Skrbich early in the third period, and rifled a 45-foot shot that beat goalie Casey Myhre high to the left corner. “I was at the end of a shift and I was tired,” said Krause. “I knew I couldn’t beat the defenseman, so I just tried to put it on net.”
Mahtomedi, led by a mercurial junior defenseman named Ben Marshall, had dispatched Alexandria 6-1 in the first round, and matched up well with Hermantown. We had no idea how well. Marshall led 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period, but Chad Bannor and Jared Kolquist countered both goals for a 2-2 standoff. Charlie Adams, who was a scoring machine for the Zephyrs, made it 3-2 before Kolquist’s second goal made it 3-3 after two. The fun was yet to come. Mahtomedi’s Brandon Zurn ignited a crazy third period with a goal for the Zephyrs at 5:50, and Mike Rose made it 5-3 at 7:23. Charlie Comnick got one back for Hermantown at 8:14, cutting it to 5-4, but Zurn scored on another set-up by Marshall at 8:49, and it was 6-4. That meant three goals in 1:26, and four goals in one second less than three minutes.
Comnick, however, took matters into his own hands when he scored on the rebound of a Thomas shot at 10:27, then positioned himself to deflect Jeff Paczynski’s poewr-play point shot down and in for a 6-6 tie at 11:18. The teams stormed back and forth, trying to break the deadlock, and in a game that seemed to be decided by whoever had the puck last went down to the closing seconds, and Mahtomedi’s Marshall had the puck. He raced up ice as the final seconds ticked down, cut to his right, and sent a neat pass to the slot. Adams one-timed his shot. Hermantown goalie Tyler Ampe flicked his right arm up, and the puck glanced off his arm but continued its path high into the upper right corner of the net. The red light came on, but so did the horn. The clock said 0:00.0.
The Zephyrs, who have never reached a championship game, poured off the bench and mobbed each other in a special pile-up of players, while the Hawks stood around, pretty dejected. The officials, dutifully, went over to check with the upstairs video review official. It took a while, but the overhead view showed the puck coming into the crease, sailing through the crease, and hitting the net. When they slowed it way down, and superimposed the digital clock, however, it also showed the clock hitting 0:00.02, then 0:00.01, and then 0:00.00 — with the puck still a few inches short of reaching the goal line. No goal. The Zephyrs were devastated, while the Hawks were flying again.
“We didn’t know what to do, it hit us like a brick,” said Marshall. who led the charge in overtime, on what might have been the decisive rush. But the puck came adrift, and Commick, who already had a hat trick and one assist, dashed back the other way, up the right boards, for Hermantown. He threw a perfect, pinpoint pass to Thomas, breaking with on the left. Thomas got past the defense and rushed at goalie Brad Wohlers, deking as though cutting to his right, then coming back to score with a forehand at the left edge. At 1:12 of overtime, Hermantown had won 7-6.
“Marshall carried it into our zone, but one of our ‘D’ poked the puck away,” said Thomas. “I curled, and saw Chuck [Charlie Comnick]. We made eye-contact and he gave me a perfect pass. Going in, I realized that Garrett Skrbich had gone to his backhand on an earlier breakaway and got stopped. So I went the other way.” And Hermantown went to the championship game.
Mahtomedi coach Jeff Poeschl said: “It was up and down like a roller-coaster. You get up by two, and then thinking you won it at the end makes it tough. I’d like to think we could have hunkered down and played better defense, but both teams might say that. You have to give credit to the offense on both sides, and if we didn’t have a time limit, it probably would have ended up 32-33.”
The rest of semifinal Friday seemed dull, but it was only by comparison. Breck overcame a 1-0 Warroad lead, fashioned on Brock Nelson’s remarkable first-period goal. Nelson, grandson of Warroad legend Billy Christian, who was in the building, was lurking on the right side of the net when Brett Hebel came at the net from the left. Hebel’s backhander hit goaltender Jon Russell and popped up in the air, heading for the right corner. Ah, but Nelson was waiting like Joe Mauer for a knee-high change-up, and he laced a line drive right out of the air and into the net. Breck, however, retaliated with three goals in the second period, two by Mike Morin, and made it 4-1 before Warroad got a late goal, to fall 4-2 to the defending champion Mustangs.
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Then it was time for Class AA’s semifinals, and Edina polished off a stubborn Apple Valley outfit 2-0, but while the Hornets outshot Apple Valley 37-18, the game was devoid of any of the electricity of Hermantown’s opener. When top-ranked Minnetonka faced Hill-Murray in the second AA semifinal, the general topics of conversation were how interesting it was that the Class A teams seemed to have outstanding individuals leading the way, while the Class AA teams were much deeper and more balanced, but really lacked the star power of Class A.The other prime topic was how nothing could match the day’s first game and its wrenching last-second twist.
Hill-Murray, a very balanced and well-coached outfit, had knocked out Duluth East 5-3 in a first-round game. East jumped ahead 2-0 in the first period, then suffered a defensive-zone meltdown that lasted exactly two minutes — giving up two goals 9 seconds apart in the last minute of the first period, and two more goals 38 seconds apart in the first minute of the second period. The Greyhounds never got it back together, although they regrouped to beat Lakeville-North in the consolation round, and defeated Roseau 3-1 in the consolation final. Virginia, by the way, almost gave the Northland two consolation crowns, reboundng from its opening loss to Hermantown to beat New Ulm, before falling 2-0 to Rochester Lourdes.
Back at semifinal Friday, it was not a surprise that Hill-Murray harnessed the Greyhounds and then did the same to Minnetonka’s explosive offense. The Skippers — seeking to ride the No. 1 rating to their first-ever state title — got the first goal, when Andrew Prochno made a great move and scored form the right circle at 12:09. But Chris Casto smacked in a rebound at the other end four minutes later and the first period ended 1-1. The second period also ended 1-1, and so did the third period — and the first, second and third overtimes!
Most amazing is that Hill-Murray stifled Minnetonka with only 9 shots through three periods. I would have bet that the Minnesota Wild couldn’t have held the Skippers to 9 shots in three periods. It appeared that Connor Ryan had won the game for Minnetonka in the second overtime when he converted Tommy Lundquist’s hard pass from the right side. But the video review proved Ryan had turned his left skate to block the speeding puck and the ricochet zipped into the net. No goal. Kicked in.
By the third overtime, they were alternating between 8-minute and 17-minute sessions, and it remained 1-1. They made ice again, and the fourth overtime began, at about 12:15 Saturday morning. At 2:31 of the session, Erik Baskin, coming from the left side, chased down the puck behind the Hill-Murray goal, and circled out on the right side with a sudden move, stuffing a shot that went in off goalie Tim Shaughnessy’s pads as he slid across. The goal gave Minnetonka a 2-1 victory and a berth in the AA championship game.
On Saturday, Hermantown gave it a good run, but Breck got a lucky bounce off a shinpad to win the A title 2-1. Then Edina took out a talented but tired Minnetonka outfit, 4-2, for the AA championship. But if you had to pick a day for the archives as evidence for what makes Minnesota high school hockey the state’s best attraction, year in and year out, choose Friday.
Ford rules the roost at Detroit Auto Show
DETROIT, MICH. — The Detroit International Auto Show opened with an enormous day for Ford Motor Company, which claimed a sweep of both the North American Car of the Year award, with the Ford Fusion Hybrid, and the Truck of the Year, with the Ford Transit Connect.
By coincidence, Ford was scheduled to have the first corporate press conference at Cobo Hall following the presentation of the car and truck of the year awards. Ford earlier had announced that it would be introducing the 2011 Ford Fiesta, a smaller compact car that has been available in Europe since being taken out of the U.S. market a couple of decades ago, and is coming back as a stylishly rebuilt new compact with a lot of technology aimed at super high mileage.
If the Fiesta spearheads a movement by U.S. consumers toward compact, sophisticated, high-mileage cars, Ford’s new Fiesta could be making a serious run at the 2011 Car of the Year as well.
Then, at its press conference, an entirely redone global Focus was introduced in production form, aimed at being a 2012 vehicle. This one will unite the technical global coordination that will unite the European Focus with the less-sophisticated U.S. Focus. The new car will be made of 55 percent high-strength steel with a new platform growing out of Volvo’s safety characteristics from the S40, with the engine-building skill of Mazda with a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder.
With the 2012 Focus aimed at establishing new gasoline-engine standards for the larger compact segment, Ford added that it would also include a plug-in all-electric hybrid version of the Focus with the technology built in the Michigan Assembly Plant.
William Ford, executive chairman, said tht economy, energy and environment will be the three primary targets of the recovering auto industry and that the company that best combines those three virtues will be the winner. Without a doubt, Ford intends to see that Ford is that winner. “For 30 years, I’ve been advocating fuel-efficiency and lower emissions,” Ford said. “Now I’m preaching to the choir.”
While Ford didn’t need to file bankruptcy or to accept government bailout loans to stay afloat in the past year, Ford’s giant rival, General Motors, followed Ford in scheduled press conferences. GM had introduced a glistening Regal GS model, boasting of 355 horsepower and flashy 0-60 times.
To be fair, GM had introduced the 2011 Buick Regal at the Los Angeles Auto Show a month earlier, so it wanted to roll out a special model of the car for its hometown backers. But in overview, when GM has been filling the television airwaves with promotions and advertising for its still-struggling vehicles, here was GM following Ford’s highly economical Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, and Fiesta plus the Focus — all aimed at lofty fuel economy — and General Motors showed off a high-performance car with raves of high horsepower and snappy acceleration. It was quite a contrast.
Other impressive displays also featured high mileage and alternative energy. Chevrolet did show off its coming Cruze, which will replace the Cobalt, while Toyota unveiled a concept 2-door coupe hybrid, and Honda did the same, following up its previous show of a CR-Z concept car with the production prototype of the car, which is a hybrid that appears to be a sleek coupe version of the Insight.
Volkswagen also showed off a future car called, imaginatively, the NCC — for New Car Concept. It is an impressively styled 2-doorwith sweeping creases and contours, which reportedly is a precursor of what the redesigned 2011 Jetta will look like.
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BMW showed a pure electric sports coupe with spectacular looks and a 165-mile cruising range, and claimed that media test drives of its hybrid will be conducted in the first half of this year.
Korean leader Hyundai showed the new Sonata that drew raves at the LA show, and it looked even better in person. It will be powered by only 4-cylinder engines, one with a turbocharger. Hyundai also unveiled its facelifted Santa Fe and an all-new Tucson.
Ford officials could leave Cobo Hall feeling good about its achievements at the show, almost as if its awards were rewards for being ahead of its domestic competitors and avoiding the bailouts. Its car and truck awards were highlights.
In what seemed like the most competitive field ever, the Fusion Hybrid, which was isolated from the other revised Fusion models as a separate candidate, ran away with the car award, amassing 282 points on a voting system where the 50 jury members distribute a total of 25 points to the field of candidates, with a maximum of 10 to any one car. The Volkswagen Golf/GTI/TDI placed second with 163 points, and the Buick Lacrosse was third with 134.
In a revote of the three top point-getters, with 10 points to be cast in any order, the Fusion Hybrid had 241, with the Golf 146 and the Lacrosse 103.
The point distribution spread out support among those that missed reaching the final three, as the Ford Taurus had 79 to rank a distant fourth, followed by the Camaro 74, Porsche Panamera 67, Mazda3 at 64, Suzuki Kizashi 57, Toyota Prius 56, Kia Soul 55, Subaru Legacy 47, BMW 335d44, the remaining Fusion lineup 33, Cadillac CTS Wagon 25, Mercedes E-Class 23, and Honda Insight 22.
In Truck of the Year, the Transit Connect may have benefitted by being a legitimate truck, albeit a compact delivery vehicle, compared to the array of crossover SUVs and grown up station wagons. The Transit Connect scored 237 points to lead the three finalists, where it was joined by the Chevrolet Equinox at 217, and the Subaru Outback at 145.
The remainder show the Audi Q5 at 125, the Land Rover LR4 116, the Volvo XC60 110, Lincoln MKT 96, Cadillac SRX 92, followed by a late-released pair — the Acura ZDX 45 and the Honda Accord Crosstour 42.
In the final revote of the three finalists, the Transit Connect had 213, the Equinox 183, and the Outback 94.
Car of the Year finalists got 2010 winter test
Timely blizzard put Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf through test.
The Christmastime blizzard of 2009 couldn’t have come at a better time, as far as car-testing is concerned. We had undergone some cold weather and a small storm during the week when I was test-driving a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, and on Christmas week the enormo storm hit the Twin Cities and Duluth, while I jumped back and forth road-testing a Volkswagen Golf TDI and a Buick Lacrosse.
The significance is that while auto writers from all over the country drive the same new vehicles, none of them get to experience how the cars work — or if they work — in the severity of Northern Minnesota’s harshest wintertime. And the specific benefit of driving those three particular cars as 2009 spent its final week is that those are the three cars that are finalists for the 2010 North American Car of the Year.
In the 15 years I’ve voted on the jury, this is the toughest, most wide-open competition I’ve seen. The three finalists for the North American Car of the Year are the Buick Lacrosse, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, and the Volkswagen Golf, which includes the GTI and the TDI (turbo-diesel) models as well as the basic compact.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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