Caig, Reichmuth lead UMD to sweep of Gophers

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. — Goal-scorers see the world differently than normal people, such as less-productive teammates, or fans, or observers from the press boxes around the WCHA. The question seemed like a logical one, to see what T.J. Caig saw on his decisive shot in sudden-death overtime in the league-opening game at Mariucci Arena, against arch-rival Minnesota, which was bolstered by a weekend-full of ceremonies.

CaigÂ’s two goals helped the Bulldogs top Minnesota 4-3 in overtime, and he tipped in the eventual game-winner midway through SaturdayÂ’s 4-2 series sweeper, and he was named the No. 1 star both nights. Not bad for the 5-11, 200-pounder who came to Minnesota-Duluth as a goal-scorer out of British ColumbiaÂ’s junior league. He became eligible at midseason last year, and his 9 goals, 16 assists were worth 25 points and fifth-best on the Bulldogs, even though he played only half the season.

Caig had scored the opening goal of the game on a power-play bullet, but while teammate Tyler Brosz and Brett Hammond also scored for UMD, those three goals had been offset by Minnesota’s three veteran snipers – Grant Potulny, Thomas Vanek and Troy Riddle.

So the game went to sudden-death overtime, and the puck was loose on the left boards in Minnesota’s zone. Caig gained control as he skated toward the blue line, then he turned left, 90 degrees, as if there was a corner he could follow to keep the puck in the zone. He skated toward the slot, just inside the blue line, and held onto the puck until he was almost straight on, about 45 feet out. There were several bodies between Caig and the goal – enough so goaltender Justin Johnson couldn’t get a glimpse of the puck – but he didn’t even seem to look.

He just held the puck until the right moment, then ripped a shot that glanced off the left pipe, eluding goaltender Justin Johnson and finding the net at 2:55 of the 5-minute session. UMD had a startling 4-3 victory over the two-time defending NCAA champion Gophers, and Caig was asked how much of an opening he saw, or if he saw an opening at all, or if he even looked for an opening.

“I just shot for the short side,” said Caig, with a shrug. “An opening? I don’t know. All I know is when I came around the corner, I knew I was scoring.”

UMD coach Scott Sandelin noted how non-goal-scorers would find a shinpad to hit on a shot like that, but goal-scorers find a way to score. “Caig made a big-time shot,” said Sandelin. “His first goal got there in a hurry, too.”

The 9,639 fans attending the game were there early enough to watch a brief pre-game ceremony with the Gophers raising their 2003 NCAA championship banner, their second in a row. “It’s always nice to win when you’re raising a banner,” said Minnesota goaltender Johnson. “I never saw Caig’s shot, but it went in clean, right off the post.”

A threat every shift, Caig had seven shots for the night and earned the No. 1 star, with Vanek second and UMD goaltender Isaac Reichmuth third. Reichmuth made 35 stops in the face of a Minnesota attack that built a 38-27 edge in shots, and came up with a huge save on Jon Waibel’s breakaway in the second period, and also made a big stop on Vanek. He had no chance on Vanek’s goal, scored after he deked around a defenseman, came in alone and sniped the top right corner. “You never want to give a goal-scorer anyplace to put the puck,” said Reichmuth. “Because he’ll put it there.”

The next night, 10,159 showed up at Mariucci to pay tribute between the first and second periods to former Gopher coach Herb Brooks, who died in a traffic accident on Aug. 11. The Gophers announced an endowed scholarship in Brooks’s name, and unveiled a huge, panoramic mural of Brooks, who led Minnesota to its first three NCAA titles, in 1974, 1976 and 1979. In addition, a circle of some of the players who played on Brooks’s seven Gopher teams ringed center ice and raised sticks in salute to Brooks. Former Gopher and NHL defenseman Bill Butters said Brooks had “made us all men of character.”

But even unveiling the initials “HB” on the Gopher jerseys as well as on the ice behind both nets, the Gophers seemed to lack spark, and the Bulldogs were quick to attack, as Hammond and Tim Stapleton scored to stake UMD to a first-period lead. Minnesota’s only counter was when Gino Guyer scored shorthanded to trim it to 2-1.

Midway through the second period, it was time for another example of the view, according to Caig. Hammond rushed up the left side and dropped a pass for Caig, who couldnÂ’t quite reach it, but lunged to poke it across to defenseman Ryan Geris at center point. As Geris teed up his shot, Caig cruised onward, toward the slot. Geris cut loose with a big slapshot, and Caig deflected it with his stick. It wasnÂ’t necessarily on goal, but it just didnÂ’t matter. The puck glanced off at least one defender and past freshman goalie Kellen Briggs for a 3-1 UMD lead.

Minnesota seemed to snap out of its fog and outshot UMD 17-4 in the third period, but trailing 3-1, the only goal they got past Reichmuth came when Andy Sertich broke in and scored at 9:19. UMD countered that one with 10 seconds left, when Luke Stauffacher hit an empty net to secure a 4-2 victory and an unlikely series sweep.

Again Minnesota outshot UMD, this time 41-24. But Reichmuth’s 39 saves – giving him 74 stops for the weekend – gave him the defensive player of the week award, and No. 2 star of the game. The No. 1 star, of course, was T.J. Caig, who proved once again that goal-scorers may not see openings when they shoot, they just know the puck is going in.

Sioux double ‘Parise factor’ to top UMD in preview

GRAND FORKS, N.D.—Sometimes the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game is just a nice way to give two teams the chance to work out the practice kinks before getting serious about the season. But this year, the game took on a more significant tone, because North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth are not only great rivals, but figured by most to be top contenders to preseason pick Minnesota during the WCHA season.
The game at Ralph Engelstad Arena figured to be North DakotaÂ’s high-scoring offense ignited by sophomore center Zach Parise and high-scoring winger Brandon Bochenski against UMDÂ’s pestering defensive concept, built around sophomore goaltender Isaac Reichmuth.

So how did it work out? North Dakota rallied for the last two goals to win 3-2, and it was no surprise that the first Fighting Sioux player into the interview room was named Parise. The surprise was it was not Zach Parise, a prime threat to win the WCHA scoring championship, but Jordan Parise, ZachÂ’s older brother in real life, but his younger brother scholastically.

Zach did his thing, to be sure, with a magnificent 2-on-1 set-up to Bochenski – the other guy most likely to win the scoring title – to gain a 2-2 tie, leaving it up to freshman Drew Stafford to score the game-winner, with 3:43 remaining.

But at several points, North DakotaÂ’s chances were up to Jordan Parise, North DakotaÂ’s freshman goaltending prospect. His biggest test was a toe save on Nick AndersonÂ’s second-period breakaway, and nine of his 20 saves came in the third period.

“All the freshmen stepped up,” said Jordan Parise, deferring any praise. But he also affirmed that the Sioux goaltending picture must include the rookie whose only nickname so far is “JP,” after his famous, former NHL-playing dad.

The crowd was announced at 10,399, although there were a lot of empty seats on the evening following a huge, last-second 29-28 football victory for North Dakota over St. Cloud State, after the Sioux trailed 28-3 at halftime. Compared to North DakotaÂ’s upset of previously unbeaten St. Cloud, the hockey victory was not really an upset and was only an exhibition, but it was at least as hard-fought — literally.

Several after the whistle scraps led to only two disqualifications among several potential DQs, as Mike Prpich of the Sioux and Marco Peluso of UMD sparred in a battle common to pro hockey but rare in college. They skated away from everyone, casting aside sticks, gloves, and face-masked helmets before a free-swinging tussle that drew an ovation from the crowd. “Not that I condone fighting,” said North Dakota coach Dean Blais, “but that WAS a good one.”

Both teams fought hard to score, too. Reichmuth stood firm with 24 of his 31 saves in the first two periods for UMD, while Jordan Parise had less work, with 12 of his 20 saves in the third period. Parise got the UND call, after returning veteran Jake Brandt was suspended for a game for a misdemeanor violation regarding stolen pull-tabs in his hometown of Roseau, Minn.

“Jordan Parise made two saves right at the start, then on that breakaway, he gave us a chance to win the game,” said Blais. “Reichmuth played good for them, but you expect that, because he’s proven he’s one of the best in the league.”

Reichmuth was primarily responsible for harnessing the big Sioux line of Zach Parise centering freshman Brady Murray and Bochenski, which contributed 13 missiles to North DakotaÂ’s 34-22 shot advantage. He also blanked all eight North Dakota power plays, while UMD went 1-for-6.

For good measure, UMD opened the scoring when Tim Stapleton glanced one in off the far pipe for a shorthanded goal five minutes into the game, meaning the Bulldogs outscored the Sioux 1-0 during the eight Sioux power plays.

Nick Fuher tied it 1-1 when he mishit a 4-on-4 set-up from Colby Geneway and the change-up fooled Reichmuth midway through the first period. Then the teams battled at 1-1 until early in the third.

Junior Lessard put away a Tyler Brosz power-play feed for a 2-1 UMD lead to open the third, but the big Sioux line regained the tie when Parise got the puck from Murray, and ducked up the left boards for a 2-on-1. Parise, who had faked a pass to Bochenski before shooting one off the crossbar on a second-period 2-on-1, learned the easier route to a point by moving in for a shot, then passing across the crease, where Bochenski chipped in a deflection at the right edge.

Bochenski, who scored 35 goals last season, has the resident best Sioux scoring hands, but he might have an understudy in Stafford, whose game-winner came 10 minutes later, when he shot quickly in traffic from point-blank range after Quinn Fyling’s pass out from behind the net. “He’s got great hands,” said Blais. “Stafford might still be 17, or else he just turned 18, but he’s got great hands, and we need some guys who can finish.”

The finish was not pleasing to UMD coach Scott Sandelin, but he shrugged it off. “It was just like I expected,” he said. “Some good, some bad, and it got a little sloppy defensively out there. But there was a lot of intensity, and there’s going to be a lot of these games – just like last year.”

New Prius gives electrifying spark to hybrid technology

DETROIT, MICH. — The old cliché in automotive performance is “there is no substitute for cubic inches.” Maybe itÂ’s time to counter that with: “Yes there is, and itÂ’s called technology.” Toyota struck the latest blow in its battle of hybrid-sedan technology with Honda by launching the 2004 Prius this past week.

If the hybrid game is like playing poker, there are more than two players, but while all the others have spent so much time posing and boasting about what might be coming that you have to wonder if theyÂ’re bluffing, only Toyota and Honda have shown their cards and advanced several decks ahead.

The Prius – pronounced “PREE-us” – keeps the same name but has become an entirely new car in size, power, performance, features and technology. The new car is enlarged enough to go from compact to midsize, and even though a 6-footer’s head might brush the ceiling in back, Prius can claim to be the first midsize sedan powered by the hybrid combination of internal-combustion and electric motors.

Toyota introduced the car to the media during a whirlwind tour of North American regions, and the Upper Midwest got its turn Thursday in Detroit. Improving emissions and therefore our air quality might be foremost in the technology, but the more tangible benefit for consumers is fuel economy. As gasoline prices seem to be comfortably settling around $2 a gallon in the U.S., the new Prius is certified by the EPA at a spectacular 60 miles per gallon in city driving, 51 in highway driving, and 55 for combined city-highway travel.

Those figures mean the Prius, which ranks at the top of the compact sedan list, doubles the EPAÂ’s fuel economy estimation for the top midsize sedan, which is ToyotaÂ’s stalwart Camry, at 26.6 miles per gallon, and the class-average of 25.8.

There is a significant difference in the Toyota and Honda methods of combining their gasoline and electric motors. Toyota’s system alternates power sources and can run the car alone on the electric motor, while Honda’s car can run on the gas engine alone. Both have amazingly low emissions, and both use rechargeable battery packs that supply potent electric-motor boost to the small internal-combustion engines. Honda’s little gasoline engines – three cylinders in the Insight and four cylinders in the Civic Hybrid – get boost from the electric motor when you step hard on the gas, and when you ease off, the electric motor shuts down and gets recharged by the gas engine. Toyota’s gasoline engine and the nickel-metal-hydride battery motor sort of alternate power most of the time, with the electric motor primary.

“The Prius is the only hybrid vehicle that can be run entirely by the electric motor,” said project manager Paul Williamson, who noted that it can actually operate for a full 3.6 miles on its electric power only. Along with the battery’s 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty, he said there has not been a single documented report of an electric Prius motor from the first two generations needing replacement because of wear or breakdown.

ToyotaÂ’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system lets the new Prius run 90 percent cleaner for emissions than the average of all cars being sold in the U.S., according to Toyota. The plant at Toyota City, Japan, which also builds Camrys, intends to build 70,000 Priuses in the next calendar year, with 32,000 of them scheduled for the 1,200 U.S. dealerships, where they will start appearing on October 17.

A special customer-loyalty plan has resulted in current Prius owners already ordering 1,200 of them, and demand for the new car may be take care of the supply, because while vastly improved, the price remains unchanged, at $19,995. With a wedge-nosed 0.26 coefficient of drag, it looks much more contemporary and stylish than its predecessor. It is 5 inches longer, with a 6-inch longer wheelbase, resulting in much more room front and rear, and under the hatchback, with or without the 60-40 rear seats folded down.

Toyota officials may not like to mention the “H-word” in the ongoing battle with Honda, but Williamson didn’t flinch. He is convinced the Toyota system has its advantages, but he also is aware that the technical race between Toyota and Honda is distinctly a two-horse race. “I can’t even think of a company that might be considered third,” he said.

Toyota claims to have built the first hybrid vehicle for production with the Prius in 1997, but it was sold in Japan. So Honda claimed to have the first hybrid for sale in the U.S. by getting the two-seat Insight to market a few months before Toyota brought a revised Prius to North America in 2001. The first Prius was a blunt, four-door, but considerably more mainstream than the Insight. But a year ago, Honda enlarged its hybrid engine and put it under the hood of a normal Civic, and the 2003 Civic Hybrid boosted Honda into the more-mainstream-hybrid lead.

Williamson said he leased a Civic Hybrid in Los Angeles for his whole Toyota staff to drive and evaluate. He thought he detected an edge for Prius. “Fuel economy and emission levels go off the scale if you can’t make the internal-combustion engine of a hybrid shut off when you stop at a stoplight,” said Williamson. “When our car comes to a stop, it shuts off. The Civic didn’t always do that.”

I had to tell him that the test Civic Hybrid I drove shut off at every stop, and I joked with him that maybe compared to the clear, Upper Midwest air, the hazy Los Angeles stuff was so nearly combustible that his Civic Hybrid kept running.

The new Prius is ToyotaÂ’s counter-claim to the top-hybrid spot. What used to be called the Toyota Hybrid System is now known as Hybrid Synergy Drive, a more generic name because Toyota already is licensing companies such as Nissan and Ford to use the system. The problem competitors all face by not competing is Toyota and Honda will lengthen their edge in hybrid technology. In its three versions, the Toyota system has gotten lighter and smaller, and more powerful. It went from weighing 76, then 52, and now 45 kilograms, while electric power increased from 600, to 900, and now 1,200 kilowatts of power.

The internal combustion engine in the Prius is a small, 1.5-liter four-cylinder. It uses an Atkinson-cycle concept that allows the compression and expansion cycles of the four-stroke design to override the usual symmetric valve-cam timing, which allows benefits of a stronger power (expansion) stroke without increasing friction by also increasing the compression ratio.

Increases in power, torque and RPMs have brought more responsive acceleration, with 0-60 speed achieved in about 10.6 seconds, 30-50 passing acceleration in a swift 4.9 seconds, and top speed increased from 90 to 109 miles per hour for the new Prius.

A brief drive in the car showed impressive acceleration. Technical features include shift-by-wire, electronically controlled brakes, traction control, electric air-conditioning, push-button start, “smart” keyless-entry, Bluetooth hands-free technology for cellphone and the optional voice-recognition navigation system. Williamson said five-star safety ratings are anticipated, with dual-stage airbags and side and optional side-curtain airbags.

The new Prius should hold the top rung in hybrid performance – at least until the next engagement. Toyota is planning a hybrid Lexus RX330 midsize sport-utility vehicle a year from now, followed, presumably, by a hybrid Toyota Highlander. Rumors are that Honda is nearly ready with its hybrid compact SUV, probably the Honda CR-V, and Honda may be ahead of Toyota as both hustle to develop exotic hybrid sports cars.

Toyota’s hybrid success started with a controversial decision to build all the parts in-house, which meant a huge initial investment in research and development, but allowed the company to control cost stability while increasing refinement and production. Toyota marketing manager Ernest Bastien said that even though Toyota has sent 125,000 hybrid vehicles running in the world over the last six years, many consumers still are unaware. “Some people still think they must be recharged every night,” said Bastien.

“We’ve already recovered our initial investment, and we’re a full generation ahead of anyone else in the industry,” Bastien said, staying away from that H-Word. “But now, through in-house R and D, we have been able to significantly reduce the cost of major hybrid components…And we can bring to market a total and complete package, all for the price that is significantly less than the average price of a conventional midsize sedan.”

A General Motors loyalist among the media hissed that “there’s no way they can be making a profit on those cars.” Indeed, it seems amazing that Toyota could have already compensated for the enormous cost of developing its hybrid system, or that it can earn a profit while selling a car as technologically loaded as the new Prius for $20,000.

The greater issue is that General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and other manufacturers talk about the fantastic hybrid vehicles they’re designing, but the only two companies with hybrid cars on the streets are Toyota and Honda. If they can keep the price down as they escalate their competition, the clear winners are the consumers. Come to think of it, “clear” is the operative word, so the environment is also a winner.

(John Gilbert writes a weekly automotive column. Reach him by e-mail at cars@jwgilbert.com.)

• 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.
  
  For those who want to keep up with John Gilbert's view of sports, mainly hockey with a Minnesota slant, click on the following:
  
  Click here for sports
  
  

• Exhaust Notes:

  PADDLING
  More and more cars are offering steering-wheel paddles to allow drivers manual control over automatic or CVT transmissions. A good idea might be to standardize them. Most allow upshifting by pulling on the right-side paddle and downshifting with the left. But a recent road-test of the new Porsche Panamera, the paddles for the slick PDK direct-sequential gearbox were counter-intuitive -- both the right or left thumb paddles could upshift or downshift, but pushing on either one would upshift, and pulling back on either paddle downshifted. I enjoy using paddles, but I spent the full week trying not to downshift when I wanted to upshift. A little simple standardization would alleviate the problem.
  
  

  SPEAKING OF PADDLES
  The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has the best paddle system, and Infiniti has made the best mainstream copy of that system for the new Q50, and other sporty models. And why not? It's simply the best. In both, the paddles are long, slender magnesium strips, affixed to the steering column rather than the steering wheel. Pull on the right paddle and upshift, pull on the left and downshift. The beauty is that while needing to upshift in a tight curve might cause a driver to lose the steering wheel paddle for an instant, but having the paddles long, and fixed, means no matter how hard the steering wheel is cranked, reaching anywhere on the right puts the upshift paddle on your fingertips.
  
  

  TIRES MAKE CONTACT
  Even in snow-country, a few stubborn old-school drivers want to stick with rear-wheel drive, but the vast majority realize the clear superiority of front-wheel drive. Going to all-wheel drive, naturally, is the all-out best. But the majority of drivers facing icy roadways complain about traction for going, stopping and steering with all configurations. They overlook the simple but total influence of having the right tires can make. There are several companies that make good all-season or snow tires, but there are precious few that are exceptional. The Bridgestone Blizzak continues to be the best=known and most popular, but in places like Duluth, MN., where scaling 10-12 blocks of 20-30 degree hills is a daily challenge, my favorite is the Nokian WR. Made without compromising tread compound, the Nokians maintain their flexibility no matter how cold it gets, so they stick, even on icy streets, and can turn a skittish car into a winter-beater.