Wendell goal lifts Gophers past Badgers 3-2 in WCHA final
It should have been the best of times for the Wisconsin Badgers, having just accomplished a mini-miracle comeback with two goals in the last minute to send their WomenÂ’s WCHA playoff championship game against Minnesota into overtime. Instead, it became the worst of times, when two penalties in the final 14 seconds of regulation snuffed any rekindled Badgers hope and created an almost inevitable 3-2 victory for Minnesota.
Minnesota improved to 33-2-2 overall, while Wisconsin dropped to 28-8-1. But the records and the final score donÂ’t come close to conveying a stunning finish that left the result both controversial and anticlimactic.
Everyone knew MinnesotaÂ’s strength as the No. 1 rated womenÂ’s hockey team in the nation, and everyone knew of Minnesota-DuluthÂ’s elite perch as the No. 2 team in the WCHA and national rankings. But if there were any lingering doubts about WisconsinÂ’s No. 3 status, they were dispelled by the superb three-day weekend performance of the Badgers at the WomenÂ’s WCHA playoffs.
After beating St. Cloud State on Friday, the Badgers rallied on Saturday to tie UMD, and beat the Bulldogs 3-2 on Saturday when Sharon Cole rapped in Sara BauerÂ’s pass from behind the net at 2:34 of overtime. UMD rebounded as Caroline Ouellette scored two goals and three assists and Riitta Schaublin shut out Ohio State 5-0 in the third-place game, before Sunday afternoonÂ’s final.
Minnesota posed a daunting challenge for WisconsinÂ’s third game in three days, but the Badgers played tough, dedicated defense, and prevented the powerful Gophers from scoring at even strength. Strong as they are offensively, the Gophers also are dominant defensively, so after scoring power play goals late in the second period and early in the third, another Gopher victory seemed inevitable, and an outstanding performance by the Badgers would go down as almost good enough.
But Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson called timeout and pulled Horras for a six-skater attack in the final minute. The Badgers swarmed to the front of the net, and got the puck back to Carla MacLeod at the right point. MacLeodÂ’s shot found its way through the maze of bodies and ruined Jody HorakÂ’s shutout. Minnesota still led, but now by 2-1, and, more importantly, there were still 50 seconds remaining.
“In that situation,†said Johnson, “we needed to get some pucks to the net. ItÂ’s nice to get one early enough to get back to center-ice for a chance to get another one. We were hoping to get the draw back to Carla or Molly (Engstrom).Ââ€
The Badgers did get time for another chance, and they did get the puck back to MacLeod at the right point again. This time she moved up the boards and fired from the circle. Incredibly, with 24 seconds remaining, MacLeodÂ’s shot beat the screened Horak and snared the upper right corner of the net. Two to two.
With only 24 seconds to go, the Wisconsin strategy was simple. “We just wanted to get through those 20 seconds to get to overtime,†Johnson said.
The Badgers got through it, but not unscathed. With 14 seconds to go, referee Jay Mendel called Wisconsin’s Bobbi-Jo Slusar for interference. Normally, in a game of such high intensity, a penalty would have to be flagrant to be considered as time ran out. Veteran officials call it “a feel for the game,†and while games are not supposed to be called more leniently in the later stages, the fact is, they usually are. In this case, however, there had been a lot of collisions that had gone uncalled during the game, which made the late interference call seem even more obtrusive.
The Badgers killed the final 14 seconds, and still had hope, if they could kill that penalty. But at the buzzer, Mendel added another penalty, to WisconsinÂ’s Nikki Burish, for high-sticking. That meant the Badgers would play the first 1:46 of sudden-death overtime for the WCHA playoff championship game two skaters short. Johnson exchanged some words with Mendel, as he walked across the ice at the end of the third period, and his futility had to felt even by the Gopher fans. One questionable penalty would put the Badgers in serious jeopardy, but facing the Gophers two skaters short would make their task in overtime hopeless.
And it was.
The Wisconsin goal and the outnumbered Badgers were surrounded by world-class, white-jerseyed Minnesota Golden Gophers when overtime started. U.S. National linemates Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell and Kelly Stephens were out there, along with U.S. National defenseman Lyndsay Wall, and WCHA freshman of the year Bobbi Ross. Most of them touched the puck, and there was a lot of room to see it for goaltender Megan Horras, because there were only three Badger defenders out there with her. Horras tried to keep up with the angle as the Gophers threw the puck around quickly. Stephens passed from the left side to Darwitz inside left point, and Darwitz, the nationÂ’s scoring leader, immediately relayed it to the right side of the net, where Wendell, a left-handed shooter, and the nationÂ’s top goal-scorer, swung hard.
She didnÂ’t hit the puck squarely, but it didnÂ’t matter. Horras had been on top of her game all weekend, but she couldnÂ’t get all the way across to cover, and WendellÂ’s shot flew, straight and true, but in painstakingly slow yet inevitable motion, finding the open net after only 19 seconds of overtime. It was WendellÂ’s 40th goal, to go with 55 assists for 95 points.
The Gophers streamed off the bench in their home arena, perhaps as relieved as joyful, at escaping WisconsinÂ’s spellbinding last-minute rally with a 3-2 victory.
“IÂ’ve been around hockey a long time, and a lot of strange things happen,†said Johnson, afterward, as he chose his words judiciously. “They (the officials) have a job to do, and IÂ’m sure theyÂ’re going to do it to the best of their ability and capability. The penalties certainly made it interesting. But IÂ’m from the school that you want the players to decide the game.Ââ€
The tournamentÂ’s championship game was testimony to coach JohnsonÂ’s strategy. The Badgers not only harnessed MinnesotaÂ’s explosive offense, but outshot Minnesota 9-3 in the first period. They again harnessed the Gophers effectively in the second period, but when referee Mendel called Lindsay Macy for tripping in the closing seconds of the still-scoreless game, MinnesotaÂ’s potent power play connected with less than five seconds remaining in the second period. Wall fed Wendell on the right point, and WendellÂ’s hard pass through traffic to the left edge was one-timed by Darwitz for a 1-0 lead at 19:46.
“YouÂ’re dealing with world-class players here,†said Johnson. “Not many players could take the puck like Krissy and saucer a pass over to Natalie for a one-timer.Ââ€
Another penalty to Macy early in the third period arranged the scenario again. This time Darwitz and Wall collaborated for a shot and Ross knocked in the rebound at 5:26. The power-play goal and a 2-0 Minnesota lead made it look like another in a long series of good performances that fell short against the Gophers.
“Wisconsin carried play in the first period and most of the second,†said Darwitz, whose goals and two assists boosted her over the 100-point plateau with 39 goals, 63 assists for 102 points. “We played a great third period – the best period of the tournament for us, definitely.Ââ€
When the Badgers failed to generate much attack on a power play of their own midway through the third period, there seemed no doubt in the minds of 1,513 fans that the result was secured. But then came that final minute, and WisconsinÂ’s six-attacker try clicked twice.
Darwitz said she had never played in a game where an opponent had pulled its goalie and scored twice in the last minute. Wendell and Lyndsay Wall said they hadnÂ’t either.
“It’s not a good feeling on the bench, either,†said Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson.
Avalon fills its own niche with all-new model for 2005
PHOENIX, ARIZ. — ThereÂ’s a new Toyota Avalon in the showrooms as a 2005 model. But before customers under age 65 stifle a yawn at the news, this one requires a test drive. ItÂ’s longer, much more contemporary in its styling, and much sportier – sportier? – with a new and more potent engine.
The Toyota Avalon could never be accused of being an ugly duckling. ItÂ’s always been too smoothly stylish for that, ever since it was introduced ten years ago. Back then, Toyota was hard at work expanding its universal movement toward becoming the worldÂ’s No. 1 automaker, and it seemed as though the Avalon was pretty much left in its own cocoon. For example, Toyota was selling as many Camry sedans as it could build, and it also produced the ES300, an impressive entry-level sedan for its upscale Lexus brand, which was basically a Camry with over 100 feature upgrades to justify its Lexus badge. In price, the loaded Camry could reach $32,000, which is about where the base price of the ES300 started.
That didn’t leave much room for any other models on that platform, but in1995, Toyota added the Avalon just the same. It was considerably longer and roomier than the Camry, and with fewer technical upgrades than the ES300. But in reality the Avalon was a stretched Camry with a larger back seat and trunk. The question was, why would Toyota try to squeeze another sedan into that tiny space between the Camry and ES300 – in essence, building a niche car for which there was no niche?
As usual, the world of critics and cynics were wrong, and Toyota was right on. The Avalon has sold, and sold, and sold – hundreds of thousands of them over the last decade. For 2004, the sales dipped to 65,000 – a number many competitive models would be boasting about – so Toyota, using its usual brilliant timing, has introduced the 2005 Avalon. It must be considered a 2005 model because production started before the first of the year, but the Avalon is as entirely new as any 2006. The automotive media got an introductory look at it in Phoenix in January, shortly before it started hitting showrooms with optimistic goals.
For one thing, the Avalon is on an all-new platform for the first time. In the next couple of years, the Camry and the ES300 may end up sharing that platform, but for now, almost like a good-conduct medal, the Avalon gets first crack at it.
Flying in the face of the recent trend to switch to rear-wheel drive, Toyota keeps the Avalon in its front-wheel-drive form, and flaunting the inherent advantages well-known to denizens of snow country. Avalon adds to the driving assets of FWD by stressing the floor in the rear. ItÂ’s flat, from door to door, with no driveshaft hump required in rear-wheel-drive cars, which makes the already spacious compartment seem even larger.
Toyota is marketing the Avalon as “the most American†car in Toyota’s lineup. Designed at Toyota’s Newport Beach, Calif., facility, and built at the Georgetown, Ky., plant, the Avalon is being built by Americans, for Americans. The new car is improved in every category, with four models that include a top-of-the-line Limited and a Touring model, which most capitalizes on the idea of being sportier. An Avalon that is sporty would seem to be a contradiction in terms, because Avalon’s past demographics say its average driver is 67 years old. And getting older.
Toyota makes no apologies to its established demographics. Other manufacturers are trying desperately to aim new cars at younger buyers, but Toyota clearly enjoys selling to more mature customers, who want more comfort than the firmer-suspended sporty sedans. Toyota officials laugh about the accusation that the first Avalon was “Toyota’s Buick,†and the car magazines’ oft-repeated question: “Can Toyota build a better Buick?†Yet by giving the Touring model some exterior alterations, including the hint of a rear spoiler sprouting on the trunklid, and a more serious-looking interior, and racier wheels, as well as the best outlet for the new manual-shift gate on its console-mounted five-speed automatic, Toyota is obviously willing to welcome new customers.
The new car looks good overall. It resembles the new Infiniti M45 from the front, is remindful of the BMW 5 Series a bit from the rear, and it takes on a similarity to the new Cadillac STS in silhouette. Those are among the sportiest vehicles in that mid-luxury range.
With Lexus above it, Avalon wears its Toyota name proudly, which is where the Buick analogies come in. ToyotaÂ’s market research indicates that Avalon owners love their cars, and had very few gripes, but were adamant about wanting to show off being smart, successful, and discerning, without needing the luxury-car identity to show it. That means theyÂ’d rather have a special sedan wearing ToyotaÂ’s insignia than flaunt the upscale image conveyed by Lexus.
The pricing is interesting, too. The base XL is starts at a Camry-like $26,350; the Touring model starts at $28,600; the XLS, which adds a sunroof, leather interior and 17-inch alloy wheels, starts at $30,800; and the top Limited model starts at $33,540, with navigation system, stability control and adaptive cruise control that maintains an interval as well as vehicle speed. At that, Toyota projects selling 85,000 Avalons in its first year, and Toyota has the capability of building 100,000 a year.
As big as Toyota is, and as accurate and successful as it’s been in overtaking Chrysler and Ford and setting its sights on General Motors, Toyota paid attention to its customers, who said they’d like a bigger car with a bigger engine, and differentiated more from Camry. They said they didn’t mind bland styling, leading to the unofficial slogan of “Thou shalt not covet style.†Furthermore, Toyota at first planned to put the shift lever on the dash, similar to the new Sienna van and Prius hybrid, but surveys indicated that 37 percent would be deterred from buying the car if the shifter wasn’t on the console. So it is.
The new engine has variable valve-timing on both intake and exhaust camshafts, and the 3.5-liter, 24-valve unit boasts a 70-horsepower increase over the 210 standard since 2000, and it runs away from the 192 horses of the 1995 original. The length of 197.2 is 5.3 inches longer than the previous model, and the 111-inch wheelbase is an increase of 4 inches.
Among improvements, the doors open wider, to almost 90 degrees, for easier entry and exit. The windshield wiper is one piece, and operates by rain-sensing, calculating the rain-drops hitting the windshield and the vehicle speed, while the washer spray comes from under the cowling, where it can be heated. The windshield glass is designed for sound deadening, as well. The gauges have brighter, optitron instruments, and a pull-out trap door conceals the audio system, which starts with a nine-speaker unit with a single CD player, and can be upgraded to a six-CD unit, or to a 12-speaker JBL unit. A cassette player also is included, unless you choose the navigation system.
Remote controls on the steering wheel operate the audio, the dual-zone heat/air, the navigation system, and the cruise. The seats are both heated and ventilated in the SLX and Limited, meaning interior air circulates through the seat cushion and backrest. The seat cushions can be adjusted in length to accommodate taller, longer-legged drivers, and the rear seat backrests recline 25-35 degrees. A rear shade is power operated, and there are turn-signal and puddle lights on the outside mirrors.
The Avalon also offers smart key at the Limited level. That means you can unlock the doors and start the vehicle without a key, so long as you have the key on your person. Touch the door handle and it unlocks, push the button and the car starts. In addition, the Avalon has remote starting. You push the key fob in a certain sequence and the engine starts, either for warm-up or maybe to run the air-conditioning in hot weather. The engine runs for 10 minutes, then shuts itself off. As safeguards, if you push the unlock button on the key fob from outside, open the door, or put your foot on the brake inside, the engine stops running.
The navigation system can recognize five million points of interest, and can be voice-actuated. For example, if you ask for “an Italian restaurant,†all the Italian restaurants in the area pop up on the screen.
ToyotaÂ’s target market is in two specific groups. One is the core of current owners, or Camry or other midsize buyers interested in moving up. The company research says that 40 percent of sales are from those replacing other Toyotas with Avalons. The second group are those moving to Avalon from competing brands, such as Maxima, Accord, and yes, Buick. Even though a lot of Avalons are from Camry owners moving up, Camry sales have remained constant enough that any departures are refilled by new customers, it seems.
Projections are for 14 percent of Avalon buyers choosing the XL, 12 percent going for the Touring, 45 percent for the XLS, and a solid 30 percent for the new Limited model. In ToyotaÂ’s scheme, adding the Limited will offer another upscale alternative with the comfortable Toyota name, and adding the Touring model will give buyers the option of a sportier model in looks and performance. At this point, who can question ToyotaÂ’s projections? If the Avalon was a niche car for which there was no niche, it simply carved out a niche of its own.
(John Gilbert writes weekly auto reviews, votes on the Car of the Year jury, and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Larger Jetta expands into compact/midsize segment
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — It is the stuff of automotive legend how the United States adopted the old Volkswagen Beetle, as well as the new Volkswagen Beetle. But so did the entire automotive world. In fact, they kept making the old Beetle for South America sales right up until the new one took over. Far more subtle, but possibly more significant, has been the U.S. acceptance of the Volkswagen Jetta.
The compact Jetta sedan has done OK around the rest of the world, but not as well as the hatchback Golf on which itÂ’s based. In the U.S., however, 2.2 million Jettas have been sold during its 25-year lifespan. So, what can VW do for an encore?
Just in time to celebrate both the 25th anniversary of the Jetta and the 50th anniversary of the creation of Volkswagen of America, Volkswagen is introducing a new 2005 Jetta that may be the most comprehensively changed Jetta in the carÂ’s five-generation history.
There is no resemblance between the 2004 Jetta, which is a surprise in itself. The 2004 is a neatly styled, very well-proportioned compact sedan, with an adequate rear seat, trunk, and roomy front buckets, and variations that can range from mundane to super-economical, to startlingly fun to drive. The new 2005 model. While surprisingly different, the new car retains the family value benefits of the car it replaces, and adds to those assets considerably, having grown by seven inches in length, to 179.3 inches, and by three inches to 101.5 inches in wheelbase, and by one inch, to 69.3 inches in width. The extra room pays off with a 16-cubic-foot trunk and a roomy, 60-40 split rear seat.
We were limited to the basic Jetta with automatic transmissions at our press introduction, which might have been a good idea. When there are a variety of models, itÂ’s too tempting to try to latch onto the sportiest model and drive it the most. This way, the sporty models are still to come. The base Jetta comes with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine with four valves per cylinder, developing 150 horsepower at 5,000 RPMs, and 170 foot-pounds of torque at 3,750 RPMs, with 90 percent of that torque available from 900 revs on up. Those numbers represent a 30-percent improvement over the old carÂ’s 115 horsepower, and 39 percent more torque than the old four-cylinder.
I asked if the five-cylinder was a derivative from the Audi five-cylinder that used to power the Audi 90 a dozen years ago, but it is not. It has an impressive heritage, however. Audi and VW own Lamborghini, the Italian exotic sports car builder, and the first model built under AudiÂ’s auspices was the Gallardo, powered by a 5.0-liter V10 engine. The 2.5 five-cylinder engine in the Jetta is one bank of the Lamborghini V10.
A stick shift will perk up performance, presumably, because good as the automatic is, it kept us from extracting full power, which always felt adequate, but never left me thinking we were going half as swiftly as a Lamborghini. All the time we spent driving in the mountains east of San Diego, I not only was eager for a manual transmission, but for the upcoming models.
Next out will be the Jetta TDI, with a 1.9-liter turbocharged diesel that has low horsepower but high torque and fuel-economy that can reach into the 40s. After that will come the GLI model – one former designation the new Jetta won’t eliminate. That’s the sporty model, and it will come with Audi’s new and fantastic direct-injection 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which has no resemblance to the outgoing VW 2.0-liter, and has shown dazzling power in the bigger Audi A4. It should make the Jetta get up and howl.
Jetta’s new grille is what VW vice president Len Hunt calls “our corporate grille,†and completely different lines that make the car look quite a bit larger. That’s another surprise. The new Jetta IS quite a bit larger. Hunt, we must recall, used to be a top executive of Audi, and now has ascended to the top job at VW of America, but his lineage might be showing. The so-called “corporate grille†of the Jetta bears a strong resemblance to the new “corporate grille†of Audi, as shown on the A6 and A4, and I wondered if it wasn’t an overall VW-Group corporate grille, but Hunt frowned and said he didn’t see the resemblance.
To me, the resemblance remains quite obvious, since both are inverted trapezoid shapes, with the wide part at the top, and a bold horizontal bar across the middle of the opening. On the Audi, that grille is large and obvious; on the Jetta, when itÂ’s made of bright chrome, itÂ’s even more obvious.
The new Jetta takes Volkswagen into new territory. The first Jetta was basically a Golf with a trunk. The car evolved, through renovations, to become a premium subcompact – maybe the premium road car of all subcompacts, and then competed against premium compacts. The new version of the Jetta will spread that competition further, challenging in both the huge premium midsize segment, against Accords, Camrys, Mazda 6es, Altimas and Legacy models. Because fluctuating sizes can blur the parameters, Volkswagen officials also have designs on taking customers away from the entry luxury class, which includes the Acura TSX, Volvo S40, and others.
In normal flat-land driving, I found the new Jetta to be quite responsive and adequately powered. While pushing it hard through some mountain ranges and valleys, the taut, predictable steering and handling was impressively precise on the twistiest switchbacks. I tried both leaving the transmission in automatic mode, as well as hand-shifting it with the Tiptronic to hold third gear for many of the tighter curves in the mountains.
Every new Jetta for the worldÂ’s market will be built in the Puebla, Mexico, plant, which is located 60 miles southeast of Mexico City, and which has undergone an $800 million transformation — $200 million of which went toward an engine assembly line, and another $200 million of which has gone to install 360 robotic devices to include such things as body-assembly welding lasers. The plant employs 13,000 workers.
A lot of attention has gone to reducing wind noise and quality control, and less noticeable but far more significant is the attention to strengthening and stiffening the platform. The new Jetta is 60 percent stiffer in static rigidity, and 30 percent improved in both dynamic rigidity and against dynamic flexing. The stiffer car makes the handling of the revised but familiar front suspension and the new fully independent four-link rear suspension feel firmly secure.
There will be four trim versions of the Jetta by summertime, and Hunt, a pleasant fellow of British heritage, said that Volkswagen had “gotten rid of the old names, like GL, and GLX…†although his celebratory tone might have been what they call “understated British humor,†because he then told us what the new models would be called. The base trim level is – are you ready for this? – the “Value†model. Next will come the “2.5†model, although the 2.5 is available in all models, and later on the Jetta also will be available in “Package 1,†and then “Package 2.Ââ€
The names might sound funny, and maybe they’re flashier in German, or in Mexico, but we wonÂ’t complain about the pricing. The “Value†starts at $17,900, pretty well equipped with the 2.5 engine, four-wheel antilock disc brakes, electromechanical steering, side-curtain airbags, and five-speed manual. Add $1,000 for a six-speed automatic with Tiptronic manual-shift feature. The “2.5†is named after the engine, although the same engine is in all four levels of the initial version, and it starts at $20,390 by adding dual-zone climate control, heated seats, rain-sensing wipers, stability control, and a six-CD changer. The “Package 1†model is $22,350, and includes sunroof, premium sound system, and 16-inch wheels instead of 15. “Package 2†starts at $25,050, and comes with leather seats, wood-trimmed interior, and 12-way power driver seat.
Not bad, for what you get. I felt that a stick shift would have made the five-cylinder feel quite a lot livelier than the automatic, and would make the base models at each level perform admirably. Safety characteristics include side-curtain and thorax airbags, crash-active head restraints, and, most prominently, the four-wheel disc brakes are 11 percent larger in the front and 23 percent larger at the rear.
The old Jetta is gone; long live the new Jetta. But get those other models out!
(John Gilbert writes weekly auto reviews, and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Denver wins, leads Final Five charge toward Frozen Four
SAINT PAUL, MN. — Who else but the WCHA could hold a five-team tournament and have everybody win? ThatÂ’s what happened with the leagueÂ’s annual Final Five playoff, where the five first-round playoff winners convened at Xcel Energy Center. Denver, the top seed by the slim margin of goal-differential over co-champion Colorado College, defeated the Tigers 1-0 to win the Final Five championship.
That was on Saturday night, and on Sunday, the NCAA selection committee named Denver, CC, third-place winner North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin to the 16-team NCAA tournament field, meaning for the first time all five Final Five teams reached the select field for the NCAA tournament.
It was no surprise that Denver and Colorado College, both of whom jockeyed for the nation’s No. 1 rank through the last several weeks, were both seeded No. 1 at different regionals. The surprise was that Minnesota, which lost 3-0 to CC in the semifinals, and also lost 4-2 in the third-place game to North Dakota – in what was the third game in three days for the Sioux – was also named a No. 1 seed. The Golden Gophers were the top ranked team in the nation for three weeks in a row in midseason, before struggling through much of the second half, but their strong first half entrenched their status in the pairwise computer rankings used by the selection committee.
North Dakota, playing its best hockey of the season, defeated Wisconsin 3-2 in the “play-in†game between the fourth-seeded Badgers and fifth-seeded Fighting Sioux. North Dakota then came back with a strong performance against Denver, losing 2-1 in overtime. The Sioux also lost Robbie Bina when he was checked from behind into the side boards and suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck. Denver’s Geoff Paukovich, who was given a minor penalty on the play, was suspended for the league championship game after league officials reviewed the videotape of the hit.
North Dakota also lost star forward Brady Murray with an aggravated shoulder injury, 15 seconds earlier, and played heroically the rest of the way with 10 forwards before losing the game, which was its second in an 18-hour span. When the Fight should have been completely out of the Sioux, they came back the third day and stung Minnesota 4-2 for the third-place trophy.
The Final Five has no special bearing on the NCAA Selection Committee, but North Dakota’s courageous three-day run earned the Sioux all-tournament berths for winger Rastaslav Spirko and defenseman Nick Fuher, while Colorado College winger Brett Sterling and goaltender Curtis McElhinney also made the select six, and Denver center Gabe Gauthier – who scored both goals in the 2-1 overtime victory over North Dakota – and defenseman Matt Laatsch rounded out the all-tourney team. Sterling was named tournament MVP.
Denver coach George Gwozdecky stuck with his alternating goaltender plan, using Glenn Fisher in FridayÂ’s semifinal, and coming back with freshman Peter Mannino for the title game 1-0 shutout over Colorado College. Mannino also shut out the Tigers 5-0 in the last game of the regular season, lifting the Pioneers into a tie with CC for the MacNaughton Cup, and earning the top playoff seed in the WCHA on the basis of goal-differential. Gwozdecky had difficulty comparing this team to last year, when Denver was eliminated in the first round of league playoffs by CC, and missed the Final Five, only to get voted back in when the NCAA selected its 16 teams. Rested and ready, Denver went all the way to capture the NCAA championship, with, of all things, a 1-0 title-game shutout.
“All season, this team hasnÂ’t set any long-term goals,†said Gwozdecky. “ThatÂ’s given us the opportunity to win every weekend, and we are not emotionally spent.Ââ€
That stability, as well as their experience and poise, could make Denver the pre-tournament favorite to defend its NCAA crown. They got something of a break in NCAA pairings, where things worked out even though the Pioneers actually ranked as the third-best team by NCAA selection committee reasoning.
In the committee’s ratings, Boston College ended up No. 1, and is the only non-WCHA team to gain a No. 1 seed. Colorado College was ranked No. 2, despite the final loss to Denver, which was No. 3. A major decision the committee faced was between Minnesota and Cornell for the Nos. 4 and 5 slots. It came down to the “common-opponent†phase of evaluation, and the only common foe was Michigan, which beat Cornell, while Minnesota had beaten Michigan 6-1 at Thanksgiving time.
Following Cornell came Michigan, North Dakota and New Hampshire, in order, as the remaining No. 2 seeds, then Harvard, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Boston University, in order, as the No. 3 seeds, and Maine, Colgate, Bemidji and Mercyhurst as the four No. 4 seeds. Each regional gets one team of each seeding group.
Had Minnesota been bumped to fifth, it would have become the top No. 2 seed, while Cornell would have been No. 1 at Amherst, N.Y., and then either Denver or Colorado College would have been sent to Mariucci Arena as No. 1. But since Minnesota is No. 1, the Gophers remain home to host to the West Regional, while Denver goes to Amherst, N.Y., as No. 1 seed in the Northeast Regional, and CC goes to Grand Rapids, Mich., as No. 1 seed at the Midwest Regional. North Dakota, which put on a courageous display at the WCHA tournament, is No. 2 seed at Worcester, Mass., in the Eastern Regional, where Boston College is the top seed. Wisconsin remained ranked high enough to be a No. 3 seed at the Midwest Regional.
That leaves WCHA teams in position to challenge for all four Frozen Four spots for the April 7-9 event at Columbus, Ohio. The toughest regional might be the Midwest, where CC faces Colgate, while Wisconsin takes on host Michigan in the other Friday semifinal. In the East Regional, also Friday and Saturday, Boston College is heavily favored over Mercyhurst, and if the highly ranked Eagles prevail, they would face the winner between North Dakota and Boston University in another tough regional.
In the Northeast Regional, Denver is heavily favored over Bemidji State, the College Hockey America champion, while New Hampshire faces Harvard in the other semifinal on Saturday. If Denver beats a strong Bemidji entry, the Pioneers would be solid favorites against either Harvard or UNH for the Frozen Four berth.
Denver, CC, North Dakota and Wisconsin all move eastward, where they will find plenty of competition, but none of them probably mind avoiding coming to Mariucci Arena, where they might have had to beat Minnesota at Mariucci Arena to advance. The Gophers hardly have an easy route, however, facing Maine in the Saturday afternoon semifinal, while Cornell faces Ohio State in the other game. Minnesota may be the No. 1 seed in the regional and Maine No. 4, but the Gophers are trying to regroup after losing twice at the Final Five, while Maine finished the season on an upsurge, losing 2-1 in two overtimes to Boston College in the Hockey East tournament semifinals.
While the WCHA gained five slots in the NCAA field, Hockey East had four, with BC, BU, New Hampshire and Maine, while the ECAC got three, with Cornell, Harvard and Colgate, and the CCHA only got two, with Michigan and Ohio State. If the five WCHA entries all play up to their top potential, the disappointment will be that the Frozen Four only has four openings.
Aston Martin DB9 ‘Bonds’ luxury with high performance
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — Driving the Aston Martin DB9 through the mountains of Southern California brings to life the class and luxury of exotic sports cars, along with recurring thoughts of James Bond movies past and future. Surrounded by all that high-strength metal, and the more visible leather, mahogany and brushed aluminum, and the sweet sound of the V12 engine, you imagine being able to live the lifestyle of someone who might buy such a car, far more than you think about going out on a race track.
But after the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race in mid-March, the luxurious refinement of the DB9 suddenly suggests a different connotation.
The automotive world and auto racing used to be closely aligned – remember “win on Sunday, sell on Monday?†— but that connection has mostly gone away, living only in the fertile minds of public-relations and advertising types. Everyone knows that no automaker builds the identical frames or the aging pushrod V8s called for by the NASCAR stock car rules, or even the “funny car” replica bodies of those race cars. It’s the same for NHRA drag-racers, where old technology, twisted tightly, prevails.
In endurance racing, however, there still is some validity. True, there are one-off prototype cars running at the front, but there also are real-world sports cars competing as well. Porsche and Ferrari have long competed at LeMans, Sebring, and other endurance venues, and in recent years, Dodge Vipers have made solid inroads, so to speak, against factory-aided Corvettes. This year, enough factory-aided Chevrolet C6 Corvettes were in place to establilsh a dominant position.
All of that occurred just after I had the chance to be one of a dozen auto journalists invited to San Diego for an introductory road test of the new Aston Martin DB9. The car has a low, slinky, and undeniably beautiful body. The angular headlight housing slashes across the outer reaches of that sleek nose to resemble an attacking raptor. The familiar Aston Martin grille looks more like a hungry shark coming at you.
When I say “familiar,†the grille from the legendary British auto maker has been seen on all the Aston Martins you’ve seen on U.S. roadways — a number which might, indeed, number zero. But it has become familiar because of the standard-issue sports cars driven by James Bond through all the novels and movies popularizing secret agent 007. Those, of course, were fitted with machine guns, bullet-proof shields, ejection seats, missile-launchers, and all sorts of futuristic gadgets to give Bond characters from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan a clearcut edge in BondÂ’s confrontations with the worldÂ’s bad guys.
In the process, those Aston Martins became as popular as the plots, and the, ahem, leading ladies. Brosnan tried switching to a BMW sports car last time, but in the next Bond movie, heÂ’s back in an Aston.
Under ownership of Ford Motor Company, Aston Martin is similarly rejuvenated in real life, taking its pride and creating the new car that is up to and beyond contemporary standards. Aston Martin is optimistic about doubling its presence in the U.S., while still retaining the mystique of being a sports car for people who enjoy its unique statement, and owners are not likely to see any other Aston Martins in neighborhood driveways.
Company officials insist the DB9 is still purely Aston Martin, made better because the company put to good use all of its new-found relationships. The V12 engine, for example, was designed by Ford’s Dearborn gang, which just got through piecing together the Ford GT powerplant. The engines are built by hand at a special Aston Martin facility within FordÂ’s complex in Cologne, Germany. The extremely light and rigid aluminum frame was designed in coordination with Ford affiliate Volvo, at its cutting-edge safety structure facilities.
The worldly assets all come home to Aston MartinÂ’s new base, in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. The DB9 is the first car built at the Gaydon plant, which has only one robot, for applying adhesives to fit body panels. Otherwise, everything is done by hand. The 6-liter V12 produces 450 horsepower at 6,000 RPMs, and 420 foot-pounds of torque at 5,000 RPMs, running 0-60 in less than five seconds. The aluminum double-wishbone front and rear suspension and the stiff chassis are calculated perfectly, with the engine mounted just behind the front axle and the transmission located just ahead of the rear axle, to create perfect 50-50 balance on the axles.
This is not a car for everyman. It is hand built, so only a precious few can be built. This year, 1,100 DB9s are scheduled for construction, 300 coupes and 800 Volante convertibles, and a V8 model is coming. All that exclusivity comes at a cost. The DB9 coupe base price is $155,000, while the companion Volante convertible lists for $168,000. Destination, plus such options as a navigation system, and heated seats, must be added to those prices. If you want the automatic transmission with paddle-shifting capabilities, it’s a $5,000 option, for example.
It was mentioned that Aston Martin also intended to enter the world endurance racing competition, which sounded good, but I didn’t give it much thought at the time, because anybody can enter a race. So we went out on the highway, where we were impressed by running the DB9s through their paces, up into the mountains east of San Diego. Somebody complained that there seemed to be quite a bit of noise entering the cockpit, but except for some tire sound over rough pavement, any intrusion of that V12 revving up toward 7,000 RPMs was such high-tech music that it not only wasn’t objectionable, but we chose to ignore the sophisticated audio system so as not to interfere with the sound.
As a long-time motorsports reporter, after returning home I tuned in to a website to follow the chronology of what was going on down at Sebring. From practice, I noted that, sure enough, a pair of factory-supported Aston Martin DBR9s had been thrown into the GT1 competition. Without a lot of practice or preparation, nobody expected it to win, but instead to use the 12-hour endurance race to measure the new car’s status.
Surprisingly, the No. 58 Aston Martin had qualified fourth in GT1 class, behind the top Corvettes, and the No. 57 DB9 had qualified fifth. After the first three hours, David Brabham and his co-drivers were running in third place in the No. 58 car, having covered 303.4 miles, followed by the No. 57 DBR9 fourth. That was impressive, even though the best DB9 lap was 0.5 seconds a lap slower than the fastest Corvette lap. After six hours, the No. 57 carÂ’s best lap had improved from 0.5 to 0.05 seconds slower than the best Corvette lap, while, having covered 166 laps or 614.2 miles, it had pulled into second place in GT1 class behind the Ron Fellows Corvette, while the other DB9 was fourth in class.
At the nine-mile mark, the No. 58 DBR9 has been involved in a collision, and crew members worked feverishly for an hour to make what the release said was a “chassis adjustment,†then got the car back on the track. The No. 57 car, by then, had completed 225 laps, or 8,325 miles, with its best lap now 0.2 seconds FASTER than the best Corvette lap, or that of any other GT1 car. When the leading Corvette suffered some mechanical breakdown that required attention in the pits, the Aston Martin took over first place in the GT1 class.
At the completion of all 12 hours, Brabham and his codrivers had maintained a steady pace and brought the No. 57 car to the finish line first in GT1 and fourth overall, beating the herd of Corvette C6-Rs. The other DBR9 finished eighth in GT1 and 15th overall – despite its additional one-hour pit stop. Choosing to make its first competitive run in such a world-class race may have seemed foolhardy, but when the DBR9 won the race, it turned out to be far more than the measuring-stick of Aston Martin’s competitiveness.
You may have missed any published accounts of the 12 Hours of Sebring, what with NASCAR holding a stock car race, and everything from the NCAA basketball tournament to congressional hearings on how formerly skinny baseball players so suddenly gained enormous muscles at about the same time they went from 25 to 70 home runs a year. Besides, Aston Martin, and even Ford, might have been unprepared to capitalize on the surprising victory at Sebring. More important is how it reflects on the production success of the DB9.
Every exotic sports car boasts of speed capability somewhere north of 175 miles per hour, and although it’s been ignored by the car magazines who focus on Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Corvette, the Aston Martin DB9 reports a top speed of 186. Not that real-world highways – this side of the German autobahns, at least – allow that sort of speed, but the carÂ’s capabilities are awesome to control.
The DB9 stands apart from other premium sports cars, by being much more understated than Ferraris or Lamborghinis, yet more exotic than the competition-honed Porsches. The DB9 sits low, like a snake that seems to coat the pavement it stands on, while its silhouette rises gracefully over the cockpit and falls away in a fluid flow of fastback lines to the nicely-contoured rear façade.
The fleet of DB9s for the media introductory drive all had the Touchtronic 2 automatic, a German transmission also used by BMW, Audi and Jaguar. Replacing the six-speed manual shifter, it is a shift-by-wire six-speed automatic, activated by magnesium shift paddles at fingertip reach behind the steering wheel. Pull the right paddle for upshifts, and the left for downshifts. It shifts smoothly and immediately, although when I took off hard, accelerating from a T-intersection stop sign into a 90-degree left, I became a bit uneasy learning that the paddles are fixed. So I had to grope before realizing that if you’re turning while running out of revs, you must take your hand off the wheel to find the shift paddle.
That, I suppose, is something youÂ’d get used to. And at least, you know where you can find it.
Perfectly fitted leather seats, are part of the benefit of hand-crafting, and even more noticeable is the wood trim. In almost all other cars, wood trim means a paper-thin appliqués shaved off a slab of wood and then pasted onto the dash and coated with lacquer to the point of being indistinguishable from plastic. In the DB9 interior, you get wood. Large, furniture-size chunks of wood. And you can select mahogany, walnut, or bamboo, depending on color preference. Aluminum trim adds a technical edge to that luxurious leather and wood.
While Aston Martins are rare to find on the road, the company intends to have them become less-rare. The 35 dealers currently selling Aston Martins in the U.S. are more than double the15 dealerships in 2001, although the closest one to Minnesota is in Chicago at present. While the company wants to sell a lot more DB9s, it wonÂ’t matter to the interested customers. TheyÂ’re not buying a car, so much as joining an exclusive club confined only to those who live a particular lifestyle, and would like to have a uniquely classy vehicle in order to display it.
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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