Fighting Sioux take the high road into NCAA tournament

There are no guarantees for the North Dakota hockey team in the NCAA tournament this weekend. Because the Fighting Sioux must play in the East Regional at Worcester, Mass., they will go from probable underdogs against Boston University in FridayÂ’s opening game, to certain underdogs against Boston College in SaturdayÂ’s region final.

Not an easy path, to Columbus and the Frozen Four. However, the Fighting Sioux didnÂ’t flinch at being routed along the dirt road.
A year ago, Dean Blais was known as one of the premier coaches in hockey as the head coach at North Dakota, and two of the nationÂ’s top players and top scorers were Zach Parise and Brendon Bochenski. The season ended, Parise turned pro, and so did Bochenski, then so did coach Blais, who took a job as one of the associate coaches with the Columbus NHL team.

That was just the start of the tough trail for North Dakota. Dave Hakstol rose from an assistant position to become head coach, and with Brad Berry and Cary Eades as assistants, he started reassembling the Fighting Sioux. Then the parade of injuries started. The Sioux didnÂ’t need a team bus, they needed an ambulance. The teamÂ’s fortunes went up and down, but by the end of the season, things started to fall into place

After holding off UMD to claim the fifth and final home-ice spot in the WCHA playoffs, North Dakota crushed UMD 8-2 and 6-1. Their reward was the Fighting Sioux got the chance to play three games in three days, if they could win the play-in game against Wisconsin, a team that tied for third ahead of the Sioux.

Nobody, starting with rookie head coach Dave Hakstol, has taken anything for granted. They had to face a higher-seeded Wisconsin team in the WCHA play-in game, and they won 3-2.

“Our goal tonight,” Hakstol said after that game, “was that we wanted to get back here Friday afternoon.”

That meant they had to win that first game. “This was just a continuation of the series we’ve had with Wisconsin this season. It was physical, and there was a good pace to it.”

With three goals in the game, the Sioux had nine players get one point each, and Jordan Parise played well in goal with 33 saves. Hakstol was asked if the Sioux were reaching a peak of their seasonÂ’s play.
“We’re getting there,” Hakstol said. “We’ve played pretty well the past three or four weeks, and that’s because we’re close to being healthy. People say our fourth line played well, and I really don’t consider them a fourth line, it’s just that they haven’t been together much. They added some stability, because we were able to use the whole bench.”

That fourth line, with Brian Canady centering Erik Fabian and James Massen, came with a huge goal against Wisconsin. Fabian jarred the puck loose with a big hit, then Canady rushed into the Wisconsin zone, making a perfect pass that Massen – a right-handed shooter coming in on the left side – was able to one-time for a 2-0 lead.

Hakstol was asked if he thought the victory would give his team an NCAA berth, and he said: “The bottom line is, the only thing we can control is our play.”

The victory meant a quick turnaround, from Thursday night to the first Friday afternoon semifinal – against WCHA champ Denver. Hakstol’s relief at being healthy was short-lived, because in the second period, with the game tied 1-1, Brady Murray, who had missed 15 games with shoulder problems, reinjured the shoulder. On the next shift, sophomore defenseman Robbie Bina was checked from behind into the side boards and needed to be helped from the ice on a stretcher. He suffered a broken bone in his neck. A minor penalty was called on Denver’s penalty-leader, Geoff Paukovich, although post-game review caused WCHA officials to suspend Paukovich for the championship game.

The midgame timing of the incident was interesting. There have been a lot of hockey teams that would have responded to such incidents, and the loss of a key player on a call that they found disagreeable, with some blatant hostility. Some Fighting Sioux teams might have been first to vent such animosity. But the Sioux simply raised their intensity level, and took the game to the Pioneers. But Gabe GauthierÂ’s second goal of the game, in the first minute of overtime, gave Denver a 2-1 victory.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you there wasn’t a lot of emotion,” said Hakstol. “But it’s playoff time. We tried to focus on what was important, and we played well, even though we had to play the rest of the game with 10 forwards.”

It was at that point that the Sioux left the rough and rocky road for the high road. Nick Fuher, who scored North Dakota’s goal and was named to the all-tournament team, said: “There was a lot of emotion in the game, but we’re a team that plays on emotion.”

The best praise came from Denver coach George Gwozdecky, who knew his top-seeded Pioneers had escaped a passionate test. “First of all,” Gwozdecky said, “I want to give a great deal of credit to North Dakota. They did a tremendous job, and they gave us all kinds of problems. They were very well coached, and they forced us to play in our defensive zone for long periods of time. It was as difficult and tiring a job as we’ve had to do all year.

“It sure didn’t look like they had played last night.”

The next day, the Sioux had to come back for their third major effort in three days and face Minnesota on the same Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center ice. With 14,730 on hand for the afternoon third-place game, North Dakota, in HakstolÂ’s mind, was still playing to control what they could control, and not worry about the NCAA seedings.

Quinn Fylling gave North Dakota a 1-0 lead at 9:23 of the first period, but Minnesota tied it a minute later, as the Sioux looked spent, understandably, and were outshot 11-3 for the first period. When the Gophers went up 2-1 on a power-play goal in the second period, the Sioux were continuing to be outshot heavily. They drew a penalty, and things looked bleak.

But Rastislav Spirko – called “Sparky” by his teammates – lived up that nickname at 10:53. He rushed up the ice, 1-on-1 with Minnesota defenseman Chris Harrington. Spirko, a freshman from Vrutky, Slovakia, made a couple of dekes and Harrington went down, then Spirko retrieved the puck, put a great move on goaltender Kellen Briggs, and easily tucked the puck in behind him at the left edge for a 2-2 tie.

Early in the third period, defenseman Matt Greene whistled a shot from inside the right point past Briggs on the short side, and late in the final period, Fuher carried in 2-on-1, faked a pass, deked, and beat Briggs to the short side, clinching a 4-2 Sioux victory. When they should have been exhausted from their third game in three days, the Sioux outshot Minnesota 12-5 in the pivotal third period.

“We’re here, it was a big game, and it doesn’t matter whether it was the third game in three days, or the fifth game in five days,” said Greene.

He noted that the team had taken time to visit Bina in Regions Hospital, and while there had been no condition report given about their fallen comrade, Greene said: “We saw him today and it was pretty tough to see a guy on your team lying there. But he was in good spirits. If you know him, he’s a pretty funny kid, and he told a couple of good jokes.”

Spirko, who joined Fuher on the all-tournament team, said: “That was big motivation. We were playing for Robbie.”

Hakstol, who seemed to learn a lot about himself and his team as this season progressed, obviously got a cram-course in both during the three-day tournament.

“On the large scale, big-picture, national scene, there probably wasn’t a lot of meaning to this game,” Hakstol said. “But within our locker room, it meant a lot. When you put it all together, with guys out, we not only survived, we turned the game our way. The mood in the locker room was that if you put this jersey on, you play to win.
“We had to put three new players in the lineup. Scottie Foyt stepped in and got an assist on our first goal. Lee Marvin gave us a lift. And Kyle Radke played a good role out there. Jordan Parise did his job in goal, and I’m proud of the way our team found a way to win.

“We’ve shown the ability over and over to put the pieces back together, to fight back and battle back.”

And Fighting Sioux reward is that they get to play on, to challenge BostonÂ’s best, in the form of Boston University and then, maybe, Boston College, the No. 1 ranked team in the country. But nobody who watched the Fighting Sioux perform in the WCHA Final Five would bet against them. Gwozdecky, in fact, said he told some of the North Dakota players that he had a feeling they might meet again at NCAA time. The Fighting Sioux would go for that.

Accord takes hybrid technology further mainstream

The Accord Hybrid is being described as a major success because it doesnÂ’t stand out from other Accords, it is a mainstream sedan that just has more power and gets better fuel economy. That sounds good, and proves that Honda is continuing to make its hybrid cars fit into the automotive mainstream, a trend it began by making the Civic Hybrid look the same as other Civics.

But we need to look deep, beyond the many glowing reviews, and the impressive accomplishment of finishing a strong third in the Car of the Year competition, behind the Chrysler 300 and the Mustang – beating out such luminaries as the Corvette, the Audi A6, the Acura RL, and the Volvo S40.

It has been apparent for a few years now that some foreign manufacturers have built cars ideally suited to American drivers and American driving requirements, and in the case of a company like Honda, the result has been a major benefit to U.S. auto-buyers. But a funny thing has happened to Honda as it was building better-quality cars, with exemplary technology and everlasting quality, durability and economy.

In my opinion, Honda may have figured out U.S. driving desires too well. And the Accord Hybrid is Exhibit A in my file.

To start with, letÂ’s qualify my view with the fact that I donÂ’t know of a more convinced advocate of hybrid technology than I am. Vastly improved fuel economy and surprisingly improved power are gained by linking smaller high-tech gasoline engines with silently potent electric motors, which are powered by battery packs and generators that are charged and recharged by both the gas engine and captive energy from regenerative brakes. Honda and Toyota have dueled admirably for supremacy in the hybrid world, and their only valid challenger now on the market is Ford, with its new Escape Hybrid, using its own technology.

All of the SUVs before this year have been aimed specifically at spectacular fuel-economy figures, and when the Honda Insight can hit 70 miles per gallon, and the Civic Hybrid can hit 48, and the Toyota Prius can also top 40 miles per gallon – even if it can’t quite hit the 61 mpg of the EPA’s estimate – we’re all better off as gasoline surges toward $2.50 per gallon. The Escape Hybrid, also, can get to the high-30s as the first hybrid SUV.

All of those have comparatively small, high-mileage gas engines that would work for adequate commuting power alone, and surpass their larger-engine siblings when linked to the interactive battery packs and electric motors. The Insight, Civic and new Prius all have tiny gas engines, and because the Escape is larger, as an SUV, it uses MazdaÂ’s excellent 2.3-liter four –cylinder gas engine – a 30-miles-per-gallon gem in compact car form — with its battery pack. And the Insight tops them all for gas mileage because it has a tiny three-cylinder gas engine.

So I was curious about the Accord Hybrid, because Accords have been one of the top two selling sedans in the country with the Toyota Camry, and Accord might outsell Camry but Honda doesnÂ’t sell them to fleets. It has always had more than adequate power from its VTEC four-cylinder engines, although it added an even stronger V6 several years ago. When the Accord Hybrid came out for this year, it came with the 3.0-liter V6 gasoline engine. That is a powerful engine, producing 240 horsepower and 217 foot-pounds of torque. Add to that the electric motor powered by nickel-metal hydride batteries, and you add more power than the actual figures of 16 horsepower and a whopping 100 foot-pounds of torque might imply.

The V6 has HondaÂ’s cylinder-deactivation system, whereby the valves are shut down on one bank of the engine during cruising. So whenever the engine is operating below 3,500 RPMs or without sharp force on the gas pedal, the engine moves the car adequately on three cylinders. The electric power can assist the power output during three-cylinder operation, before the other three cylinders come in. Naturally, because itÂ’s Honda, the whole procedure is seamless, and youÂ’d never know all that interchanging was going on under the hood.

All you know is the Accord Hybrid is swift. It will go 0-60 in under 7 seconds, measuring 6.7 or less in various tests, while top speed is governed at 131 miles per hour. That makes it quicker than the normal Accord V6, or the Camry, or other normal V6-powered midsize sedans.
With both the Civic and Accord, Honda is in the interesting position of having its top-line EX models of both clearly upgraded in performance by their hybrid models.

To me, however, the Accord could have used the extremely impressive VTEC four-cylinder with the electric power and achieved almost as good power, and considerably better fuel economy. The most recent Accord EX coupe I drove had so much power that I was marveling at the V6, before I opened the hood and realized it was actually that variable-valve-timed VTEC four.

Going to the V6 may mean that Honda has sensed that U.S. buyers prefer power to fuel economy, or have grown up simply not paying enough attention to fuel economy. Toyota, incidentally, is doing roughly the same thing, because it is putting hybrid power into its mainstream Highlander and Lexus RX400h SUVs, and using powerful V6 engines with good but moderately improved fuel economy.

For comparison, the Civic Hybrid is rated at 48 miles per gallon in highway driving, and I’ve achieved about that in real-world test driving, but the Accord Hybrid is listed at 30 miles per gallon city and 37 highway – but it may have trouble reaching those figures. In my tests, driving around town and on freeway trips, I got 31.4 miles per gallon for most of the time, and 29.6 in city driving. Impressive, but not up to my expectations.

Various auto magazines have raved about the Accord HybridÂ’s power, and its fuel economy too. Car & Driver magazine, in its December issue, repeatedly proclaimed the Accord HybridÂ’s excellence because it had 30-city/37-highway fuel economy, and you had to go back through the page of fine-print statistics to see that the magazineÂ’s tests indicated only 26 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving. Manufacturers cannot advertise any fuel-economy figures except the EPAÂ’s registered estimate, but automotive journalists do a disservice when they donÂ’t report real-world findings.

Still, in its attempt to take hybrid technology more and more into the mainstream, the Accord Hybrid is impressive, and 31 mpg is nothing to scoff at for a large sedan. While still classified as midsize, the Accord has grown up over the years. The Hybrid has typically Honda-good handling and user-friendly features, maintaining a flat and stable attitude without losing its poise in hard driving. It takes a discerning eye to spot the Hybrid version, with only the small Hybrid lettering under Accord on the trunklid, or the small, thin spoiler lip atop that trunklid, or the subtle difference in alloy wheel design.

Inside the car, and even from the driverÂ’s seat, you could own the car for 200,000 miles without being aware that it was a hybrid. In the Insight and Civic hybrids, there are a couple of neat gauges that tell you at a glance how much electric power is being used to push the car, or how much recharging is taking place. In the Accord Hybrid, other than a couple of tiny, almost unnoticeable indicators, there is only a small, horizontal bar at the bottom of the instrument cluster to show that.

Too bad, because I always thought having those obvious instruments made it fun to see how much gas mileage you could attain, and how little power you needed to move adequately. In the Escape Hybrid, for example, I trained myself to hit the brakes hard when first slowing down then coasting to a stop, because the first part of braking is done by capturing heat off the driveshaft, and sending that energy to help recharge the battery pack. I figured the more regenerative braking you used to recharge, the less gas-engine power youÂ’d need to do the same service.

Honda’s impressive technology on the cylinder deactivation is similar to what’s used on the Odyssey van. Three cylinders cut out on both, but in both vehicles the engine is transverse mounted instead of longitudinal, so Honda has the outer bank keep working while the inner bank cuts out – a brilliant method to reduce interior sound. In case that’s not enough, Honda has devised a method for sending noise-cancelling signals through its audio system to help you cruise in comparative silence.

The price of the technology has got to be significant, but the price of the Accord Hybrid starts at just over $32,000, which makes it a bargain investment, and only a couple thousand more than the normal Accord V6. Burning cleaner and improving fuel economy without any penalty in power is a large asset. And even power-crazed American buyers can feel good if you happen to be aiding the atmosphere by reducing pollution at the same time.

Which Gopher team will show up in Frozen Four semis?

“There’s a difference between wanting to play well and having to play well.” So said University of Minnesota hockey coach Don Lucia, after he had properly assessed that losing twice in the WCHA Final Five wouldn’t prevent the Golden Gophers from advancing to the NCAA tournament with a favorable seed.

After the Final Five, but before the NCAA seedings were calculated, Lucia said: “These losses didn’t matter. They have no bearing on where we end up. I know we’ll either be the last No. 1 seed or the highest No. 2.”

Right on. The Golden Gophers were ranked in a tie for fourth and fifth overall with Cornell, and by virtue of having beaten Michigan, which in turn beat Cornell, the Gophers got the fourth and final No. 1 seed as host of the West Regional. Two overtime victories later, and Minnesota is off to the Frozen Four, as a legitimate longshot.

Will the REAL Minnesota Golden Gophers please stand up? Nobody knows. Will the Gophers who face North Dakota in ThursdayÂ’s NCAA semifinals in Columbus, Ohio, be the one that soared through the first half of the season, or the one that sputtered through the second half? Will it be the team that went 8-0 to end the regular season and start league playoffs, or the one that fell twice in the WCHA Final Five, or maybe the one that scratched and clawed to two narrow victories in the NCAA West Regional? Who will start in goal? Who will score? Will leading scorer Tyler Hirsch play? Will freshman defenseman Alex Goligoski play?

Questions, always questions. Goligoski will probably play with a light cast on his wrist, but Lucia doesnÂ’t like to divulge any more than he has to, so we may have to wait until the puck drops at 6 p.m. Thursday to find out. Same with the goaltender question, and the others.

If the two West Regional victories mean the urgency is back, credit – and a dose of relief – should go to Lucia. An Iron Ranger by birth, the Grand Rapids native could be known as “The Professor” for the way he calculates the computerized information that goes into the NCAA tournament seedings all season. He is a master at satisfying the criteria, and he knew there was no back-to-the-wall feeling during those WCHA playoffs.It’s time now.

When they wanted to play well in the WCHA Final Five, it wasnÂ’t enough, and the Gophers lost 3-0 to Colorado College and 4-2 in the third-place game to North Dakota. When they had to play well, in the NCAA West Regional, the Gophers were Golden, beating Maine 1-0 and Cornell 2-1 in a couple of overtime classics. LuciaÂ’s ability to come up with answers is one reason the Gophers have reached ThursdayÂ’s Frozen Four at Columbus, Ohio, where they will face North Dakota in the 6 p.m. semifinal.

Lucia, recalling Johnson had a tough time with Maine a year earlier, went with Kellen Briggs in goal. Minnesota won 1-0 in overtime. He stuck with Briggs, and the Gophers also beat Cornell, 2-1 in overtime. Against Maine, freshman center Evan Kaufmann came through with an enormous goal to beat the Black Bears. Kaufmann, whose age and the maturity he gained in the USHL belie his freshman status, had several good scoring chances against Maine ace Jimmy Howard, who gloved everything close.

“WeÂ’d been shooting glove all day,” said Kaufmann, after the Maine game. “Justin (Johnson) told me on the bench during a TV timeout, ‘If weÂ’re going to score on this guy, itÂ’s got to be somewhere other than his glove.Â’”

So Kaufmann won the corner faceoff – he was 9-2 on faceoffs in the game – and got the puck back to Judd Smith at the blue line. He shoveled it into the corner, and Garrett Smaagaard and Sertich scrapped to keep possession by cycling the puck on the end boards. One defenseman was back there, and the second went back after Smaagaard, so Kaufmann yelled, Smaagaard fed him. Kaufmann shot — away from HowardÂ’s glove, just inside the left pipe – and the Gophers were on their way.

It had to be the perfect game for Briggs, winning a 1-0 overtime shutout. “No, I’d rather we win 9-0,” said Briggs. Against Cornell, the Gophers also failed to score nine, but Andy Sertich got the goal that helped get the game into overtime, and Barry Tallackson knocked in his own rebound to beat the Big Red 2-1.

So now itÂ’s the Frozen Four, where Colorado College and Denver might reside as the two best teams in the country, and North Dakota is probably playing the best hockey of its season, and the Golden GophersÂ…are still facing unanswered questions.

The questions started at midseason, after a rebuilding Golden Gopher team earned the No. 1 rank in the country for five weeks, behind the explosive scoring of a line with Ryan Potulny centering Danny Irmen and Kris Chucko, and the goaltending of Kellen Briggs, who led all WCHA goalies in both goals-against and save percentage at midseason. The “Border Line,” so named because all three players were not from Minnesota, had accounted for half the team’s scoring, and Briggs led the league in overall games at Christmastime with a 1.88 goals-against and .931 save percentage.

January arrived, and the big line abruptly stopped clicking. Irmen dropped from being first or second in league scoring to finish in a tie for sixth in league games at 17-15—32, while Potulny dropped to 15th at 15-11—26, and Chucko finished 7-6—13. Pucks started sailing past Briggs, too, and through the second half, he dropped until he finished seventh in goals-against average at 2.97, and 11th in save percentage at .900 in league play.

Justin Johnson emerged from backup duty to win six straight games for the Gophers when Briggs was injured at the end of the season, and Johnson got the start against Colorado College in the Final Five. Minnesota lost 3-0, and Briggs returned to the nets against North Dakota, but the Gophers lost again, 4-2.

The goaltending question, however, was obscured by another large question at the end of the CC playoff game. Tyler Hirsch, an intense and highly skilled junior winger, had risen from third-line status when the Border Line’s scoring turned borderline, to lead the Golden Gophers in scoring. As of the end of the regular season, Potulny had 24-15—39 in all games and Irmen 20-18—38, but Hirsch had 11-31—42 to finish fifth among all WCHA players in overall points. Yet he remained on the third line all season, where he might have had extra bench-time to accumulate frustration during the third period of the CC shutout.

As the fans filed out after the game, Hirsh went out to center ice alone, as if heÂ’d been awarded a penalty shot. He raced in, fired the puck into the net, and followed it by crashing his body into the net, knocking it over on its backside.

Was it in frustration for not having played much in the third period? Was it to prove to the coaches’ constant urging that he could go hard to the net? Nobody knows. Hirsch went home to his parents’ Twin Cities home afterward, and didn’t play against North Dakota, or in the NCAA West Regional. He returned to the team, and spoke cheerfully to the media – but not about this question. He may play in Columbus.

It was suggested to Lucia that his well-calculated projections might work against his fire for getting his team emotionally charged for a game he knows is comparatively unimportant. When the coach knows that the team is cinched for an NCAA berth, and the team plays without any urgency through the second half, and into league playoffs, is there a link? Can the players, whether by their own calculations or by reading their coachÂ’s relaxed demeanor, play without desperation because they know they donÂ’t have to go all out in order to advance?

At Christmastime, Lucia knew that the Gophers, barring a complete collapse in the second half, were going to be assured of an NCAA berth, and one of the better seeds. The Gophers were 11-3 in WCHA play through the 2004 half of the schedule and deserved the No.1 rank in the nation for five weeks. In January, though, they suddenly absorbed a 1-5 month on home ice, at Mariucci Arena, losing twice at home to Colorado College, twice more to Michigan Tech and splitting with Minnesota-Duluth. The only other Minnesota victories in the 4-6 month were a split of 2-1 games at Boston University, and a sweep at Minnesota State-Mankato.

Minnesota opened February by splitting sets with Wisconsin and Alaska-Anchorage, which meant the struggle reached 6-8 for 2005 — hardly befitting a prospective Frozen Four team. Then the Golden Gophers seemed to right themselves in the last three weeks of the regular season, although their 6-0 string was recorded against St. Cloud State, Michigan Tech and Minnesota State-Mankato – the bottom three finishers in the WCHA. Beating Minnesota State twice more in the first league playoff round gave the Gophers an eight-game winning streak, but answered none of the questions.

Frozen Four time means desperation and urgency are the order of the day. Will the same pairings as the third-place and title games of the WCHA Final Five cause a flashback to the Minnesota? Will Lucia dare go back to Josh Johnson in goal because Briggs was just beaten by North Dakota? Will Hirsch bring the lift of his team-high points back into the lineup? Colorado College and Denver are the constants, and North Dakota is the hottest, and which Gopher team will show up?

Pioneers power-play breakthrough decides Frozen Four

COLUMBUS, OHIO — DenverÂ’s consistency is what got the Pioneers to the Frozen Four, but the Pioneers changed formulas to win their second straight NCAA hockey championship. Oh they remained consistent all right, and in fact reinforced their strengths, but they also obliterated a couple of weaknesses during a weekend culminated by Saturday nightÂ’s 4-1 title-game victory over North Dakota – the “other” hottest team in collegiate hockey.

DenverÂ’s strengths included a solid corps of high-character veterans blended artfully by coach George Gwozdecky with a premier crop of skilled freshmen, with a dominant combination of strong goal-scoring, big and solid two-way defensemen and exceptional goaltending. ThatÂ’s a pretty compelling explanation for a 32-9-2 season record.

Those strengths were highlighted when the final game scoring was handled by veterans Jeff Drummond, one of seven seniors, who scored the first goal, and junior first-line center Gabe Gauthier – a likely candidate to be next year’s captain – who scored the final goal after setting up the first one, while freshman Paul Stastny scored the other two goals and assisted on Gauthier’s empty-net tally. At the other end of the Value City rink at Schottenstein Center, freshman goaltender Peter Mannino was more dominant, making 44 saves to make the final game score look more lopsided than it was, considering North Dakota outshot the Pioneers 45-24.

The Pioneers assets were sufficient to obscure a weakness on the power play, even while Denver was winning a share of the MacNaughton Cup for the WCHA regular-season title, capturing the Broadmoor Trophy for the WCHA Final Five, and claiming the Northeast Regional NCAA berth in the Frozen Four. Entering the Frozen Four, Denver had scored 47 goals in 241 tries for a meager 19.5 percent effectiveness. But the Pioneers erupted to go 8-for-18 on power plays at the Frozen Four — a sizzling 44-percent, including all the goals in the 6-2 semifinal victory over CC, and two of the four in the 4-1 championship game against North Dakota.

That means Denver scored 15 percent of its 43-game total of 55 power-play goals in the final two games, vaulting transforming a 19.5-percent weakness to 44.4-percent efficiency against two of the best penalty-killing teams in the nation. The suddenly aroused power play was decisive for the Pioneers, because Colorado College limited them to only 11 of their 29 shots at even strength shots, and North Dakota held the Pioneers to 12 even-strength shots in 24 total shots on goal in the final.

Furthermore, while itÂ’s both easy and superficial to automatically name the tournament winning goaltender as most valuable player, in this case, Mannino deserved the accolades. While the Pioneers had numerous outstanding performances, the freshman goalie from Farmington Hills, Mich., made 41 saves while Colorado College outshot Denver in the 6-2 semifinal victory before making a season-high 44 saves in the 4-1 final.

Mannino came into the Frozen Four with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage, then, while playing both games of a weekend for the first time all season, he stopped 83 of 86 shots, for a 1.50 goals-against and a .965 save percentage. That improved his already-strong season to a 2.22 goals-against record and a WCHA-best .927 save percentage.

Among other statistical achievements earned by their Frozen Four exploits, Denver’s Matt Carle and Brett Skinner solidified their status as the1-2 scorers among defenseman, with the sophomore Carle getting a goal and two assists against CC and another assist against UND for a season total of 13-31—44 tally, while Skinner had four assists against CC, and while failing to score in the final game, he had good reason, continuing to play solidly after having his shoulder separated on the first shift, to finish 4-35—39.

Stastny, with his two goals and an assist gained by a respectful pass to Gauthier instead of trying for a hat trick against an empty net, finished 17-28—45 to catch Wisconsin’s Joe Pavelski as the top-scoring WCHA freshman.

StastnyÂ’s name gives him away. On paper, heÂ’s a young man who was born in Quebec City, but thatÂ’s because his home moved to where his father – NHL superstar Peter Stastny – was located. In this high-tech, ultra-stiff composite hockey stick era Stastny might be the only player in Division 1 college hockey – to say nothing of elite high school, or even Bantam or Peewee hockey — who still uses a wooden stick.

“I’ve been using a wooden stick for the last six years, the same pattern my dad used,” Stastny said. “I suppose now I’ll take this stick and throw it in the basement with all the other souvenir sticks we’ve saved.”

That stick stroked a one-timer off Carle’s perfect pass across the slot to make it 3-1 on a Pioneer power play in the third period. It was a crucial goal in the outcome, obviously, although Stastny’s first goal – the game-winner to break a 1-1 tie midway through the second period, and also on the power play – was supremely important, if less artistic. That came when Kevin Ulanski’s shot from inside right point hit Stastny in the rear end and deflected past Jordan Parise. Presumably, Stastny won’t save his breezers amid those wooden sticks.

After the game, Gwozdecky maintained his usually poised demeanor, but he hesitated several times answering media questions, and despite his countenance, it was obvious he had to fight to hold his emotions. He talked about the pressure of expectations as defending champion all season, and about his teamÂ’s great leadership, from one end to the other.

He singled out a couple of special players, in senior defenseman Matt Laatsch, the captain, and junior defenseman Brett Skinner.

“Skinner was rammed hard into the end boards on the first shift of the game,” Gwozdecky said. “He separated his shoulder, and the doctors looked at him. He came back and played, maybe his best game as a Pioneer.”

As for Laatsch, the captain, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder from Lakeville, Minn., Gwozdecky said he embodied everything a coach could ask for, and more. “Laatsch came in as a walk-on, had to go through a lot to play, then had a horrible infection that affected his body after duodenal ulcer surgery,” Gwozdecky said. “Doctors said to forget about playing, that he’d never play hockey again. He not only came back, he ended up as our captain, and he helped shoulder the burden of expectations for us all season.”

Denver became the fourth team in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles, and only Michigan has won three in a row. He attributed the Pioneers success to the rigors of survival in the WCHA.

“We had prepared for a very physical game,” Gwozdecky said. “I want to say what a great job North Dakota did; they gave us everything plus. The pressure they put on us, how hard they played…they brought out the best in us…That’s the way it is in the WCHA. All 10 teams work so hard, and I think we all make each other better. If you can survive the WCHA, you’re ready for the playoffs.”

Burdens will double next season, but they will be far easier to deal with. True, the Pioneers lose those seven key seniors – first-goal scorer Jeff Drummond and Ulanski off the first line, tenacious Luke Fulghum off the second line, Jon Foster off the third line, and defensemen Laatsch, Jussi Halme and Nick Larson. Those seven accounted for 74 goals, led by 21 each from Fulghum and Foster.

But Gwozdecky started a unit on which four of the six were freshmen, and the returning Pioneers will be led by top scorer Gauthier (2133—54), the defensive duo of Carle and Skinner, and both Mannino and his season-long alternate Glenn Fisher. And while Gwozdecky credited assistants Steve Miller and Seth Apert for recruiting what he claims “may be the most effective freshman class I’ve ever had, either as coach or assistant coach,” there will be another strong freshman crop coming in.

“It will be a different team, and we’ll try to establish a new identity,” said Gwozdecky.

But it will be hard to disguise the new identity inside those DU jerseys. Two NCAA titles in a row, and only Michigan has ever won three straight…Hmmm…The 2006 NCAA Frozen Four will be at Bradley Center in Milwaukee. DonÂ’t be surprised if the Denver Pioneers are there with new challenges to conquer.

Sonata’s new tune lifts Hyundai higher on hit parade

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. — A shiny 2006 Hyundai Sonata parked out front of the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel indicated how far Hyundai has progressed in sophistication. I mentioned to a Korean company official that I thought it looked good, “very much like an Accord.”

The fellow seemed genuinely hurt.

The new Sonata challenges the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, and there are some design similarities to those midsize icons, but I assured the Korean official that my comment was intended as a compliment. His reaction, however, indicates that Hyundai has advanced to where it can take offense at being compared to the very vehicles itÂ’s seeking to be compared to.

Hyundai has worked as hard as any auto manufacturer in the world to both establish and refine its identity – harder, maybe. But identification has come slowly and with great difficulty. Some think Hyundai is Japanese, others, when they learn it is South Korean, dismiss it for being Korean, and therefore not a serious player in the automotive world. Fortunately for Hyundai, acceptance of its vehicles has come easier than its identity.

The 2006 Sonata should help Hyundai accomplish both objectives. If a “sonata” is a piece of smooth-flowing music, this Sonata is pleasing enough to attain considerable “accord” (no offense). Sonatas are offering more size, more features and the usual unsurpassed warranty to combat the Accord/Camry popularity, and you will be able to buy a larger and roomier Sonata for significantly less than a comparable Accord or Camry model – in fact, a fully loaded Sonata with a V6 is still less expensive than the four-cylinder versions of the Accord or Camry.

The Sonata was introduced to automotive journalists during the past week with a drive northward from the toney Nob Hill area of San Francisco northward along the stunning backdrop of the Pacific Coast. The longer, sleeker Sonata is completely redone inside as well as outside, and it has two new engines – a 2.4-liter “Theta” four-cylinder and a 3.3-liter “Lambda” V6 – both built by Hyundai, and the five-speed automatic transmissions have a manual shiftgate.

The introduction comes almost a month before the official opening ceremonies of Hyundai’s $1.1-billion plant in Montgomery, Ala., the facility in which the Sonata will be the first product, which seems like the cart preceding the horse for what Hyundai of America president and CEO Bob Cosmai says is the “most important launch” for the company. That’s significant, because the Sonata is the second, after the Tucson SUV, of seven new Hyundai vehicles in a 24-month period.

The Sonata redesign comes on the heels of the current Sonata being named No. 1 in initial quality among midsize cars by J.D. Power, and being named the auto satisfaction winner of Good Housekeeping Institute’s “What Women Want” survey that generated 100,000 responses, 43,000 of which were women. The survey responses showed that safety was the No. 1 consideration, but that engine performance was “very important to women, even slightly more so than to male drivers.”

In a power-point talk by John Krafcik, Hyundai’s vice president of product development and strategic planning, noted among his impressive statistics that the new Sonata would be bought by 47 percent males. During lunch, I asked Cosmai that if 47 percent male buyers meant 53 percent women buyers, why was the male minority listed rather than the female majority. Cosmai said that the company didn’t want to market to females, because the corporate reasoning, paraphrased loosely, showed females will buy a car being marketed to males, but males won’t buy what they perceive as a “chick car.”

If being long, nicely styled, powerful, and with good handling and steering response is what chick cars have to offer these days, we should all be buying them. But we can sympathize with Hyundai’s dilemma, even if we don’t agree with it. “There are image targets, and consumption targets,” said Cosmai, explaining how a company can market for a certain image and accept consumption from a completely different demographic.

“We have had a 364-percent increase in total sales since 1999,” said Cosmai. “In 1998, Hyundai was not in the top 10 among top-selling imports in the U.S., but something like 12th or 13th. We are now the fourth-best-selling import, after Toyota, Honda and Nissan, with sales of 3,046,333 vehicles. We’ve gone from a niche company to full-line mainstream in five years. And we generate 57.6-percent repeat buyers. It was 18.6 percent in 1998.”

In that time span, Hyundais also took over Kia, another Korean company, and builds the engines used in those vehicles as well. While increasing production and sales in whirlwind fashion, not everything has fit into place smoothly. Hyundai envisions the midsize Sonata and the compact-to-mid Santa Fe SUV to be the big sellers, but the compact Elantra outsold the Sonata and the new Tucson is outselling Santa Fe right now.

The new Alabama plant my take care of that, however, because the new Sonata appears to be the best thing Hyundai has produced so far, and an all-new and larger Santa Fe will be built off the Sonata platform as the second vehicle coming out of the new plant. Hyundai anticipates building 150,000 Sonatas in 2006, its first full calendar year, and it can build about as many Santa Fes.

The new Sonata chassis has independent suspension, with double wishbone front and multilink rear, with stabilizer bars front and rear. I found the suspension a good compromise between comfort and firm-handling support. I also found the steering to be good, but not quite as quick-reacting as IÂ’d prefer. Hyundai engineers had benchmarked the BMW 5-Series for handling, the Lexus ES330 for interior noise quality, and the Audi A6 for interior craftsmanship. Not a bad hat trick to aspire to.

Power is good from the 3.3-liter Lambda V6, an all-new engine built in the Sohari, Korea, factory, and which will be built at the Alabama facility from July on. It is aluminum, with dual overhead camshafts, and continuously variable valve-timing on the intake side, which is good for 235 horsepower at 6,000 RPMs and 226 foot-pounds of torque at 3,500 RPMs.

The Theta 4-cylinder also has the aluminum, dual overhead cams, and other high-tech features and produces 162 horsepower at 5,800 RPMs and 164 foot-pounds of torque at 4,250 revs.

The engines also have chains – not belts – to drive the overhead cams, which means no worries about belt breakage. The engines solve another major problem in this era of $3 gasoline – yes, fuel stations on the drive through San Francisco showed regular gas at $2.99 per gallon – Hyundai engineers say you can use regular gas in the Sonata engines, or you can choose premium and get two additional horsepower and two more foot-pounds of torque.

By stretching the 2006 Sonata out over a longer platform with a longer, wider and taller body, the Sonata interior total volume goes from 114.1 cubic feet of the 2005 Sonata to 121.7 cubic feet of interior volume. That not only leaves the Accord (116.7 cubic feet) behind, but it also vaults the Sonata beyond the EPA’s interior-volume line of 120 cubic feet to delineate midsize from full-size, which means the Sonata qualifies as a large car on the inside while still midsize on the outside. Trunk capacity is 16.3 cubic feet – not quite as big as Camry’s 16.7, but much bigger than Accord’s 14.0.

Hyundai fulfills its other challenges to the establishment well. The basic GL model starts at $18,495 with the 2.4-liter four and is expected to consume 20 percent of brand buyers; the middle GLS with the four-cylinder starts at $19,995 and will account for another 20 percent; the GLS with the V6 starts at $21,495 and will be the largest-volume version at 35 percent; and the top LX with the 3.3-liter V6 starts at $23,495 and will comprise 25 percent of sales.

All models come with six airbags, including side-curtain, plus antilock on the four-wheel disc brakes and EBD (electronic brake distribution) to assure full braking in panic stops, plus an amazing standard feature of electronic stability control and traction control on the front-wheel-drive system. Hyundai officials are right in trumpeting that feature, as well as the insurance industryÂ’s evidence that cars with stability control show a 35 percent reduction in single-vehicle crashes, and a 30 percent reduction in crash fatalities. Projector headlights and foglights join power windows, keyless entries, air-conditioning and other standard amenities, and Hyundai just signed an agreement with XM Satellite Radio to include those devices as standard equipment in all Sonatas as soon as they can be factory installed.

It is commendable that Hyundai sought to improve its product more than worry about its identity, but the identity quest is not forgotten. A new global brand strategy will use the motto “Drive your way.” And a new ad campaign for the Sonata stresses it is “A Hyundai like you’ve never seen before.”

Mottos and buzzwords should matter less than the bottom-line comparisons with comparably equipped Accords and Camrys. The Sonata is $1,880 cheaper than an Accord when both have 4-cylinder engines, and $4,000 cheaper using V6 models. The difference is $2,700 cheaper against the Camry 4-cylinder and $2,900 cheaper with V6es. And yes, the Sonata with the V6 turns out to be cheaper than the better-known rivals with 4-cylinders.

On top of that, the Sonata has traction control and stability control devices which may not be standard, or even available, on some of those rivals, plus a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty and 5-year, 60,000-mile overall warranty, against, for example, HondaÂ’s 3-year/36,000-mile warranty for both. The warranty has never mattered with Hondas or Toyotas, where durability and maintenance-free reputations prevail. If Hyundai can match that, its warranty may not matter, either.

That unbeatable warranty used to be the only reason new buyers were attracted to Hyundai, even if the Korean company tended to copy rather than try for leadership. The Sonata will change that perception, because its style, features, and flexibility make it an valid competitor, and the warranty is just a nice add-on.

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• 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:
  
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• 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.