Goepfert, Kronick exorcise bad luck for Huskies sweep

OK, letÂ’s state the facts: St. Cloud State goaltender Bobby Goepfert is not superstitious, and does not believe in ritualistic concepts of guidance, and Dan Kronick, his teammate, has no overwhelming desire for revenge. Got that?

Too bad, but Goepfert and Kronick have no flair for melodrama, or they could have easily invoked superstition, black magic, and revenge as the primary reasons they led the Huskies to a 4-0, 4-2 sweep at Minnesota-Duluth, a sweep that extended their winning streak to four, their unbeaten streak to seven (4-0-3), and elevated them to WCHA contention at 4-3-3.

Goepfert hasnÂ’t converted to superstitions, but if thereÂ’s a way to make peace with any lucky charms that might be hanging aroundÂ…why not go for it? Goepfert, a senior, could have just consulted with Kronick, a junior winger, who might have assured him that both of them seem to thrive when they face Minnesota-Duluth. The Huskies have now beaten the Bulldogs five straight times, including the WCHA Final Five playoffs last spring.

Sure enough, when St. Cloud State swept 4-0, 4-2 victories in Duluth, Goepfert got his first season shutout and made 31 saves each night – 2 goals-allowed and 62 saves – and Kronick, a former UMD skater, won offensive player of the week honors in the WCHA by scoring the first goal in both games and adding two assists for the weekend.

Two weeks earlier, Goepfert described his play in a 5-5 tie at Minnesota as being typical of his season, poor statistical numbers but key saves when it mattered. At that time, Goepfert somewhat sheepishly admitted that the only thing he had done to incur bad luck was breaking a mirror before the season started. “It was a full body mirror, and it was behind a door,” Goepfert explained. “I go to open the door, and the mirror fell. It happened in early September.”

That issue came into clearer focus in Duluth, when Goepfert, who had criticized himself for not being his sharpest, was precisely that with a 31-save shutout and a 4-0 victory in the first game. Kronick, incidentally, scored the first – and game-winning – goal.

“We were good, and Bobby was REALLY good,” said coach Bob Motzko.
Goepfert pointed out that he’s looking for team victories, rather than being concerned about shutouts or statistics. “I’m not really a stat guy, and I don’t care about shutouts,” he said. “But my numbers weren’t good. I really don’t know what changed, because I feel the same.”

At that moment, Goepfert, who is from the Long Island town of Kings Park, N.Y., and played junior hockey at Cedar Rapids in the USHL, recalled the previous discussion about the broken mirror. “I fixed the mirror, actually,” he said, reluctantly explaining the whole story. “Somebody told me if you break a mirror, it’s seven years of bad luck. I thought, ‘Seven years is a long time.’ ”

Among the folksy antidotes to the bad luck of breaking a mirror is to bury the pieces, preferably under a full moon. So, after talking about it following the 5-5 tie at Minnesota, Goepfert put it all together – playing well, giving up five goals, and having saved the broken mirror – as the Huskies rode the bus back home to St. Cloud for the second game of the series, Goepfert decided to take action. Just in case, you understand…

“It was after the Minnesota game, sometime after midnight,” Goepfert said. “The ground was good and hard, and there’s a place in my back yard with an old frozen fountain in it. I dug a hole and buried it there. But I’m not really all that superstitious, and I don’t want to come off like that.”

The only things that have come off since then are the numbers in Goepfert’s goals-against column. He made 30 saves in a 7-2 victory over Clarkson, then added 62 more saves – 31 each game – while allowing two goals in two games at Duluth. Three goals, 92 saves, not bad. His new goals-against average is 2.64, and his save percentage is .913.

KronickÂ’s story is completely different. He didnÂ’t have any all-WCHA history to live up to. In fact, he was first recruited to UMD, but didnÂ’t get much chance to play — 15 games, no goals. So Kronick, who is from the Saint Paul suburb of Inver Grove Heights, transferred to St. Cloud State. Last season, he made an impact on Huskies foes with his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame, but he didnÂ’t score much. Except, that is, when St. Cloud State gave him the chance to face UMD, his former team.

The Huskies also swept the Bulldogs in that series in St. Cloud last season, and Kronick emerged with his best weekend, scoring a hat trick and assisting on a fourth goal in the first game, then scoring another goal in the rematch, to win WCHA player of the week honors. St. Cloud later ended UMDÂ’s playoff bid with a 5-1 victory at the league Final Five opening game. Kronick didnÂ’t score in that one, but he did get an assist on Matt HartmanÂ’s game-winning goal in the 8-7 overtime thriller against Minnesota.

Not that any of that history should have figured into this yearÂ’s series in Duluth. Or should it?

Kronick flashed past the left edge of the goal like a phantom to score the first goal in the Friday game, after the teams had battled scorelessly through the first period and 15:07 of the second, before Lasch jammed a pass across the slot and Kronick hammered it in on a power play before freshman goaltender Alex Stalock could get across to cover. A minute later, Nate Dey was amazingly wide open at the crease to score the first of his two goals on a pass from Austrian freshman Andreas Nodl to make it 2-0.

Midway through the third period, Goepfert made a spectacular save, and moments later Dey was racing to the other end to score again, and the Huskies finished it with Matt HartmanÂ’s empty-net goal.

Dey is supposed to score, replacing Jack Swanson at center between WCHA-leading scorer Nodl and high-scoring junior Andrew Gordon on the Huskies first line. Swanson, who had scored in all but one St. Cloud State game, missed the UMD series with a “lower body” injury suffered in the weight room, according to Motzko. The second line played up to first-line standards with Nate Raduns playing between Kronick and flashy freshman Ryan Lasch.

The top two units clicked in the second game, with the second line scoring three of the four goals, with Lasch scoring twice, including an empty-netter, and Kronick and Nodl getting the others. Again, it was Kronick who scored the gameÂ’s opening goal, breaking a scoreless tie at 4:22 of the second period, then on the lineÂ’s next shift he pounced on a turnover on the right side of the goal and knocked the puck across the crease where Lasch converted for a 2-0 lead.

This time UMD battled back, thanks to the first college goal by little-used freshman Mitch Ryan, from the Duluth suburb of Cloquet. After a hard-working shift, the puck popped loose just inside the blue line. Ryan whirled and fired, drilling a high, screened, 50-foot laser into the upper left corner.

“There was a quick turnover, and the shot went through somebody’s legs before it went over my right shoulder,” said Goepfert. “I hate giving up a guy’s first goal, because you’ve got to stop and dig the puck out for him.”

Nodl, the Huskies top goal-scorer, clicked for a power-play goal to make it 3-1 in the third, but Jeff McFarland scored for UMD with a quick wrist shot midway through the period to cut it to 3-2. No matter, Lasch – from Kronick – got an empty-net goal with 1:04 remaining to clinch the 4-2 victory. Nodl leads all WCHA scorers with 7-11—18, while Lasch (7-9—16), Dey (4-12—16) and Andrew Gordon (4-12—16) are close behind. In league scoring, the Huskies prized freshmen Nodl (7-8—15) and Lasch (5-7—12) stand 1-2.
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Kronick is suddenly up to 4-4—8, thanks to his 2-2—4 weekend in Duluth, and he now has scored 6-4—10 in four games against his old team. But he acknowledged that his first return to the DECC was a little strange, even though UMD has so many new players in the past two years he doesn’t know many of them. “It was kinda hard walking in here to play,” he said. “And the visitor’s dressing room is terrible. But once I popped the first goal in the first game, I felt better.”

“Last weekend it was Dey’s line’s turn, so maybe this was our week,” said Kronick, who went on to laud Raduns for his strong play, and just as he was about to praise the always-hustling Lasch, he noticed the diminutive, blond-haired freshman had just stepped out of the dressing room.

“And Lasch? He’s OK,” Kronick said. “They say he’s 5-9, but you should say he’s only 5-7.”

Lasch laughed at his linemate’s heckle, knowing which end of the measuring stick he’s at, listed at 5-foot-9 and playing alongside the 6-foot-3 Raduns and 6-foot-4 Kronick, whose presence give him a little extra room to maneuver. “The joke is, I really AM 5-7,” Lasch said.

Motzko paid tribute to UMD, which continues to play well, but has gone winless in seven straight league games, with only a 6-4 nonconference victory at Northern Michigan breaking an 0-6-1 stretch, leaving the Bulldogs 1-7-2 at the bottom of the WCHA. “They’ve got good players, they’ve got size, speed, skill, they’re well-coached, and they’ll get it going,” Motzko said. “They’re just snakebit right now.”

Goepfert sympathized with Stalock, in the UMD goal. “He’s a good goalie, and he kept UMD in it,” said Goepfert. “I met him when he made a visit to Cedar Rapids, where I played in the USHL.”

So, a snakebit team, with a goalie playing well but suffering from bad luck? Maybe someone should ask Stalock if heÂ’s broken any mirrors.

Mankato strategy stuns UMD women for DECC ‘firsts’

When Minnesota State-Mankato claimed a 5-5 tie at Minnesota-Duluth, it was definitely a moral victory for the Mavericks. The next night, Minnesota State-Mankato beat the Bulldogs 5-3, proving that, beneficial as moral victories are, the other kind are so much sweeter.

As a tactician, Mavericks coach Jeff Vizenor varies systems to put his women’s hockey team in the best position for an upcoming opponent. Generally, as the WCHA’s “Big Two” expanded to a “Big Three” with Wisconsin moving up to join programs at Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota, that has meant a cautious, slow-it-down system to confront the perceived advantages of those elite teams.

Against such a plan, UMD had opened the season by sweeping 3-1, 6-1 games at Mankato, and as impressive as the Bulldogs were back in October, Vizenor knew his team hadn’t played well. So after the Mavericks journeyed by bus for the return series a week before Thanksgiving, Vizenor decided it was time for a change. He talked it over with his assistant coaches, and then with the players, and on Friday – the day of the series opener – he used the time of the game-day skate to put his players through a walk-through of a new game-plan on the DECC ice.

“It’s all in the timing,” said Vizenor. “And now was the time to change to something bold. We usually play to slow down Minnesota, UMD and Wisconsin, so this time, we decided to switch to an aggressive ‘2-3’ forecheck, and to have the defensemen pinch down in the offensive zone.

“We talked about it, and then we put it in Friday morning. We knew what we wanted to do, to go-go-go, and make it a track meet.”

UMD had not only swept at Mankato, but also had swept North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Bemidji State to stand 8-0, before losing two close games at Minnesota, and the Bulldogs had allowed only 10 goals all season, best in the WCHA, and they were playing senior goaltender Riitta Schaublin, who had a 0.83 goals-against record and a .964 save percentage. Vizenor admitted he had a few anxious moments, such as glancing up at the scoreboard and noticing the shots were 33-33 at one point in the first game. Totally out of character for the Mavericks at the DECC, but, since they had never gained a single point in that building in the teamsÂ’ histories, it was, as Vizenor said, time.

When it was over, Minnesota State-Mankato had achieved its first road point against the Bulldogs with the impressive 5-5 tie. The tie was most impressive because it was the Bulldogs who had to gain the tie, which they accomplished on Jessica KoizumiÂ’s fourth goal of the game, with 7.6 seconds left in regulation.

But the Mavericks werenÂ’t done. The next night they came back and beat UMD 5-3, for their first victory ever in the DECC ever. The Mavericks are 3-37-3 against UMD overall, but that didnÂ’t matter in the afterglow of the three-point weekend.

Junior winger Lindsay Macy scored two goals in each game, and if she didn’t get offensive player of the week for her pivotal goals in what may prove to be a watershed weekend for the Mavs, it was only because junior goaltender Britni Kehler won defensive player of the week for making 81 saves – 39 Friday and 42 Saturday – in helping hold down the explosive Bulldogs.

Vizenor hesitated when asked if it might have been the biggest weekend in the Mankato program’s history, and he hesitated. “You know, we beat ’em twice down here to start the season three years ago, so that was big,” he said. “But they were missing a few players that time.”

The players got full credit from the coach, who downplayed his strategical gem. In one move, Vizenor reunited center Amanda Stohr with wingers Maggie Fisher and Ashley Young, a move that was far from insignificant. That line made South St. Paul a force in Minnesota high school girls hockey for several years, and when the three decided to go to Mankato together, it seemed a no-brainer that they would stay together. However, Young was injured and missed her whole freshman season.

“This was actually the first weekend we’ve had them together,” said Vizenor.

Macy, who transferred from Wisconsin where she scored 37-37—74 in two seasons, is a junior who skates with center Shera Vis and right wing Kala Buganski on the first line, so the South St. Paul line – including Fisher, who led the Mavericks in scoring as a freshman last season with 16-7—23 – gives the Mavericks two lines with scoring punch.

“Macy was a force both days at Duluth, and she’s so disciplined and smart,” said Vizenor. “And Fisher has such good speed and works so hard. Both of them also made big defensive plays to help us hold the lead Saturday. Britni Kehler also had a great weekend. Every time we really needed a big save, she made one.”
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In the second game, after Macy and Fisher had scored two apiece, the Mavericks put the second game away with third-line center Jodi HelminenÂ’s empty-net goal. And fourth-line center Noelle Needham saw a lot of power-play action and wound up with two goals and an assist for the weekend, which, combined with steady and effective defensive play made it truly a team effort.

The new and more aggressive forechecking system made the Mavericks more forceful on offense at Duluth, it also had a large mental impact. A ‘2-3’ means two forwards attack hard in the offensive zone, while one forward stays back defensively with the two defensemen. Having two forecheckers go hard, and the strong-side defenseman pinch in to attack, it is a very offensive style. But the Mavericks didn’t just play the 2-3.

“It seems like we usually play 5, 7, or 10 minutes of real good hockey, then we have a letdown,” said Vizenor. “We’ve used a 2-3, and a 2-1-2 at other times. This time, after we had some success with our 2-3, I switched a couple times to a 1-2-2 and locked up their wings with our wings for a few minutes. Then I’d go back to the 2-3. It forced us to refocus. I think using the 2-3 and then changing out of it a couple times kept everybody mentally sharp.”

The coach is now curious to see what kind of impact such success can have on the Mavericks. On Thanksgiving weekend, they head for Ohio State for another series, and he is not sure the aggressive 2-3 system will be effective.

“We adjust according to our opponent,” Vizenor said. “Ohio State, for example, has three or four great skating defensemen, so going with two hard forecheckers might not work as well. Our league has gotten so tough, we have to realize that one weekend doesn’t make the season.
“But the best part about our weekend in Duluth was that we competed hard for 60 minutes, both nights. That’s all that matters.”

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Altima, Sentra join Nissan’s charge for supremacy

As usual, Honda and Toyota are having their annual duel to outdo each other for the hearts, minds and bank accounts of United States auto customers. But this year, Nissan is going toe-to-toe with its Japanese adversaries with a fleet of new products – most notably the just-introduced 2007 Altima and Sentra.

Nissan previously unveiled its new Versa, which is aimed at challenging the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris in the subcompact segment – that region that used to be populated by the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra. But those compact stalwarts have grown, just enough to leave room for a new battery of subcompacts.

Nissan pulled a clever move with the Versa, sending the U.S. a car that is in a larger category than the Fit and Yaris in Japan, so quite naturally it has more room and more punch to its larger engine than the Fit and Yaris.

So now comes the enlarged compact Sentra for the annual fight with the Civic and Corolla, and the more enlgarged Altima – which is designed to take on the Accord and Camry.

In future weeks, we can deal more directly with the driving feel of the Altima and Sentra, but since they were introduced together, in the hills of San Francisco and on southward to Palo Alto, Calif., an overview of the pair is in order — because both are strong contenders.

Nissan is a strong second only to Toyota in Japan, and its Altima (255,000 sales last year) ranks behind the Accord (305,000) and Camry (400,000) among top-selling cars in the U.S. market. With women about equally attracted to the Altima as men, and 80 percent of Altima buyers new to Nissan, the company research shows its 4-cylinder Altima buyers are its youngest and most female, while V6 Altima customers are youngest and most predominately male.

For the new model, the plan was to upgrade both engines, to maintain the carÂ’s strengths, and to address its weaknesses, said Nissan spokesman Pete Haidos. That includes adapting the beam rear axle to independent rear suspension, eliminate the complaints about torque-steer from the front-wheel-drive system, upgrade the interior, and improve the steering feel.

The Altima, which had grown along with most everything in the industry, is actually reduced slightly in length, by an inch in wheelbase and over 2 inches overall, because women buyers, who like the looks of the previous Altima, questioned if it needed to be so big. Stiffening the rigidity by 60 percent against lateral bending and 100 percent in front structure, and lowering the placement of the engine up front improved the balance for a more neutral feel.

One of the most admirable things about Nissan is that it has taken its 3.5-liter V6 engine – so strong in everything from the 350Z sports car through the sedans and SUVs – and improved on it. The new Altima has the fourth generation 3.5, with an increase of 20 horsepower to 270, and a solid 258 foot-pounds of torque, up 9.

Fuel economy is improved too, to 21 miles per gallon city and 29 highway, but economy buffs are likely to choose the surprisingly strong 2.5-liter 4-cylinder, which is 20 percent new, and now has 175 horsepower and 180 foot-pounds of torque – both increases of 5 – and its gas mileage estimates are up to 26 city and 35 highway, with the 6-speed manual transmission. Nissan is up to its third-generation CVT (continuously variable transmission) for its automatic, and its fuel figures are almost identical to the stick.

You can get Altimas in models according to their engines – the base 2.5, the 2.5 S, the 2.5 S with the SL package, the SE, the SL, and, in the near future, a hybrid, which will use Nissan’s 2.5 4-cylinder with Toyota-licensed system. Antilock brakes are standard on all (3.5) V6 models, optional on (2.5) 4-cylinders; traction control also is standard on V6es, and stability control is optional on V6 Altimas.

With a sporty new appearance, stiffer platforms, more power and improved fuel economy, the Altima well-equipped at about $20,000 should be a definite challenger to its targeted Accord and Camry.
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While making the Altima slightly leaner and shorter, Nissan made the smaller Sentra larger and more upscale – thanks to the Versa taking over at entry-level.

The sixth-generation 2007 Sentra is 2.3 inches longer, with a 5.9-inch longer wheelbase, 3.2-inch increase in width, and a 4-inch increase in height. An interior passenger volume of 97.4 cubic feet makes the Sentra larger than the Civic, Corolla, Mazda3, or Chevrolet Cobalt, and it adds 13.1 cubic feet of trunk volume.

The 2.0-liter 4-cylinder has more power compared to the previous 1.8, with 140 horsepower an increase of 14, and 147 foot-pounds of torque an increase of 18.

The shift lever has been moved ahead, onto the lower part of the center dash, with audio controls raised higher, and more in line with driver vision. Sentras offer a 6-speed stick or the third generation Xtronic CVT. Surprisingly, while the 6-speed stick has strong EPA fuel estimates of 28 city/34 highway, the CVT has 29/36, Nissan officials said real-world testing shows the CVT usually gets slightly better fuel economy than the stick.

On the CVT, an overdrive button can be pushed to drop the RPMs by 2,000 for passing situations, or hill-descent engine braking.
The new “C” platform has improved suspension with electric power steering having variable assist to give a more natural, on-center feel at higher speed. A cradle subframe and dual balanced shaft in the engine help eliminate vibration.

Inside, the rear seat folds flat in 60/40 form, and the cushions flip up and backrests fold down flat, SUV style. Folding the seat flat allows storage of all sorts of items, including a bicycle, if you pop the front tire off. Nissan says the interior is designed for younger, active buyers who see their cars as backpacks. So grocery hooks, and dividers are in place. A neat touch is that the little storage things on the back of the front seats are nets in the Sentra, so you can see items you might otherwise forget in there.

The sixth-generation Sentra may look far better than basic, but it is still aimed at being inexpensive for the masses, so while all the surrounding airbags are standard, antilock brakes are a stand-alone option, and there is no traction-control, stability control, or navigation system available. You can, however, choose leather interior, remote-keyless entry, a Rockford-Fosgate audio upgrade with Bluetooth and satellite radio available.

Sentra models are also listed by engine code, starting with the basic 2.0 with air-conditioning, power windows and locks and a CD player at $14,750 with the 6-speed or $15,550 with the CVT; the 2.0 S adds 16-inch wheels, keyless entry, upgraded audio with steering wheel controls, and a trip computer is $15,650 for the stick, $16,450 for the CVT model; and the loaded 2.0 SL, which comes CVT only, adds leather interior, ABS, keyless ignition as well as entry, and Bluetooth, at $18,400.

Designed for North America, and sharing a platform with some Renault models, the Sentra is taking a new and renewed intensity toward getting the upper hand on its top Japanese foes, which are the top vehicles in their categories. With both the Altima and the Sentra, to say nothing of the Versa, and the 350Z and a couple of SUVs and trucks, a Nissan dealership may be a mandatory stop for anyone shopping for a slick, contemporary vehicle.

• 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.