Nichols aims for perfect 4-for-4 finish to Gopher career
Andrea Nichols picked a good time to have a three-point game – her final regular-season home game for the University of Minnesota – and the Golden Gophers needed her goal and two assists to hold off Bemidji State 5-3 and gain a split of their weekend series. The victory, and the split, set up high drama for the final weekend of league play, when Minnesota travels up Interstate 35 to take on arch-rival Minnesota-Duluth.
With the Gophers trailing UMD by two points, second place in the WCHA is hanging on the series outcome. If Minnesota should win SaturdayÂ’s first game, the two would be exactly tied in points and second place would come down to Sunday afternoon in the WomenÂ’s WCHA final regular-season game.
There are other WCHA questions yet to be answered. For example, Ohio State (11-11-4) and Minnesota State-Mankato (12-12-2) are dead even for fourth and fifth places, and they collide in a final series at Columbus this weekend. Their battle will determine the fourth and final home-ice spot for the playoffs, which, of course, start with team five at team four in a best-of-three, so this weekendÂ’s outcome will decide where theyÂ’ll collide again.
Of course, the Minnesota-UMD outcome this weekend also carries an “I-got-you-last†psychological edge for the upcoming playoffs. The rivalry was just as big as it was five years ago, when Nichols was a pint-sized but irrepressible scoring machine at Hibbing High School, and both Minnesota and UMD sought her services in exchange for a signed tender. She chose Minnesota, and the next four years have proven that you can take the girl out of the North Country, but you can’t take the North Country out of the young woman. She knows Duluth is closer to home, and she is well aware of how UMD won the first three NCAA national championships, then, when Nichols showed up at Minnesota, the Gophers accounted for the next two, before they lost to Wisconsin in last year’s title game.
“Four years have gone by fast, but in my three years here, weÂ’re 3-for-3 making the Frozen Four,†Nichols said. “We have two firsts and one second. ThatÂ’s not bad. But it would be great to make it all four years.Ââ€
To say Nichols has been a solid and steady contributor takes on extra significance because Nichols has played more college hockey games than any other current player in the WCHA. Her 144 games in a Gopher uniform are one more than Wisconsin’s Sara Bauer – so when Nichols talks about the UMD-Minnesota rivalry’s place in women’s hockey history, she has personal ownership in a lot of the details.
“Not only are we playing for second place, but for national rankings,†said Nichols, after her goal and two assists helped subdue Bemidji State last Saturday. “Going into the weekend, we were ranked ninth and they were eighth, so wherever we are ranked, these games will affect it.Ââ€
For her career, Nichols has 41-37—78 over 144 games, including 13-8—21 this season, as an always-hustling left winger on the third line. Bigger scorers on the top two lines see a lot more duty on power plays, but her 13 goals rank Nichols third on the team behind only Gigi Marvin, a sophomore on the first line who has 17 goals, and Bobbi Ross, a junior who centers the second line and has 15 goals. At that, Nichols shares the team lead in even-strength goals with Ross at 11, because 9 of Marvin’s 17 goals have come on the power play.
Nichols grew up in Mountain Iron, and enrolled at Hibbing while in junior high because she was ready to play high school hockey before anyone other than Hibbing had established itself in girls hockey. Her team concept made her captain last year as a junior, and this year she and Ross are co-captains. That only intensifies her curiosity about the inconsistency that has afflicted the Gophers in the last six weeks.
Bristling with talent, and capable of displaying great firepower from three lines, Minnesota was flying high after a 10-game winning streak through the end of December, including eight straight victories in a WCHA run – which started, incidentally, with a 5-3, 1-0 sweep against UMD at Ridder Arena. But when the second semester started in January, that streak was snapped by five losses in the next six games, starting with a home ice sweep at the hands of league champion Wisconsin, by 4-1, 3-0 scores. More startling, Minnesota next went to Ohio State and got drubbed 7-1. The Gophers bounced back for a 3-1 victory in the rematch, but the following weekend, the Gophers went to Mankato and were swept 3-2 and 4-3 by Minnesota State-Mankato, allowing UMD to catch and pass the Gophers for second place.
All seemed back in place when Minnesota swept North Dakota and St. Cloud State – scoring 19 goals and allowing just 5 in the four games. That four-game mini-streak left the Gophers tied with UMD for second, so both the Gophers and Badgers had reason to look ahead to their season-ending clashes. Sure enough, Bemidji State threw a wrench into the picture by coming into Ridder Arena and stinging Minnesota 2-0. It was only the second time in 33 games, over seven years, that Bemidji had managed to beat Minnesota. But the 28-1-3 Gopher edge meant little against the shutout goaltending of Emily Brookshaw.
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“ItÂ’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the problem has been,†said Nichols. “The competition all around the league is much better, for one thing. Along with Bemidji, Ohio State is tough, and Mankato is good too; theyÂ’ve got some flashy forwards. For a lot of that stretch when we werenÂ’t winning we played well, we just couldnÂ’t find a way to put the puck in the net. It seemed like the harder we tried, the worse things were getting. But in the first game against Bemidj, they outplayed and outworked us.Ââ€
In the second game, Nichols set up Whitney GraftÂ’s first of two goals after just 1:11 of the first period, but Both of GraftÂ’s first-period goals were offset by goals from Tara Hiscock of Bemidji. Nichols scored unassisted midway through the second period, and MarvinÂ’s goal made it 4-2 after two. While outshooting Bemidji 43-25 for the game, the 4-2 lead looked imposing, but BemidjiÂ’s Kelly Hart intercepted the puck and scored on a short-handed breakaway sprint with 1:48 remaining in the game. The solid-looking lead suddenly was 4-3, and suddenly the imposing shot margin was meaningless. It took one more shot, a power-play goal 34 seconds later by Jenelle Philipczyk, to clinch the 5-3 outcome, as Brookshaw made 38 saves.
“I felt confident in my play and how things were going,†said Nichols, after being named No. 1 star for her goal and two assists.
The split dropped Minnesota two points back of the Bulldogs for second, although it hardly relieves the drama. As usual, the Gophers and Bulldogs will start out with an extra twist. The DECC has a rental commitment, so the series will be Saturday and Sunday afternoons at Mars-Lakeview Arena, atop Skyline Drive at Marshall High School. It is the newest arena in Duluth, and while limited in seating, the cozy setting should be perfect because it will only take 1,000 fans to create an exciting atmosphere.
Because of its earlier sweep, Minnesota holds the tie-breaker edge over UMD should they tie, but the bigger drama would come if Minnesota happens to win the first game Saturday, because that would leave Minnesota at 18-8-1 for 37 points, and UMD 17-6-3 for an identical 37 points – a deadlock that would be decided Sunday afternoon in the second game. Needless to say, all the winner of second place really gains is home-ice attributes should they meet in the WCHA playoffs. If the top seeds all advance through the first round of playoffs, the semifinals at Ridder would see the Gophers face – guess who? – UMD for a one-game shot that gives the winner a chance at the WCHA playoff title and, presumably, a higher see for the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Nichols and the Gophers – as well as the Bulldogs – are aware that all of the inconsistencies and flat spots of the season can be overcome with a strong finish. And having the renewal of their rivalry simply means that both teams will get a chance to shift into playoff mode a week early.
Cars, surprises, cold, and fun fill Chicago Auto Show
CHICAGO, ILL. — The Chicago Auto Show is, without a doubt, the most fun of the major U.S. shows. At least, from the standpoint of auto journalists who attend media days prior to the public start of the show, which continues through February 18 at McCormick Place, the Chicago show is as casual and low-key as shows at Detroit, Los Angeles and New York are intense and hectic in their attempts to out-sophisticate the rest.
McCormick Place, incidentally, is large enough to encase the Detroit, L.A., and New York shows simultaneously, they tell us, and without question, there is no need for a workout after trying to hit all the displays in a two-day stretch.
Let’s do a quick run-around, which begins with a drive from Minneapolis to Chicago. My son, and photographic helper, Jack, and I departed in a Ford Escape Hybrid. I had driven the Hybrid for the week prior to heading for Chicago and the timing was perfect, because it worked without hesitation during a stretch when it rarely got above zero in Minnesota. A lot of misinformation has been spread about how the Escape uses Toyota licensed technology, when in reality Ford did its own work, but on completion found a half-dozen of its items had been patented by Toyota. Rather than redo things, Ford decided to simply license those few items – and, in fact, Toyota used some Ford techniques in return.
The reason that’s a topic is that I had experienced a previous Toyota Prius that warned “Do Not Drive!†when it got to 20 below zero. The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive boasts properly of being a “full hybrid,†because it will run on electric power alone, but that’s a two-headed sword, because it doesn’t want to ever run on the gas engine alone, using it instead as a generator for creating electric power. So, in severe cold, if the battery power goes to zero, the gas engine will start, but it doesn’t want to run the car. In the Honda, the gas engine runs all the time, so that wouldn’t be an issue, and further evidence that the Ford Escape Hybrid is not dependent on Toyota’s system, the Escape Hybrid can run on electric alone at low speed, on gas engine alone at high speed, and on both during mid-range or acceleration. It gets better fuel economy in city than on highway driving, similar to the Toyotas, and I got 28 miles per gallon on the 400 miles from Minneapolis to Chicago. I would have liked more, but more on that later.
It was cold and nasty on the way. Semis were off the freeway, closing them in places, and cars had skidded off on ice and packed snow every now and then. Interstate 90 just south of Madison was closed for what sounded like an indefinite period to clear up a semi and car multiple crash, so we veered east on 94, through Milwaukee, and came into Chicago from the north. We made amazingly good time, until we got to Chicago, when we again experienced the best reason for light-rail transit in the universe. Chicago’s “El†works so well because cars and traffic don’t work.
The Swissotel was our headquarters, a great hotel, with a view of Lake Michigan from our 28th floor perch. Bridgestone puts on a great welcome reception for the media, and greeted us warmly. Just as Michelin sponsors a lot of media stuff at Detroit, Bridgestone handles it all at Chicago, and its image is not hampered by the uplift in fun.
At the show, the Midwest Auto Media Association (MAMA) breakfast to kick off media days had Ford executive Mark Fields was the keynote speaker. He kicked off the whole week by proclaiming that Ford was going to rename the 2008 Five Hundred sedan as the Taurus, and the 2008 Freestyle crossover SUV as the Taurus X. The companion Mercury Montego will become the Sable for 2008.
Talk about an identity crisis! Ford’s financial woes have been big news recently, but it can’t even decide what to name its cars anymore. It started with the sleek new Lincoln Zephyr, which reclaimed a proud old name that was used back in the 1950s as Lincoln’s hottest performer. After about six months, they decided to change the name to MKZ. The reason? Ford corporate types decided that Lincoln didn’t get used enough when people talked about the Navigator or Continental by their names only, so it went to MKZ so folks would call it the “Lincoln MKZ.†Of course, those new-age marketing wizards must not have been born when the previous Zephyr lived, because NOBODY called it the Zephyr – everyone called it the “Lincoln Zephyr.†So Lincoln went away from that to try to gain what it might have had with it.
While continuing to make the Taurus as a fleet vehicle in its last days, Ford brought out a slightly smaller sedan, called the Fusion, and a roomier one, called the Five Hundred. And, Ford insisted, we had to spell it out, even though Ford had gained great fame with a numerical 500 years ago. The past few months have seen numerous stories on how sad it is that the loyal Taurus, which was the largest-selling sedan in the U.S. for years, no longer exists. More stories came when the last one rolled off the assembly line. There was enough negative publicity on the TaurusÂ’s demise to make it seem heroic in retrospect. I wondered, at the time, why they just didnÂ’t put the name Taurus on one of the new cars that would replace the Taurus.
Meanwhile, the Five Hundred didn’t sell, more because of a stodgy design – particularly the grille and front end – so new design chief Peter Horbury did a quick makeover to give it a Fusion-like three-horizontal-bar grille, and the marketing guys waved their magic wands. Presto! No more stodgy Five Hundred, and the 2008 model will indeed become the Taurus. It not only benefits from the new grille, but it also gains some clout with the new 3.5-liter V6. Curiously enough, those attributes were all marketed in a very nice Ford overview booklet at the Detroit Auto Show – exactly one month earlier. Ford boasted about what a great job they had done keeping the change secret; I believe it wasn’t all that tough, because they must have made the decision to change within the month between the Detroit and Chicago shows.
After breakfast, Toyota had an introduction to show off its new redesign of the Highlander SUV, enlarged by 12 cubic feet inside, and with 55 more horsepower by switching from 3.3 to 3.5 liters in its V6, and a hybrid version to follow.
It was a comparatively quiet show for the European manufacturers in general, and German car-makers specifically. Most of their new stuff had been introduced at Detroit or L.A., so Audi, for example, could just place its new and dazzling R8 sports car on a pedestal and let passers-by gaze at it and hope its arrival sometime within the next year hastens. It is a hot, mid-engine, two-seater aimed directly at proving Porsche isn’t the only sports-car star in Germany.
General Motors deployed Saturn to introduce the new Astra subcompact. After the Aura proved to be such a success in its first year, the Astra will follow as the little brother this fall. The Aura won the juryÂ’s nod as North American International Car of the Year for 2007, even though it actually is a refaced Opel Vectra with a Cadillac-designed 3.6-liter V6. So the Opel-ization of Saturn continues with the introduction of the Astra, which will be a version of the Opel Astra, also built by GMÂ’s German subsidiary, with a 1.8-liter Ecotec four-cylinder. It makes good sense, economically and technically, to share key components, and that will rise again for 2008 when the new Chevrolet Malibu is introduced. It, too, is a very impressive looking sedan, and it is another version of the Vecta/Aura triumvirate.
Ford’s turn was next, although its press conference had been upstaged by the breakfast announcement. We were informed that the name-change to Taurus was important because “It would take years for Five Hundred and Freestyle to become household names.†Especially, I must add, if sales didn’t drastically improve. The question now will be whether bringing the name Taurus back will also cause the vehicle to fly off showroom floors.
Chrysler Group showed off its new Dodge models, and said the new retro Challenger would come to live for real as a 2008 model. Dodge also showed off enormous 5500 and 4500 Ram models with Cummins turbo diesels boasting 610 foot-pounds of torque, and capable of running on biodiesel.
Volkswagen displayed its new R32 sporty version of the Golf, which is now the Rabbit. Got it? VW has made the GTI separate from the Golf/Rabbit, and the GLI separate from the Jetta (which hasn’t yet been renamed), as their sporty updates. The R32 is more potent still, with the direct-injection 3.2-liter V6 and 4-Motion all-wheel drive, and the direct shift gearbox – a paddle-shifted automatic shared in Audi vehicles. BMW showed off a new Alpina sedan, an aftermarket project, while its new 3-Series coupe and retractable hardtop-convertible stole the set.
Pontiac concluded the day with vice president Bob Lutz introducing the new G8. Now, the new G8 will replace the Grand Prix, being renamed in alpha-numeric fashion as a large, rear-drive sedan with a V8. Grand Prix was a grand old name, to coin a phrase, and alpha-numeric names can be confusing to the point of being maddening. So at least GM canÂ’t ridicule Lincoln for changing Zephyr to MKZ, even if I can.
Curiously, I was one of those asked to vote on the best of several categories, including concept cars. The new Five Hundred and Freestyle were on the ballot, because, I suppose, Ford was still keeping the secret at the time it was filled out. The Volvo XC-60 was not on the ballot, but it was there, and looked great. The hotly anticipated Honda Accord concept coupe was on display, but the even hotter Advanced Concept Coupe was not. I learned, sadly, that the only one in existence was a hard-foam prototype, shown at the Detroit show. As it waited in storage to be transferred to Chicago, the severe cold temperature caused the foam to crack – so the NSX replacement was a no-show. But it was on the ballot. I considered giving it an absentee vote, but instead I gave part of a vote to the Taurus as a write-in.
Later, we discovered a spectacular new concept version of the Mitsubishi Outlander, a hot, sporty vehicle named the “Evolander†to make a connection with the Evolution version of the Lancer. It was not on the ballot, and we didn’t see it until after the vote had to be turned in. I would have ranked it right up there with the Kia Kue and the Accord coupe – which will be out this fall as the 2008 Accord – as my favorites.
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The Chicago show is so much fun because itÂ’s in Chicago, which is filled with night spots, great restaurants, and a vibrant lifestyle, the Blackhawks notwithstanding. By chance, the hockey team was out of town, so we ended up two nights in a row at the House of Blues, the latter at the annual Stars, Cars and Bars party. Jim Belushi surprised most of us by Blues-Brothering up a storm in a stage show that would have made his late brother John proud.
The next morning, we had an early start again, with Porsche talking a little racing and showing off the new redesign – subtle as it may be – of the Cayenne SUV. Then it was next door for Toyota to take over again, this time introducing two new Scion models. Toyota’s plan all along was to revise and change the subcompact entry-level Scion models, so the XA will be replaced by a new XD, which shares platforms with the Yaris subcompact, and the square-ish XB will prove, in Toyota’s words, “We will always have a box in our lineup,†although the new one is a foot longer and three inches wider. These are youth-market aimed, and have attained the industry’s youngest average age of 30, but older drivers also might appreciate the electronic gizmos and the iPod connectivity.
Maserati showed off its magnificent Quatroporte and said it would make a coupe version of that, retiring the MC Victory.
Nissan has redone the huge Armada SUV outside and in, and will offer a V8 engine in the Pathfinder for the first time, boosting it to 7,000-pounds of towing. Kia, from Korea, has a new Kue that is a stunning concept vehicle, and the sporty Rondo SX.
At that point, it was time to take off. We had a long, seven-hour drive back to Minneapolis, and we had given in to a request to seize the opportunity to test-drive the all new Ford F450. Ford trucks start with the Ranger (for now, at least), then the full-size 120, heavier duty 350, and enormo 450 with a giant turbo diesel V8, and dual wheels on the rear. As a 4×4, itÂ’s actually a 6×6, I guess, because it has six drive wheels, counting the dualies. When I saw it, I realized it was huge. It is not like having a living room on the road; it is like having a living room and a large den on the road together.
It was large enough that we passed up our trip-long plan to swing by GinoÂ’s East on the way out of town, to pick up a deep-dish sausage and pepper pizza and eat it on the way home. I never eat deep-dish pizza except in Chicago, where it is the best, and GinoÂ’s, which uses corn-meal in its crust, is worth craving whenever youÂ’re not in Chicago. We blew it, and off we went, still craving GinoÂ’s East.
We made good time, beating rush-hour, so there was only heavy congestion, not gridlock. The big Ford handled well, although it sure filled the lane with little to spare on either side. Sirius satellite radio was good too, with me seeking Coffeehouse for its contemporary singer-songwriters, and Margaritaville, for its Jimmy Buffett-flavored content, but we spent most of the trip at the three comedy stations. ItÂ’s impossible to get too drowsy behind the wheel when youÂ’re laughing at Lewis Black, countless others, or sessions by the late Mitch Hedberg.
On the freeway home, we made it to Osseo, Wis., by dinnertime – just in time to pull off and stop at the Norske Nook for a hot-beef and mashed potatos in a homemade breadbowl, with a small dose of pecan-fudge pie. The meal was great, the pie was sensational, and the coffee was…well at least it was hot. Strong does not equal good when it comes to coffee, and I’m a Dunn Brothers snob because in Minnesota, Dunn Brothers out-Starbucks and out-Caribous all the others. I know where to find it in the Twin Cities, and in Duluth, and even in Forest Lake, at a joint car-wash and Dunn Brothers(?), and I know how long my thermal mug can go between their various locations.
However, while it had been hinted to me that even that gigantic Ford F450 might get 25 or so miles per gallon with the diesel, I was distressed first to notice that diesel fuel was $2.59 a gallon – 30 cents more than premium – and I was distressed more when I calculated and recalculated my fuel economy and couldn’t make it come out any better than 9.1 to 9.7 no matter how I did it.
If it hadnÂ’t been so cold out, I could have taken solace from the fact that if I had been towing a house trailer it probably wouldnÂ’t have gotten any worse than 9.1 either. But then, I didnÂ’t have any house trailer available. That Ford Escape Hybrid’s 28.6 mpg looked really good, about then.
Badgers work overtime at UMD to win women’s WCHA
There may be more dramatic games in the upcoming Women’s WCHA and NCAA tournaments, but if not, Wisconsin’s pivotal pair of overtime games at Minnesota-Duluth on the first weekend in February will suffice. It took two nights of near-perfect hockey for the Badgers to fight off the Bulldogs for a 1-1 deadlock, followed by a 2-1 sudden-death Wisconsin victory that earned the Badgers their second straight WCHA title.
The Badgers knew they would be in for a severe test at the DECC, because UMD is the only team to have inflicted a loss on the newest edition of the Big Red Machine this season. That came in a 2-0 victory back about Thanksgiving time, and Wisconsin came back to win 1-0 the next night, and start a run that has now reached 12-0-3. That runs the Badgers up to a 19-1-4 season, and an amazing 25-1-4 overall ledger.
The showdown series of the season was exactly that, as Wisconsin needed at least three points in the two games to capture its second straight league title, and UMD was the only team that could still overtake the Badgers – who last year followed the WCHA title by also winning the league playoff and the NCAA women’s hockey championship.
Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson enjoyed watching the game, and games, and while his team’s second straight WCHA crown seemed only an exponent of the spectacle of the games themselves, Johnson also knows there are more challenges to come. He also said he rather enjoys Wisconsin’s No. 2 rank in national polls, behind Mercyhurst – Mercyhurst? – because it leaves an extra carrot of incentive dangling out ahead, and the WCHA’s fierce competition gives its top teams an edge.
“I told my team that both teams will benefit from this,†said Johnson. “This was typical of a playoff or NCAA game. Look at the games weÂ’ve had with Duluth. WeÂ’ve had to battle at both ends of the ice, and our games have been 2-0, 1-0, 1-1, and 2-1. Duluth has the capacity of beating anyone.Ââ€
Asked about Mercyhurst, Johnson was typically diplomatic. “TheyÂ’re No. 1, and thatÂ’s fine,†he said. “But whoever gets there from our league will benefit from this.Ââ€
The weekend was a showcase of tense, playoff hockey. In the first game, UMD scored a last-minute goal to tie the Badgers 1-1, as UMD freshman goaltender Kim Martin dueled Jessie Vetter through 65 minutes. Martin had by far the tougher duty, making 32 saves, while the Badgers smothered the Bulldogs to make VetterÂ’s night easier, with only 13 stops.
UMD, still playing without four injured regulars, including dynamic senior and offensive catalyst Jessica Koizumi, played a much stronger game in the Saturday rematch. Thanks to goaltender Riitta Schaublin, who more than upheld her end of senior night with 39 saves, the Bulldogs traded rushes with the smooth-running Badger machine for almost the entire game, following the same script with a late goal to forge a 1-1 tie for the second night in a row.
The games were so fast and clean that they could have been penalty-free, but both teams seemed frustrated with referee Jay MendelÂ’s selection of penalties, not the least of which was a tripping call to UMD defenseman Ashly Waggoner at 1:14 of the five-minute overtime. Still, UMD freshman Emmanuelle Blais was the recipient of a rare Wisconsin turnover 15 feet in front of the Badger goal, and she had a startling shorthanded open break, but Wisconsin senior Christine Dufour came up with a huge save, her 28th of the game.
“I almost had a heart attack,†said Johnson. “But our goalie makes the big save.Ââ€
Moments later, Meaghan Mikkelson fed an outlet pass ahead to Meghan Duggan, who relayed a perfect feed to Jinelle Zaugg, a 6-foot-1 junior winger with a reach that seems to be the only thing longer than her great skating stride. Zaugg was crossing the neutral zone, left to right, at full speed when she caught the pass, and UMD coach Shannon Miller said later: “I knew we were in trouble as soon as she caught that pass, because she has such great reach.Ââ€
Zaugg cut into the UMD zone, outflanked the retreating defense, and cut across the goal-mouth, right to left. Schaublin, a 6-footer with great reach herself, stayed with her almost all the way to the far, left pipe – almost. Zaugg sent her forehand shot just between Schaublin’s skate and the left pipe for a power-play goal at 2:02 of the overtime, and Wisconsin had secured a 2-1 victory.
Oh, and by the way, the WCHA season championship along with it.
Not that youÂ’d know it by talking to coach Johnson after the game, because the game itself was all-consuming. “It was a good play all around, with 27 (Mikkelson) moving the puck up to 7 (Duggan), and she got it over to Jinelle. She had speed and momentum, and sheÂ’s got that long reach, and she needed every bit of it.Ââ€
Maybe using numbers is the easiest way to keep his Meaghan/Meghan combination straight, but they are typical of the consistently outstanding style of play Johnson has installed with the Badgers in every zone. They can defuse an equal opponent, and smother a lesser one. They defend their net with poise and precision, with a blue line crew led by co-captain Bobby-Jo Slusar and Mikkelson, both seniors. The two have been vital to the offense – Mikkelson with 8-29—36, and Slusar with 10-17—27 – while the other four defensemen haven’t scored a single goal, but they defend goaltenders Vetter and Dufour mightily.
Up front, Sara Bauer – one of six seniors on the team and last year’s Patty Kazmaier Award winner – has been both an inspirational and productive leader with 18-34—52, while her junior left winger, Zaugg, a junior, is one of five homestate Wisconsin players, is the team’s goal-scoring leader with 21-15—36. Freshman right winger Duggan stands at 20-19—39 after her goal and assist in the 2-1 victory. The other three lines contribute great balance and also show the benefit of Johnson’s smooth-fitting machine, whether breaking out of their end, sweeping across the neutral zone, or pinning foes into the offensive end with a stifling and supportive forecheck.
Bauer is only 5-foot-3, almost a foot shorter than Zaugg, but Bauer doesn’t look short, not with Erika Lawler coming out at center on the following shift. Lawler, a sophomore, is only 5-foot-0, but adds a quick, smart impact. She has 7-23—30, with her 23rd assist on the first goal in the Saturday game, when she recovered the puck on a rush and fed Duggan, who carried in on the left side and drilled a perfect shot, high to the far side, to beat Schaublin with 59 seconds remaining in the first period.
That goal, giving Wisconsin a 1-0 lead, climaxed a stirring period. The Badgers had a 12-11 edge in shots, and, as Johnson said, “They could put a video of that away as a showcase for womenÂ’s hockey.Ââ€
The 1-0 lead stood through the second and third periods, although Schaublin had to be brilliant to stop repeated attacks in the scoreless second period, when Wisconsin had a 16-5 edge in shots. It was 12-12 in the third. “For the first four or five minutes of the game, we had a good pace, but then in the next seven or eight minutes, they had four real good scoring chances,†said Johnson, recalling the flow of the game as if he had it on video inside his head.
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From UMDÂ’s standpoint, the Senior Night performance was highly emotional, although sophomore Michaela Lanzl, a 5-foot-2 speedster from German, had an outstanding weekend and accounted for many of UMD’s best threats. “We have no superstars on this team, just a super team,†said coach Miller. “We still have four players out, and with the depleted roster we had, this was a great weekend for us. We had to go and go, push and push. We gave it everything we had, and IÂ’ll take it – going into overtime both nights against Wisconsin.Ââ€
The two games were similar, but different. In the first game, Emily Kranz beat Martin with a high backhander from the right side after one of dozens of scrambles at the UMD crease, and the goal came with 2:03 left in the first period. Martin then held the fort, as Wisconsin buttoned the Bulldogs into their own end, outshooting them 9-1 in the period. UMD didnÂ’t get its first shot of the third period until midway through, meaning the Â’Dawgs got only one shot for a full 30-minute span in the middle of the game.
“They outplayed us, and outshot us,†Miller said. “But sometimes you could have 100 shots and not score, but as long as it stayed 1-0, we didnÂ’t need a lot of shots – we just needed one goal.Ââ€
The break came when Wisconsin iced the puck, a rare flaw, in the final minute. Miller got Martin out of the game for a sixth attacker. “First, you obviously have to win the draw, then get the shot through,†said Miller.
Saara Tuominen, a freshman from Finland, won the right corner faceoff, and got the puck to Elin Holmlov, a freshman forward from Sweden who was at center point. After countless UMD shots had been blocked by WisconsinÂ’s bunching defense, Holmlov found an opening and sent a hard wrist shot through traffic. Vetter spotted the puck late, but blocked the shot. But Noemie Marin, another of UMDÂ’s seniors, backhanded the rebound in with 47 seconds remaining for the 1-1 tie.
The second game similarities were that Duggan also gave Wisconsin a 1-0 lead late in the first period, and UMD again scored late in the third, this time when Tawni Mattila won a right-corner faceoff, and the puck got bunted back to Finnish freshman Heidi Pelttari, who fired a shot. The puck came out to Karine Demeule, whose 11th goal of the season was the 1-1 equalizer.
This time, however, Zaugg brought victory to the Badgers.
“Again we ended up with a faceoff in our end, and now itÂ’s tied,†said the relieved Johnson. “The game had everything – two senior goaltenders, one from Quebec (Dufour) and the other (Schaublin) from Switzerland, battling each other toe-to-toe. And after two games, it took a power-play goal in overtime for one team to win.Ââ€
That one team was Wisconsin, and the victory, slim as it was, was all that separated two teams that had battled 1-1-1 for the season until that overtime. And while the two teams might renew their rich and intense rivalry at playoff time, or in the NCAA tournament, or both, that slim victory on the first weekend of February was good enough for the WCHA championship.
Mazda CX-9 zoom-zooms into larger SUV market
The Mazda CX-7 may have the sportiest design of all crossover SUVs, being more like a sports sedan with the SUV assets of all-wheel drive and a higher seating position. If you like the idea but need more room to haul more people, then imagine stretching a CX-7 out to a length that allows a third-row seat, with 17.2 cubic feet of storage space behind that third row, and with a wider stance that turns it into the largest vehicle ever built by Mazda. ThatÂ’s the new CX-9.
There are enough similarities in style between the CX-9 and the CX-7 that from a hundred feet away, they might be mistaken for each other. But up close, or side-by-side, the difference in size is readily discernable. The CX-9, with three rows of seats, puts Mazda into new territory and fills in the void left by the recently discontinued MPV minivan. Mazda moved instead into the compact crossover segment with the five-passenger XC-7, and the next logical step is the seven-passenger CX-9.
To fully grasp the CX-9, a review of the CX-7 is necessary, as well as a look at the interaction with Ford, MazdaÂ’s chief investor. The CX-7 was good enough to earn the runner-up slot in Truck of the Year competition, outpointing the very good Ford Edge and all the other breakthrough crossovers. A lean and agile four- or five-seater, the CX-7 is powered by a quick and efficient turbocharged Mazda 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine with all-wheel drive.
Both the Edge and the CX-7 began life on a stretched and strengthened Mazda6 platform, and the CX-7 is closer in size to the Edge, both with two rows of seats. Mazda dipped into its own supply bin for the CX-7, using the front structure from the Mazda6, and the rear from the Mazda5, as well as using its own turbocharged four-cylinder.
Aimed at a family that needs more interior room and seating for up to seven, but still wants something that has a futuristic, high-tech look of adventure that goes beyond the boxy, traditional SUVs, the CX-9 is substantially longer than the CX-7 or Edge, at 198.8 inches in overall length and a 113.2-inch wheelbase. It also is much heavier, at 4,500 pounds in all-wheel-drive models, and it carries 56 percent of its weight on the front axle. The CX-9 retains the corporate “Zoom-Zoom†approach with a bold attitude, and its agility is indicated by its surprisingly small turning circle.
Rather than “borrowing†the Edge platform, Mazda more accurately recalled elements of its own platform, which Ford used in the Edge. From the firewall forward, the CX-9 and the Edge have about the same structure, which makes sense, because both house the same 3.5-liter Ford V6 engine. The suspension points on all four corners are also the same, but from the firewall rearward, the CX-9 is Mazda’s own.
Mazda useda straight and wide ladder frame, with cross members of high-strength steel, and added a lower sub-frame, with reinforced lower side members, wheelwells and pillars. Basing the rear on the MPV design to house the third-row seating, Mazda wound up with a larger, roomier vehicle that is still sporty looking on the outside and rigidly safe under the skin.
Crash tests show impact energy is dispersed and forced downward to the perimeter of the CX-9 frame, and the reinforced lower rails and cross-members allow less deformity in a crash. Being so rigid also made it easy to engineer better directional stability, such as linear steering and the ability to remain flat and stable in emergency swerves.
Having an accessible third-row seat was important, and wide rear doors greet an easy fold-and-slide second row seat. ItÂ’s easy enough for adults, and a snap for kids, to flip a switch to fold and slide the seat and hop back into the third row, where there is surprising room. The second row seat cushion is about 3 inches higher than the front buckets, making for stadium-seating view, and the third-row seat is similarly raised above the second, to ease the feeling that third-row riders are in some sort of cave back there. Naturally, the generous room behind the third seat becomes huge by folding down the second row.
The Ford-built 3.5-liter V6 puts out 263 horsepower at 5,250 RPMs, and 249 foot-pounds of torque at 4,500 RPMs. The engine adds to exchanges between Ford and Mazda that previously saw Mazda send its 2.3 four-cylinder to Ford while making use of FordÂ’s 3.0 V6. With the 3.0, Mazda revised the cylinder heads and added variable valve-timing to make it so much more potent in the Mazda6 that Ford now uses MazdaÂ’s revisions in the Fusion. The new Ford V6 is so good that Mazda engineers say that such tweaking was not necessary with the 3.5.
The new Ford V6 is very strong and technically advanced, with reinforcement ribs improving the stiffness of the all-aluminum block, and a timing chain rather than a belt, for its dual overhead camshafts. Valve timing can be varied on both intake and exhaust sides by reading engine load and RPMs, and the use of electronic throttle control.
In the Edge, Ford uses a new six-speed automatic transmission developed jointly with General Motors with the 3.5. Mazda uses a smooth-shifting six-speed automatic developed jointly by Aisin and Mazda in the CX-9. An interesting difference is that the the Edge and companion Lincoln MKX do not have a manual gate to allow clutchless manual shifting, while the CX-9 has that feature.
MazdaÂ’s own adaptive all-wheel-drive system features an active torque split that responds to computer readings of steering, throttle angle, yaw rate, and both lateral acceleration and wheel speed. In normal driving, 100 percent of the torque goes to the front wheels, and the torque shifts from front to rear up to a 50-50 split when the computer detects any wheelspin or other need for shifting torque rearward.
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Competition is seen as the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, BMW X5, Volvo XC90, Acura MDX, and Volkswagen Touareg, most of which make the CX-9 a worthy challenger and a bargain besides. The CX-9 comes in three levels – the Sport, quite well equipped with 18-inch wheels and lighter, front-wheel drive, starting at about $28,000; the Touring adds leather power seats; and the Grand Touring moves up to about a $32,000 base price, with 20-inch wheels, high-intensity discharge headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and other top-shelf features. If you want to load up from the option list, a 9-inch-screen rear DVD player, or the Bose 5.1 surround sound system, plus a power liftgate, navigation screen with rear-view video, you could get the CX-9 up to near $40,000.
Driving the CX-9 puts you in position to appreciate the effort made to combine luxury and sportiness. It stays remarkably flat even on sharp, quick steering moves, and it never feels as though it might lose its composure. MazdaÂ’s idea that there was room for a midsize SUV that offers more than was available blossomed after interviews all over the country led to various responses, and that information created four objectives for the CX-9: It had to stress sportiness, prestige, versatility, and safety.
Sportiness was achieved by the sporty lines, rigid chassis, and potent engine and six-speed transmission, running on regular gas and with a 3,500-pound towing capacity; prestige meant special attention to the luxury touches of the interior; versatility meant surprising room inside, with storage bins well-positioned, room behind the third seat, higher-rising second seat that slides forward and folds clear for convenient access to the third row; safety demanded that every CX-9 has antilock brakes, electronic brake distribution, traction control, dynamic roll-stability control, as well as front and side airbags.
My only complaint is strictly personal. I like the new and well-bolstered seats, and the visibility from the driver’s seat is superb. But the manual shift gate on the automatic makes you push forward to downshift, and pull backward to upshift – counter-intuitive both ways, to me. Mazda and BMW are the only two mainstream companies that insist on using that layout, while other manufacturers seem to agree that logic dictates going forward to go forward, and pulling back to back off. My brain works that way too. But the good news is that Mazda does have a manual gate.
DOT Line leads Fighting Sioux to sweep of Gophers
Ryan Duncan, Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie of North Dakota are not related, but if they were, theyÂ’d be Siamese triplets. Joined at the heads and hands.
After three months of creating mostly questions, the best forward line in the nation is supplying the University of North Dakota hockey team with some good answers. If you happened to be inside Mariucci Arena last weekend, you realized this weekÂ’s WCHA Offensive Player of the Week should be the Duncan-Toews-Oshie line. Yes, itÂ’s possible to have co-winners of the award, so why not co-co-winners? It would make sense, because the top Fighting Sioux line is impossible to separate.
The three quick, and extremely skilled sophomores seem to read each otherÂ’s minds, and their hands simply react to share the puck with spectacular passes. Their play led North Dakota to resounding 5-3 and 7-3 victories at Minnesota, for a sweep over the No. 1 ranked Golden Gophers.
The Sioux are far more than just one line, of course, and they are quick to point to their teammates, and particularly goaltender Philippe Lamoureux for credit. But in the case of these guys, “just one line†is a misnomer. Maybe they should be called the “DOT†line – for Duncan-Oshie-Toews. It also works because if the Fighting Sioux are to make their familiar second-half surge to national puck prominence this season, all they need to do is sign on the Dotted Line.
In Friday’s 5-3 victory, North Dakota fell behind 2-0, then stunned the first of two standing-room-only crowds at Mariucci into silence by volleying five consecutive goals past Kellen Briggs. Of the five, the Dotted Line scored three of them, punctuated by five assists. On Saturday, when the Sioux shelled Jeff Frazee with three first-period goals, and then tormented Briggs some more with two more in both the second and third periods, the Dotted Line got four of them, with five more assists. For the weekend, then, the trio snapped passes around to leave their signature on 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points. Duncan scored 4-3—7, Oshie 2-2—4, and Toews 1-4—5, with virtually every point a reward for some spectacular and inseparable passing plays.
Duncan now has scored 21 goals-15 assists—36 points for the season, and Oshie has 9-20—29, and Toews 7-18—25. Duncan’s totals are outstanding, and his 21 goals lead the nation, as do his 16 WCHA-game goals lead the league.
“TheyÂ’re the best line IÂ’ve seen,†said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “If they play like this the rest of the season, theyÂ’ll all have 25 goals.Ââ€
Any other questions?
Well, yes. Where the heck has this line been all season? Going into the season, that line was the reason some observers thought the Fighting Sioux would win the WCHA title, even thought the coaches picked them only for third, behind Minnesota and defending NCAA champion Wisconsin. Their prolific output at Minnesota – which produced the first Fighting Sioux sweep at Minnesota since Feb. 15-16, 1980, but where have Oshie and Toews been, after remarkable freshman seasons? Why weren’t they scoring, when the Fighting Sioux followed up a strong 4-1-1 start in the WCHA by suffering through a painful 1-8 plunge that dropped them down below also-ran status, to a 5-9-1 league record that dropped them hopelessly out of contention, and out of any discussion for home-ice in the playoffs. About that time, Minnesota was on a nation’s best 22-game unbeaten streak to take command of the WCHA race.
The Gophers didn’t lose the nation’s No. 1 rank by splitting at Wisconsin, and then splitting against Denver. But suddenly, they didn’t bounce back from a Friday loss and were swept by North Dakota, which means the Golden Gophers have lost four of six to let Denver and St. Cloud State move back into contention. And, as if to supply yet another answer to whether the Fighting Sioux will be heard from this season, North Dakota has finally risen to 9-9-2 in the WCHA – even .500 – and is 6-0-1 for the longest current unbeaten streak in the nation.
As for the magical DOT line, all three are strikingly different, although they share a basic humility as easily as they share the puck. Duncan, who is from Calgary and played at Salmon Arm in the British Columbia Junior League, is 5-foot-6 and 158 pounds. After the Saturday game, a Twin Cities reporter, perhaps baiting him, asked Duncan if he thought the Gophers were over-rated. “I wouldnÂ’t say theyÂ’re over-rated,†said Duncan. “I would say we had been under-achieving. We played well on other weekends, we just didnÂ’t seem to get the breaks. These were a huge two wins for us. We came into a tough arena and won two big games.Ââ€
As for playing with Toews and Oshie, Duncan, who is a free agent, said: “ItÂ’s great. Those guys are first-round draft picks, and theyÂ’re going to make a lot of money some day.Ââ€
Oshie is a 6-foot, 188-pounder from Warroad, Minn., who was a first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, and who scored 24-21—45 as a freshman last year, leading the nation with nine game-winning goals. He also agreed that the Gophers were far from over-rated. “They’ve earned it,†he said. And the Sioux?
“We came together on December 17, when Michigan Tech swept us,†said Oshie. “We realized right then we had to change what we were doing. No, I don’t think we were taking it easy because we had come on so strong at the end of last season. As the start, we just had nobody grinding. We were not playing with a lot of grit. We might have four going, instead of five, on a shift. Or two going instead of three.
“Maybe me and Jon [Toews] felt like we had to do too much. But this weekend will definitely help us out and be a springboard for us the rest of the way.Ââ€
Toews, who is 6-foot-2, 202-pounder from Winnipeg, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks, and scored 22-17—39 as a freshman last season, as the Sioux reached the Frozen Four before losing a semifinal 6-5 thriller to Boston College. He helped beat Team USA in the recent World Junior Tournament when he scored three consecutive goals on a three-round shootout that decided a 2-1 victory for Canada.
“We lost five key players from last year’s team,†said Toews. “With those guys, it was easy for T.J., Ryan and me to fly under the radar a little. This year, we got off to a slow start by not doing the little things. Now, we’re doing them.
“I played better at the World Juniors than I had been. I got something like 4 goals and 2 assists,†Toews added. “When I got back, it was more of a mental thing for me. Obviously, your body is tired, but itÂ’s such a mental boost, I was excited to get back. We played with a lot of confidence this weekend, and weÂ’ve got to use this and keep playing the way we are. Our line is firing on the power play, and no one really worries who does what, because somebody will come through.Ââ€
To hear Oshie and Toews talk, they worked hard but just had a lot of bad luck the first half. Nice try, guys, but the shroud of trying to avoid any alibi and now be explained, because theyÂ’ve recovered, but Oshie and Toews were pretty much taken off their game while trying to play through serious injuries. Oshie was trying to grip his stick after suffering a broken thumb at the start of the season, Toews missed nine games overall, most of them with a shoulder injury, and he came back to play but wasnÂ’t 100 percent.
“They’ve all played that hard all season, but they haven’t had the rewards until last Saturday night,†said coach Dave Hakstol, referring to a game when North Dakota fell behind Bemidji State 2-0 before roaring back for a 6-3 victory.
Once Hakstol knew that his interrogator was aware of the seriousness of the Oshie and Toews injuries, he acknowledged that they had been severely hampered through the first half of the season. “Those guys compete every game,†said Hakstol. “But Toews and Oshie are just now getting back to 100 percent. It wasnÂ’t like Toews had a great World Junior tournament because he got healthy – he didnÂ’t get healthy until it was over. Their energy is back, both mentally and physically. But it was hard getting through those injuries.Ââ€
Getting the big line clicking again gives the Sioux a positive bottom line. Or, make it DOTted Line. When things started going their way, nothing could stop them. Saturday, for example, they came out flying, with freshman Darcy Zajac scoring on a swift counter-rush 2-on-1 with a short-side bullet at 6:16. Barely a minute later, Chay Genoway got the puck after turning back another Gopher rush, and after he carried into the Minnesota zone, the puck was poke-checked off his stick. But Toews arrived just in time to keep it in at the blue line, and fed Duncan, a left-hand shooter deep on the right, and DuncanÂ’s short-side goal made it 2-0.
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A very interesting byplay followed. Mike Howe of Minnesota broke hard for the net on a power play, lowered his shoulder and barreled into Lamoureux. Instead of a penalty, referee Jon Campion called Genoway for holding less than a minute later, and Erik Johnson scored for Minnesota on the two-man power play. Five minutes later, Ryan Stoa scored another power play goal, and then Howe boosted the Gophers to a 3-2 lead on yet another power-play goal. For the game, Minnesota had a 12-5 edge in power plays, and for the weekend series, it was 23-10. But compared to the first half of the season, that sort of adversity was nothing. Instead of being knocked flat, North Dakota bounced back. Literally.
Robbie Bina got the puck while killing yet another penalty with 1:13 remaining in the wild first period, and as he took a step across his own goal line, he flung a long clearing attempt on goal. The puck sailed down the ice, bounced twice, and, when goaltender Jeff Frazee dropped to his knees in the crease, it took a bad-hop and went over his shoulder and into the left edge – a 165-foot fluke goal, which tied the game 3-3. Lucia sent Kellen Briggs in to relieve Frazee for the second period, but the Fighting Sioux were flying again.
With Duncan deep on the right and Oshie deep on the left, the Sioux power play always seemed to have one — or both — open for the good-angle, off-hand shot. Duncan connected from deep on the right for a power-play goal at 11:29 of the second period to put North Dakota up 4-3, although nobody could know it would eventually stand up as the winner. Erik Fabian tucked in a wraparound on Briggs 24 seconds later, and the Sioux were up 5-3.
That left it to the third period, but Oshie, a right-handed shooter deep on the left, one-timed a Duncan pass for a power play goal at 5:13, and Oshie converted a highlight-film pass from Toews, with Duncan also assisting, to make it 7-3 midway through the period.
Lamoureux was solid in goal, the Sioux defense was hustling, everybody chipped in – and the Sioux signed off on the Dotted Line.
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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