MSU-Mankato surge to contention eliminates sympathy

The WCHA menÂ’s hockey chase has been filled with turbulent ups and downs all season, but in the midst of all the surprises, the most enormous understatement is that the sympathy for Minnesota State-Mankato has ended.

Two very elusive guys named Shane Joseph and Grant Stevenson stand 1-2 in league scoring for the “Alberta Clipper” line, igniting an 11-game unbeaten streak that might be titled “Tie one for Troy” for the ride to third place, which has left the whole league shaking its collective head.

There’s not a lot of time wasted in sympathy by WCHA men’s teams for others in the highly-competitive league. But Minnesota State-Mankato was the recipient of a lot of league-wide sympathy last summer, when Tim Jackman in late July and Jimmy Cunningham in August decided to leave school and sign pro contracts. The Mavericks had made some strides to get up into the middle of the WCHA picture, and the loss of those two players – both among the top three of the team’s returning scorers – would undoubtedly doom them to a plunge to the lower reaches of the WCHA this season.

But as the month of January hurtles toward a conclusion, the Mavericks have ridden an 11-game unbeaten streak (6-0-5) – and overtimes in seven of the last nine games – to third place in the WCHA, behind only the sizzling pace being set by Colorado College and North Dakota. Behind them are preseason co-favorites Denver and Minnesota -– the two teams MSU-Mankato just played, with one victory and three ties – as well as St. Cloud State and resurgent Minnesota-Duluth. Minnesota-Duluth is a team that would be the league’s biggest surprise if it weren’t for MSU-Mankato’s amazing season, and the Bulldogs are the next foe for the Mavericks in a battle for home-ice hopes.

Mankato coach Troy Jutting faced two questions: Is he surprised by the MavericksÂ’ third-place stance? And, is it mathematically possible to tie all the rest of their games and still finish third?
“I knew we were going to have a great group of guys,” said Jutting. “But to say we’d be in third place at this point in the season…I’d have to say I’m surprised. I knew we’d work hard, and right now, we’re playing together really well. We’re getting great leadership, and they’ve got a lot of pride.”

“We knew Shane would score. He came in here after a big year in junior and broke his leg in one of the first couple of games and redshirted all year. He had a little trouble adjusting to the pace of the game in his freshman year, but then he comes back and scores 20 goals as a sophomore. Grant Stevenson had scored only 16 points, but we thought he had a lot of skill.”

Shane Joseph and Grant Stevenson fit together like a hand in a glove on an all-Alberta line, where left winger Joseph is from Brooks, center Stevenson from Spruce Grove, and right winger Dana Sorensen is a junior from Beaumont. As a tandem, Joseph and Stevenson have proven unstoppable for Maverick foes. Joseph, a 5-foot-9 scooter, has 17 goals, 19 assists for 36 points to lead the WCHA, and 20-24—44 overall; Stevenson, a 6-0 playmaker, has 14-21—35 to trail Joseph by one point in league scoring, and 18-28—46 to lead his linemate by two points overall.

As for the ties? Jutting laughed and admitted he hadnÂ’t done the math yet. At 7-5-7 in the WCHA, and 10-7-9 overall, the Mavericks have gone into overtime for a record 12 times, with two victories, one loss and nine of those games unresolved. But as long as junior Shane Joseph and sophomore Grant Stevenson keep up their torrid scoring pace, and veterans like junior Cole Bassett and B.J. Abel keep chipping in timely goals and bolster the leadership, the Mavericks keep rolling along, win or tie.
“We’re young, and we’ll learn,” said Abel. “Our unbeaten streak is great, but we have a goal of making it to the national tournament. We’ve done a lot of conditioning, and maybe that’s helped get us ready for so many overtimes. We knew we’d have a team that was close, and right now, we all do our jobs and everybody is pulling for everybody else.”

Jutting would seem to be a shoo-in for coach of the year in the league. He not only has taken what was basically a no-name outfit and prodded them into contention, but he has combined some neat tactics along with some great team chemistry to guide the Mavericks into a position to be reckoned with. The Mavericks are likely to send a winger or two all the way to the far blue line to stretch out an opponentÂ’s defense and facilitate a breakout, and their quickness makes them dangerous everytime they gain possession and turn to their transition game.

In goal, Jensen, a junior from Twin Cities suburb Apple Valley, was the No. 1 netminder, and Volp, a sophomore from Eden Prairie, was a distant No. 2. Jensen played 11 straight games at one point, but when he faltered, Jutting went to Volp and liked what he saw. Even though neither has league-leading statistics, both have been outstanding since Jutting started alternating them.

MSU-Mankato needed a break at Minnesota, and got it in the first game, when the Gophers found themselves in a rare predicament of having Troy Riddle, Paul Martin and Matt DeMarchi all in the box together after flagrant, close-order penalties late in the second period. Abel smacked in a 2-man power-play goal with 1:15 left in the period to tie the game 1-1, and with Minnesota still two skaters short, Bassett smacked in another 2-man power-play marker for a 2-1 lead. Jerrid Reinholz tied it 2-2 with 2:57 left in regulation, then the teams played a scoreless overtime.

Minnesota outshot Mankato 36-21, and hit four pipes as well, but Jon Volp was brilliant in goal for the Mavericks, and 10,060 fans went away puzzled.

The next night, Mankato spotted Minnesota leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but fought back for ties on goals by Stevenson and Bassett, then Brad Thompson gave the Mavericks a 3-2 lead in the third period. When Keith Ballard and Jon Waibel scored midway through the third, Minnesota was back on top at 4-3. But Jutting pulled goaltender Jason Jensen in the final minute, and Jeff Marler scored with 26 seconds left for a 4Stevenson and Bassett, then Brad Thompson gave the Mavericks a 3-2 lead in the third period. When Keith Ballard and Jon Waibel scored midway through the third, Minnesota was back on top at 4-3. But Jutting pulled goaltender Jason Jensen in the final minute, and Jeff Marler scored with 26 seconds left for a 4-4 tie.

Again Minnesota outshot the Mavericks, this time 47-30, but the Mavericks extended their unbeaten streak to 11. The week before, at Denver, Mankato led 3-1 until Denver pulled its goaltender and scored twice in the last minute for a 3-3 tie against Volp. In the second game at Denver, Joseph, Abel, Bassett and Joseph again scored and Jensen stymied the Pioneers for a 4-2 victory. That means in a four-game stretch against the WCHAÂ’s co-favorites, the Mavs took five points and didnÂ’t lose.

The Mavericks donÂ’t discriminate, playing close and dramatic games with every foe. Before Denver, MSU-Mankato claimed 4-2 and 5-4-overtime victories over Michigan Tech, after starting January with a 3-2 victory and 4-4 tie against Wisconsin. That makes a 4-0-4 record since the first of the year, and six of those eight games required overtime.

While there is a lot of the season remaining, the Mavericks have played more games than hot-pursuers like St. Cloud, Minnesota, UMD and Denver, which makes their hold on third place tenuous. But creative scoring, strong defense, solid goaltending and a lot of chemistry make them a threat the rest of the way.

OSU women’s coach Barto regroups after UMD series

Ohio StateÂ’s womenÂ’s hockey team held on stubbornly before falling 5-2 at Minnesota-Duluth, but the dam burst the next night, when the Buckeyes were the victims of an 11-2 drubbing by the Bulldog powerhouse.

If it felt good to return home Sunday to Columbus, coach Jackie Barto and her Buckeyes didnÂ’t have much time to regroup. Four days later, they would be heading for Minneapolis, and the second half of the WCHA-WomenÂ’s grind against Minnesota. Both UMD and Minnesota have been ranked among the nationÂ’s top three all season, a position the rest of the leagueÂ’s teams continue to strive to achieve.

While UMD and Minnesota are dueling for the WCHA and possible NCAA laurels, Barto and the Buckeyes have set more modest objectives, with the league in its fourth season since bursting upon the scene. Minnesota was the only one of seven teams that had a Division I varsity womenÂ’s hockey program when the WomenÂ’s WCHA was formed. UMD beat Minnesota for the first title, then Minnesota won the second and third, with UMD advancing the past two seasons to win the first two WomenÂ’s NCAA national championships.

“No question, Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth have set the bar pretty high for our whole league,” said Barto. “The others want to continue to improve, and I definitely think there is good progress. Minnesota and UMD have a lot of very talented players out there, but the younger players on other teams are getting exposure to the game. With the resources available to all of us, obviously growth was going to happen. And it’s happened quickly.

“Our objective is to work hard and keep the games close against teams like Minnesota and Duluth. We want to qualify for the WCHA tournament and give it our best shot.”

Barto established herself as a force in womenÂ’s hockey coaching during five years at Providence, where she had been a star athlete. Her first team, in 1994-95, was 18-9-4 and won the ECAC championship. The next year the Friars lost to New Hampshire in the title game, but only after five overtimes. When the WCHA started in 1999-2000, Barto joined the new frontier and moved to Columbus, where her teams showed steady improvement through her first three years, going 8-26-3 with all-rookies, then 18-16-3 as WCHA runner-up, and last year fashioned an 18-15-4 mark.

This year has been more of a struggle, as OSU takes an 8-16-2 record (5-9-2 in the WCHA) to Minnesota.

“I feel that our program can compete with anybody, we just need some confidence,” said Barto. “The trouble is, teams like Minnesota and UMD don’t allow your confidence to grow, and confidence is such a fragile element.”

Both hope and that fragile element of confidence were the keys to Ohio State’s first game in Duluth, which was played in Pioneer Hall, adjacent to the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center main arena, because a “monster truck” show was roaring its way through the big hall both nights. Barto is not likely to soon forget the monster that struck her team suddenly, late in the first game.

The Buckeyes came in 5-7-2 in WCHA games, while UMD was 14-1-1. With both senior April Stojak and freshman Natalie Lamme playing well in goal recently, Barto decided to start Lamme in the first game, because she is from Minnesota’s Iron Range, and her Hibbing roots might help her take hold of the situation. Meanwhile, sophomore Jeni Creary, from Shell Lake, Saskatchewan, came in with 14 goals through OSU’s first 24 games – more than any other two Buckeye skaters combined.

Things were going along according to plan. When Krista McArthurÂ’s power-play goal put UMD up 1-0 during a 15-3 shot barrage in the first period, Creary got lucky and scored late in the opening period when UMD goaltender Patricia Sautter skated to the sideboards but misfired on a clearing attempt, leaving Creary with an empty net from 40 feet for her 15th goal and a 1-1 tie.

The mighty Bulldogs, who finished the weekend 16-1-1 atop the WCHA and 22-2-2 overall to defend their No. 2 national rank, stormed ahead when Hanne Sikio scored shorthanded, Jenny Hempel finished a 3-on-2 rush, and Nora Tallus connected on a power play. But Jana Harrigan knocked in a Jeanne Chapple feed with 5 seconds left in the second period, and despite being outshot 21-3 in the period and 36-6 for two periods, the Buckeyes trailed only 4-2 at the second intermission.

It stayed 4-2 for 12 minutes, which was to Ohio State’s benefit. One more goal – nice set-up, fluke or whatever – and the Buckeyes would be right on the cusp of a major upset bid.

Instead, everything came undone. After making her 40th save, Lamme, who was clearly the star of the game, was down when a teammate blasted UMDÂ’s McArthur down on top of her. The two exchanged words as they got up, and, while still debating, Lamme spit at McArthur. It was an outrageous act, Lamme would agree afterward, a terrible reaction to the pressure and frustration of the moment, and she seemed contrite. But she was gone, nonetheless, as referee Brad Shepherd gave her a game misconduct at 12:24 of the third period. In a moment, she had gone from star of the game to social outcast.

It was still 4-2, and Stojak came in cold and played well. But exactly two minutes later, Creary checked UMDÂ’s Joanne Eustace from behind, headlong into the corner boards. Shepherd had no choice but to hit her with a 5-minute major and game disqualification for checking from behind.

In the closing minutes, Hempel deflected in one more goal for the 5-2 finish, which still wasnÂ’t bad, considering UMDÂ’s 54-15 edge in shots. That left a moment of truth for Barto and the Buckeyes. They had suffered from a steady stream of penalties, and a perceived lack of discipline might have been worse than the outcome. And for the second game, the Buckeyes would be without Creary, who would have to sit out for the disqualification.

Barto chose to not dress Lamme for the second game, getting special permission from the league to go with only one goalie. But even without their top scorer, the Buckeyes responded to BartoÂ’s demand and simply tried to play the powerful Bulldogs heads-up. The result was the 11-2 rout, as Caroline Ouellette scored three goals and Sikio, McArthur and Tricia Guest scored two each, with the irrepressible Jenny Potter adding six assists. Sikio reached the 200-point plateau with her game-opening goal, and she had her two goals and an assist while UMD took a 4-0 lead in the opening session.

While UMD was outshooting the overmatched Buckeyes 33-5 in the first two periods and 51-18 for the game, Jenny Hempel and Guest scored the sixth and seventh UMD goals in a school-record 9-second burst, with Eustace setting up both goals. On top of that, UMD was without Maria Rooth – who reached 200 points two weeks earlier – and Erika Holst, both of whom were skating for Sweden’s National team in a four-game upset victory over Finland, which included UMD defenseman Satu Kiipeli, and Ohio State star Emma Laaksonen.

The Buckeyes obviously depend on CrearyÂ’s offense and LaaksonenÂ’s skills on defense, and Barto points to freshman Jana Harrigan, and sophomores Jennifer Desson and Meaghan Mulvaney to improve the teamÂ’s scoring ability. Laaksonen has proven that more than just UMD can attract top student-athletes from Sweden and Finland.

“The players have to be the right fit for us, though, they have to be players whose highest goal is to graduate from Ohio State,” said Barto. “Scholarships are available, and the talent pool is growing, so the opportunities are definitely there.”

With the trip to Minnesota looming, Barto will leave Lamme at home with an indefinite suspension. “We hold our athletes to the highest standards,” said Barto. “Natalie is disappointed it happened, and she will work hard to get back into the lineup, but it was definitely an act that was unbecoming of an athlete in our program. We all need to be held accountable. The game is all about respect – respect for the game, your team and your opponent.”

Escalade EXT gives Cadillac a ‘much-needed’ pickup

If you went back 10 years and told someone that Cadillac would have a sport-utility vehicle, your credibility would be questioned, at best. If you then said that they also would have a pickup truck, your credibility would be shattered.

ThatÂ’s where weÂ’re at, however, in this rapidly changing world of automotives.

The Cadillac Escalade came out a year ago as a Cadillac version of ChevroletÂ’s popular Tahoe, a large, full-size SUV. And for 2003, the Escalade not only has grown a few inches, but it has added the EXT version, which is an Escalade SUV for the front 2/3, and upscale pickup truck for the rearmost 1/3.

With the amazingly increasing number of SUVs flooding the market, it gets more and more difficult to trace their lineage these days, but this one can still be tracked. Chevrolet came out with the Avalanche a year ago, and it was a far-out styling exercise that saw Chevrolet take a Suburban – the world’s longest SUV – and cut off the body after the second row of seats, turning the third row and the cargo area into a pickup box.

A wall, of course, was necessary to separate the occupant compartment from the box, but Chevy had an interesting idea there and put a movable partition there. With very little effort, you can lower the rear window and fold down the midgate, elongating the cargo-hauling box considerably.

The Avalanche met with rave reviews, or considerable scorn, whichever side you happened to be on. It was an extremely long and large SUV/pickup, and its lower parts were covered with all sorts of plastic cladding. It almost looked like a vehicle for one of those contemporary action-figure toy dolls.

Well, when GM gave Cadillac its Escalade, as a considerably upscaled Tahoe, with a fancy grille and all sorts of interior features to separate it distinctly from the Tahoe. When next the Escalade ESV was added, it was either an elongated Escalade or a refaced Suburban, riding on the SuburbanÂ’s 130-inch wheelbase instead of the Tahoe/EscaladeÂ’s 116-inch wheelbase.

So it probably was quite natural that the Escalade ESV would now beget the EXT, which is basically an Avalanche with all sorts of upgrades.

When Cadillac first got the Escalade, a lot of us might have been completely unaware that Cadillac needed its own sport-utility vehicle. The Cadillac Escalade EXT causes me to reiterate: It is a captivating vehicle if Cadillac needed an SUV/pickup truck combination, I just was never aware that Cadillac needed a pickup truck.

Financial reward, however, is a compelling reason why everybody needs every vehicle that might fill a niche and make a profit, not necessarily in that order. And with a price sticker of $53,799 on the Escalade EXT that I test-drove, itÂ’s obvious there is some serious income to be made with this beast. When it comes to upgrading a vehicle, few can match CadillacÂ’s proficiency.

The Escalade has stunning looks, from its front end that was obviously influenced by the new-wave cutting-edge wedginess of the Cadillac CTS sedan that came out a year ago, then on to the sweeping long body and longer rear pickup box. Cadillac calls it a “sport-utility truck,” and that’s pretty accurate, based on the versatility.

The timing of my road-test of the Escalade EXT was perfect, because, I had recently published and printed my first book, “Return to Gold Country,” about last year’s University of Minnesota’s NCAA hockey championship season. I had the chance to drive to Sentinel Printing in St. Cloud, Mn., to pick up a few boxes of books. The Escalade EXT’s pickup box couldn’t have come in handier. The boxes of books rested with unshifting firmness on the heavy-rubber lined pickup box, and with a hard-cover topper that folds down and fastens tightly to the tailgate, the books, hot off the press, couldn’t have had a more luxurious ride.

I never opened the partition from the club-cab to the pickup box, and although you can stretch the cargo box from 5-foot-3 to 8-foot-1 by doing it. Excepting an occasion when you might be hauling lumber, I remain skeptical about why anyone would want to open that partition, especially a Cadillac buyer. But, at the going price, you take all the features you can get.

Other than the same 130-inch wheelbase of the Suburban/Avalanche, the EXT has significant differences. It weighs over 300 pounds more than the Avalanche, and has a 6.0-liter, 345-horsepower V8 with full-time all-wheel-drive instead of the AvalancheÂ’s 5.3-liter, 285-horse powerplant with either rear-wheel or four-wheel drive. Even the optional 8.1-liter V8 thatÂ’s available in the Avalanche has 340 horsepower, still yielding a slight edge to the Caddy.

Along with the assurance that the GM flagship line will have the most power, the Escalade EXTÂ’s full-time all-wheel-drive gave me a few moments of curiosity early in my test-drive. The EXT had exceptional traction during a light little snowfall, and I couldnÂ’t find any of the usual lock-up switches that might permit selecting a range for 2-wheel drive or AWD, or even a low-speed lock for serious off-road duty.

Silly me. If you wanted to buy a vehicle to do anything approaching serious off-roading, youÂ’d buy a less-refined truck, including the Avalanche, with all that rock-dispersing cladding and a ruggedness, instead of the Escalade. Anyone willing to spend an extra $15,000 beyond the Avalanche to get the EXT is probably a buyer who considers his or her driveway as about as serious as off-road driving should be.

The interior is refined and tastefully done, with light tan leather seats and wood trim and my favorite new GM interior feature – a new and somewhat flat, contemporary steering wheel, instead of that tiresome old dished thing that not only lacked style but wouldn’t allow you to reach any of the remote steering-wheel-mount switches unless you had 8-inch fingers. Full instrumentation is in classic analog form, and the dash computer allows you to program whether to activate or cancel the sometimes-maddening array of warning buzzers and light-flashers that accompany the remote power lock-unlock switch.

All sorts of gadgets prevail, including something like 100 little bitty lights to indicate which switch is for what. Also included is GM’s unbeatable OnStar system that is both a global-positioning system and a personal connection to some on-call “slave” housed in some computer room, ready to respond to every request you might have, from booking a motel ahead to getting a reservation for dinner – in addition to locating you if you’re lost or have a mishap.

A DVD player entertains the two or three rear-seat occupants in the roomy back seat, and a Bose AM-FM-6-disc audio system is augmented by an XM Satellite radio. The driver and front passenger have 10-way adjustable seats, with both the seats and back cushions heated, and the pedals are adjustable with another power control to accommodate short or long legs for optimum comfort.

Impressive as all those features are, they shouldnÂ’t obscure the real-world items, such as the Stabilitrak stability system as well as traction-control, a road-sensing suspension, automatic level control, ultrasonic rear parking assist to beep when you get close to crushing a subcompact, 4-wheel disc brakes on 17-inch alloy wheels, on which are mounted all-weather tires instead of the bouncy off-road tires of hard-core SUVs.

There is nothing hard-core about the Escalade EXT. It may be capable of heavy-duty work, but it is decidedly “soft core” where luxury matters to Cadillac’s audience.

Zach-attack sets blistering tempo for Fighting Sioux

Zach Parise is only a freshman, but he has taken the WCHA, and the nationÂ’s college hockey scene, by storm this season, while helping North Dakota vault back from a rare noncontending season into the thick of the title chase.
In fact, while going into an idle weekend (Jan. 24-25), the Fighting Sioux (10-1-5) are tied for first place in the WCHA with Colorado College (11-2-3). And Zach Parise shares the national collegiate scoring lead with Colorado College star Peter Sejna at 47 points. Sejna (25-22—47) is matched by Parise’s 18-29—47, although Parise took three weeks off to star for the U.S. Junior National team over the holidays. Parise’s 29 assists are one reason why Brandon Bochenski, his sophomore linemate, has 28-18—46, third in the nation in points, and first with 28 goals.
“I’m having a great time, and the season is going great,” said Parise, an unassuming young man who just scored four points or more for the fourth time this season with a hat trick plus one assist in the 11-2 Sioux romp at Alaska-Anchorage last Friday. He added an assist in Saturday’s 3-0 sweeper, to extend his point-scoring streak to 12 games.
As if leading the nation in scoring wasn’t enough, the versatility of Parise’s play is underscored by breaking down his goals and points. In all games, he is fourth in the WCHA in goals with 18; he is second in assists with 29; he is fifth in power-play points with 6 goals, 11 assists and 17 points; and he is first in shorthanded points with 3-2—5.
Beyond the points, however, Parise is a complete player already, covering his man and finishing his checks on defense, even though those acts are overshadowed by his offensive skills, where he is always moving, always in the right place, and a compelling figure to command the attention of teammates, foes and fans every shift.
While his scoring touch seems heaven-sent, Parise can trace his work-ethic to his father.
Jean-Paul Parise played most of his NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars, where he became a fan favorite because of his constant hustle and irrepressible work-ethic. Tough in the corners, constant in his conscientious backchecking and always alert for any opportunity, J.P. Parise scored a lot of goals – and a lot of big goals, after which he was at his best in the dressing room after games.
“What about that goal, J.P.?” one of the gathering of reporters would ask.
“Well,” Parise would start, a serious look on his face, “I saw a small opening on the short side, so I dipped my shoulder and looked to the far side and then I shot for the opening…”
As reporters would feverishly write down J.P.’s carefully detailed description of his key goal, he would let a sly smile spread across his face, then he’d laugh heartily. “Are you kidding?” he’d say. “I just put my head down and shot and it went in.”
That routine would reoccur every time Parise scored, because scoring goals was always a bonus with J.P. Parise.
A couple of decades later, when Parise had chosen as his retirement occupation the opportunity to lead the entire hockey operation at Shattuck-St. MaryÂ’s prep school in Faribault, Minn., he has guided a program that is unique among Minnesota high schools. Shattuck doesnÂ’t play in the vaunted Minnesota state high school structure, but instead plays nationally and internationally in an elite schedule, at the top youth age groups as well as high school.
The program has developed many outstanding prospects, but the one who has made the greatest impact at the next level is Zach Parise, J.P.Â’s oldest son. And while J.P. observed and nurtured ZachÂ’s developing talent from the start, there is no question that Zach will never adopt the familiar routine J.P. used to pull on the media when he scored. When Zach lets fly with a shot, he seems to know where the openings are and he hits them with great precision.
In fact, meaning no disrespect to his dad, Zach Parise is being compared to current NHL standouts.
“People say Zach plays a lot like Paul Kariya,” says Dean Blais, North Dakota coach. “But I think he’s more like Peter Forsberg. Kariya and Forsberg are both great offensively, but Zach is more like Forsberg – first on the forecheck and he finishes every check.”
Before going to Alaska, Zach Parise and the Fighting Sioux faced a huge test at Minnesota. With both teams ranked among the top five in the nation, North Dakota beat the Gophers 4-2, with Parise getting the gameÂ’s first goal and assisting on two others. The next night, the Gophers shut down the Sioux 6-3, although the score doesnÂ’t indicate that two late Minnesota goals were empty-netters when Blais gambled to try to maintain North DakotaÂ’s unbeaten streak, which ended at 16 games.
It was a huge weekend for Parise, who was returning close to his Bloomington home for the first time as a collegian, and the Gopher fans were primed and ready. Parise had passed up Minnesota when he chose North Dakota, which has been the source of a curious, ongoing controversy. After he made his decision last year, former Gopher and later North Stars player and general manager Lou Nanne, and Glen Sonmor, current Gopher announcer and former coach, as well as a coach of the North Stars, drove to Faribault to try to convince Parise to change his mind and go to Minnesota. That was an NCAA violation that caused the Gophers to self-report.
This season, word spread that Herb Brooks, another former Gopher coach, had advised Parise to go to North Dakota to join the best program with the best coaching staff. Brooks said the report was taken out of context, and that he had answered J.P. Parise’s question by suggesting various colleges for various reasons – including Harvard or Yale for academic emphasis, Notre Dame for prestige, Big Ten colleges Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota for a strong combination of hockey and academics, and North Dakota for its emphasis on a strong hockey program and its great coaching staff.
Regardless, the fans were ready to let Parise have it in the first game, but Parise got the last laugh.
“It was awesome, I can’t even describe it,” Parise said afterward. “I had about 30 friends and family here. It was very emotional. The fans cheered when I got a penalty and booed when I got a goal. But I expected it. I thought it would be like Keith Tkachuk going back home to Phoenix.”
Those NHL comparisons just keep on coming. Kariya, Forsberg and Tkachuk are all worthy parallels, but for the present – and the future – Zach Parise being just Zach Parise will be all the Fighting Sioux want and need.

Outlander a perfect solution to counter outlandish SUV size

The Mitsubishi Outlander is evidence of the benefit the “crossover” sport-utility vehicle trend provides.

To the uninitiated, crossovers might seem to be vehicles that can be used for different purposes, but any vehicle can do that. A crossover SUV is one that bridges the gap from truck-based SUV to car-based SUV – simple as that.

When manufacturers started building sport-utility vehicles, they had sportsmen, ranchers and farmers in mind, people who had to haul and tow all sorts of things, including families of various sizes. So, rugged was the keyword, and it was important to have the ability to drive over the fields and through the woods to places other than grandmotherÂ’s house.

When SUVs became super-trendy, they replaced minivans, which had replaced station wagons, in the American lifestyle. Studies showed that something like 95 percent of SUVs purchased never were driven off the road, and probably about the same amount never hauled anything. If they did, it would be a lightweight boat trailer, which any car could tow.

So manufacturers started downsizing the rugged passenger compartments and clamping SUV-like bodies onto car platforms, rather than trucks. Voila! No more truck-like ride, no more top-heavy tippiness, no more multi-ton heft and gas mileage down low enough to challenge single digits. Some credit Subaru for starting the movement, although Subaru never really made a truck, so rather than crossing over, it just let its tough station wagons grow in ground clearance into the Outback variety. The real trend came when Honda and Toyota, battling at the top of the competitive heap, came out with the compact Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, then moved upscale with the Acura MDX and Lexus RX300.

Now everybody has one. Or two. With more on the way. It is my firm belief that while the big SUVs are either loved (by those who own them) or despised (by those who donÂ’t, and are irked by the intimidation and vision-blocking of SUVs), the industryÂ’s SUV dilemma will solve itself, because crossover SUVs are going to take over and dominate the marketplace. The vast majority of SUV buyers will buy crossovers, leaving the biggest SUVs to those sportsmen/farmer types who need them.

Because it takes a company a minimum of a couple of years to go from design to production, It is uncertain whether the Outlander is a trend-setter, a trend-follower or just jumping onto the bandwagon a bit late. Mitsubishi always has made very good but underrated cars like the Galant, Diamante, Mirage/Colt/Lancer, and Eclipse, and it got in early on the SUV trend with the Montero. But the Montero and the more recent Montero Sport are pickup truck-based SUVs.

By being a bit late, the Outlander might be right on time to thrust Mitsubishi into the thick of the crossover battle. In recent years, engineering and production have stiffened car chassis to the point of structural rigidity that makes them not only far safer in collisions but also capable of being much more precise in handling. You turn the wheel, even swerve, and the stiffness of the platform allows the car to respond without swaying. MitsubishiÂ’s most recent new car platform is on the Lancer compact, an enjoyable little sedan to drive.

The Outlander body was plunked down on that sophisticated Lancer platform, and the result is a quick, fun-to-drive SUV, with a lot of passenger room inside that somewhat blunt body shape – a surprising amount of room, actually, so that you not only have room for four or five, but also a large storage area behind the rear seat. The wheelbase is 103.3 inches, and its overall length is 179.1 inches – virtually identical to the CR-V in both dimensions.

The test-drive vehicle was the more basic LS, which means it doesnÂ’t cost as much as the XLS but has the same 2.4-liter 4-cylinder and 16-inch wheels. With a base price of under $19,000, you can load it up and still be around $22,000 with the top model. But the base LS is pretty impressive.

The single-overhead-cam engine has four valves per cylinder and produces 140 horsepower at 5,000 RPMs, with a 6,250 rev redline and a 6,500 rev shutoff. It also puts out 157 foot-pounds of torque at only 2,500 RPMs for good pulling power. At just over 3,200 pounds, that engine wonÂ’t win any drag-races, and the Outlander has been criticized for not being very swift from 0-60. While thatÂ’s a lot like criticizing a Corvette for not having much rear-seat room, I also have a theory about that.

The test Outlander had front-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive as an option on both the LS and XLS. The magazine test figures I read of 10-plus seconds to 60 were for the all-wheel-drive version. Maybe I’m wrong, but the FWD Outlander felt very quick – much quicker than the CR-V, RAV4 or Forester it intends to compete with. Maybe it was just perception, or maybe the FWD version is quicker because its modest power doesn’t feed all four wheels. The upside in the less-than-huge horsepower compromise is that the Outlander gives you mid-20s for miles per gallon, and with regular fuel.

The 4-speed automatic transmission is another factor. It is also very simple, but also fun to drive. You come down with the floor shifter from park-reverse-neutral and into drive, and thatÂ’s it. The adaptive automatic will learn from your hevy-footedness how to shift, weÂ’re told. But you also can move the shift lever over to the right to a separate gate, and, sure enough, it goes into auto-manual mode where you can upshift or downshift manually with a spring-loaded tap. That also allows you to extract all the power you want from the engine, and it adds to the perception of quickness, where perception is as important as any statistics.

The front bucket seats are very firm, but comfortable, with bulges in the backrest for lumbar support. The rear seat is a split bench that can house three or fold down flat to stash long items.

Four-wheel independent suspension gives you maximum stability with that quick steering feel. Incidentally, while reading Motor TrendÂ’s December issue evaluation from which it picked the Volvo XC90 as SUV of the year, I scanned the test data used from the 14 finalists, which ranged from the Navigator and Hummer H2 to the 4Runner, Lexus GX470 and nimble Subaru Baja and Forester, as well as the Honda Pilot and Element.

The tests showed the all-wheel-drive Outlander slowest 0-60 at 12.3 seconds, but it also had the best skidpad results, with 0.79 g-forces – clearly better than the 0.75 of the co-runner-up Element and Baja, and far beyond the 0.64 of the surprisingly skittish Hummer H2. More impressive, the supposedly underpowered Outlander gave away a range of power from a minimum of 20 horsepower to the Element to a maximum of over 160 horses to the Aviator-Navigator or Hummer V8s, yet the Outlander recorded a 61.7 mph run through the 600-foot slalom course to beat everything else. Only the Volvo reached 60, while the Hummer could only manage 52.2 mph with its 315 horsepower.

From a driving standpoint, while itÂ’s fun to test and evaluate vehicles with all the goodies and gadgets, I donÂ’t need a lot of them intruding on my driving efficiency, especially when they take a toll on the sticker price and might be more nuisance than benefit. The Outlander comes through on that count, with simple gauges, and a neat center-dash stack of controls, topped by two round vents with slats that can aim heat or air (mostly heat, these days) wherever you want. Between them is a clock, a simple, what-time-is-it? Clock.

Right below the vents is the audio system, which was pretty basic on the test vehicle with AM-FM-CD player, and simple controls. Push the button on the left for on-off, and turn it for volume. Under that is the heat-air control, with three large, round knobs for fan, temperature and direction, and below that is a large 12-volt receptacle.

There are various storage bins in the Outlander as well, and the steering wheel is nicely styled, with bulges where you want to grip it, and four spokes angled downward so they’re not in the way of hands or eyes.

For $20,000, the Outlander is a tight, attractive package, with that beak on the grille giving it a distinctive place on which to mount the Diamondstar emblem. And from there on back, itÂ’s as impressive as it is cost-effective when it comes to crossing over.

(John Gilbert writes a weekly automotive column for Murphy McGinnis Newspapers. He can be reached by e-mail at jgilbert@duluth.com.)

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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.