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A fantastic fall season came to an end for the UMD football team last Saturday, losing its Division II regional playoff final at Minnesota State-Mankato, but after 13 consecutive victories, the loss does nothing to diminish how great a season it was for the Bulldogs.

Meanwhile, on the AMSOIL Arena ice sheet, UMD got behind, got lucky, then took over the series to sweep Colorado College in a series that lifted the Bulldogs into first place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with a 7-3 record that ties Miami of Ohio for the lead. The Bulldogs had a nation’s best 6-game winning streak snapped for a split at Nebraska-Omaha two weeks earlier, then took the previous weekend off. When a team is as hot at the Bulldogs were, a bye week is not the ideal follow-up.

But after getting behind 2-0, UMD came back for a goal by Tony Cameranesi, on a diving set up by Karson Kuhlman in the second period. That left it to the closing minutes, when Adam Krause, UMD’s captain who was making his return from a month out of action with a broken wrist, fired a shot. It hit Dominic Toninato in the leg, and squirted across in front of the net. Goalie Chase Perry was down, had lost his stick, and winger Alex Iafallo drilled the puck into the right edge of the net for a 2-2 tie with 2:53 remaining in the third period.

Coach Scott Sandelin had started Krause on the fourth line, but the Bulldogs were flat, and the ever-eager Krause was flying, so Sandelin reinserted him with Toninato and Iafallo on the first line. That also meant moving Justin Crandall to the third line with Cal Decowski and Kyle Osterberg. If Iafallo’s goal made the juggling look good, so did the shift at 3:32 of sudden-death overtime, when Crandall and Decowski had good chances but were stopped. Osterberg spotted the puck -- “I was in the right spot at the right time,” he said -- and flicked it over Perry, just under the crossbar, and popped the water bottle off the top of the net for the winning goal.

Sandelin didn’t like the way UMD played in the first period, and was more relieved than pleased when the Dogs rescued the victory. But really, it was logical that the team would have to work for a while to regain the great rhythm they’d had before the weekend off. The newly regained rhythm continued Saturday night, when seven different scorers came through for a 7-2 victory, outshooting the Tigers 43-18.

Now, having won eight of their last nine games, the sizzling Bulldogs head for Michigan Tech and a huge series for post-season consideration. But the hot streak also requires some questions of the U.S. College Hockey Online ratings. UMD was ranked eighth last week, then swept CC and dropped to ninth this week. North Dakota was No. 1, split with Miami of Ohio, and stayed first. Minnesota, which split at Michigan State, winning the first game, tying the second, but losing it in a shootout, was sixth and dropped to seventh. Michigan Tech, No. 1 just two weeks ago, is No. 4 and will severely test UMD.

But the Pairwise ratings are also out, and those figures, which calculate strength by opposing team’s strength, are what the NCAA uses to calculate post-season tournament play. In the Pairwise, we find 1. Minnesota State-Mankato, 2.  UMD, 3. Nebraska-Omaha, 4. Harvard, 5. Tech, 6. Miami of Ohio, 7. North Dakota, 8. Bowling Green, 9. Minnesota, 10. Vermont, with Denver and Boston University tied for No. 11. Much more logical. The NCHC has five of the top 7, and six of the top 11. The WCHA has two of the top five and three of the top eight, while the Big Ten, despite all its promotion, has only the Gophers in the top 10.

So the question is, if the Pairwise uses objective logic and has UMD No. 2, what sort of logic are the voters in the USCHO ratings using to rate UMD No. 9?

By the way, after the great Vikings victory in overtime Sunday, the Wild comeback from deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night was a classic, with four unanswered goals to capture a 5-4 victory.

John Gilbert has been writing sports for over 30 years. Formerly with the Star Tribune and WCCO. He currently hosts a daily radio show on KDAL AM.

Mustang, Golf, Genesis are Car of the Year Finalists

Much like the college football season, the nation’s top automotive journalists have finished the “regular season” of evaluating the newest 2015 cars and truck/utility vehicles, and now focus on choosing the “national champions.”

The Volkswagen Golf, Ford Mustang, and Hyundai Genesis are the three finalists for 2015 North American Car of the Year. The top three vote-getting vehicles for North American Truck/Utility of the Year are the Ford F-150, the Lincoln MKC, and the Chevrolet Colorado. The finalists were selected after each of 57 independent auto media jurors -- including this writer -- distributed 25 points among their top choices.
 
An earlier vote cut the field of all-new or thoroughly redesigned vehicles down to 10 or 12, then jury members had 25 points to spend, with a maximum of 10 points allowed to one, and only one, in each category. All 25 points are required to be distributed. The finalists were revealed earlier this week in Detroit.

After a mad scramble to drive and evaluate all the cars on the original and shortened lists, the jury members next must reevaluate the three finalists in both categories, then distribute 10 points, which are tallied to determine both the 2015 North American Car of the Year and the North American Truck/Utility of the Year. The winners will be named at the Detroit International Auto Show on January 12, preceding the show’s first media preview day.

Ford Motor Company, with the Mustang and the F-150 as well as the Lincoln MKC, stands as the only one with a chance to duplicate the 2014 sweep by Chevrolet, which won both awards with the Chevrolet Corvette and the Chevrolet Silverado.

Ford’s Mustang has been completely redesigned, adding independent rear suspension, and offering a new, high-revving EcoBoost 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine to join the 5.0 V8 and the 3.7-liter V6 and the 5.0-liter V8. Prices range from $25,000-$50,000, with all three engines delivering over 300 horsepower in the rear-drive coupe.

Volkswagen’s seventh-generation Golf retains its familiar shape, but has several significant upgrades to its front-wheel-drive fleet that is available in a variety of models that cover the compact segment at a price range of $20,000-$35,000. VW’s impressive new 1.8-liter turbocharged 4 and its low torque peak replaces the boring and unloved 5-cylinder with improved power and better fuel economy. Included in the Golf family is the TDI -- turbo-diesel -- which is a newly revised version of the already world-class 2.0-liter 4-cylinder diesel and can approach 50 miles per gallon. On top of those models is the GTI, a sporty version with a 2.0-liter turbo gas engine that has sportier suspension, wheels, tires, seats and interior appointments compared to the standard Golf.

The Genesis won the award when it was introduced four years ago as the first mid-luxury model from South Korea’s Hyundai. The new-generation Genesis is improved in every way, from the flowing design with a much more distinctive grille, to the choice of direct-injected 5.0-liter V8, or a 3.8-liter V6, which adds the availability of all-wheel drive to its front-engine/rear-drive. Both engines have the superb in-house-built 8-speed transmission. Hyundai chassis engineers consulted with Lotus to improve steering and handling to much sportier and precise levels. While the Genesis competes with far costlier German sports/luxury sedans at prices from $35,000-$50,000, one of its biggest challenges to become a finalist came from its sibling, the inexpensive and similarly redesigned Sonata.

The car finalists represent the U.S., Germany, and Korea, and left behind a highly competitive group that includes the Honda Fit subcompact, the Acura TLX, Audi A3, Chrysler 200, Mercedes C-Class, and Toyota Camry, as well as the Sonata -- all of which were entirely new or technically redone and made the short list of candidates.

Meanwhile, the truck/utility finalists are all from the U.S., as voters lifted the F-150, MKC, and Colorado above the field of mostly SUVs and compact CUVs (crossover utility vehicles). Left behind were candidates such as the all-new Audi Q3, Mercedes GLA, Lexus NX, and Porsche Macan, plus redone models of the Subaru Outback, Nissan Murano, Toyota Highlander, and a pair of domestics -- the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Canyon.

The Ford F-150 has been the early favorite, because its technical breakthroughs include a high-grade aluminum frame and body, replacing considerable amounts of steel with lighter aluminum in chassis beams and body panels. Upgraded engines add an all-new 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 with surprising power to the 3.5 EcoBoost V6 and normally-aspirated 5.0 V8. The significant weight reduction from the use of aluminum promises improved fuel economy.

The Lincoln MKC is evidence of what can be done to convert a basic compact utility vehicle, such as the Ford Escape, into a top-shelf compact luxury vehicle, by adding all sorts of features and luxury upgrades. The big feature under the hood is the 2.0-liter EcoBoost 4, joined by the optional 2.3-liter EcoBoost 4 that is so impressive in the Mustang. In the MKC, the engine services winter-beating front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

The Chevrolet Colorado is a new half of GM’s midsize twins, joining the GMC Canyon, with only interior and trim feature differences. With extended or crew-cab bodies, the Colorado is big enough for most truck jobs but significantly smaller than the Silverado. A 3.6-liter V6 is an upgrade to the basic 2.5-liter 4, and gives the rear- or 4-wheel drive Canyon plenty of power. Curiously, the Colorado has a switch to control 2wd, 4wd low, or 4wd high, while the Canyon has those three choices, and adds 4-auto, which is the AutoTrac electronic control to engage 4wd whenever slippage is detected -- an impressive asset in winter driving.

Except for the MKC, the jurors ignored various compact utility vehicles, which are the hottest current trend in the automotive world. The Lexus NX, Audi Q3, Mercedes GLA and the Porsche Macan are new entries, while the Tahoe, Murano and Highlander are greatly redesigned versions of established SUVs. The GLA and Q3 both represent the new wave of compact SUVs, and both have various degrees of performance from turbocharged 2.0-liter 4 cylinder engines with remarkable power, and either front- or all-wheel drive for prices under $40,000. The GLA is an SUV extension of the front-wheel-drive CLA car platform, the first one that starts with fwd and expands to awd.

But while some of those that failed to reach the finals are very impressive, the results speak for themselves. The regular season is over, and the championship playoffs are poised to commence.