MINNEAPOLIS — The waiting is the hardest part for the University of Minnesota hockey team.
Back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008, none of the current Gophers have played in the tournament and everyone is eager to get the weekend started. Even days before the tournament was scheduled to begin, Minnesota was ready for the opening faceoff.
"This is probably the most important game I've played in, in my career," sophomore Nate Schmidt said. "You look at these types of games; you get that antsy feeling in your stomach. Especially on a Wednesday, it might be a couple days away but you still think about it the whole week, kind of surrounded by this whole weekend. It's one of those special moments you think about as a kid."
Minnesota's last appearance in the NCAA tournament ended when it lost in the first round to Boston College in a regional in Worcester, Mass. The drive is a bit shorter this time around, though the opponent is certainly a familiar one. Instead of facing Boston College this time around, the Gophers (26-13-1) will play Boston University (23-14-1) in the first round on Saturday at 4 p.m. The two teams have met seven times in the NCAA tournament with Minnesota holding a 4-3 advantage and the two have combined for five national championships.
The fourth-ranked Gophers earned the No. 2 seed in the West Regional at the Xcel Energy Center against the third-seeded and fifth-ranked Terriers. North Dakota, who won the WCHA Final Five on Saturday with a 4-0 win against Denver, is the No. 1 seed in the West Regional. The Sioux (25-12-3) will face Western Michigan (21-13-6) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The winners will meet Sunday for the chance to advance to the Frozen Four next weekend in Tampa, Fla.
Returning to the NCAA tournament was a big focus this season for Minnesota. While expectations for the program are yearly trips to the postseason, having three straight seasons without an NCAA appearance increased the attention.
"I think there was a lot of pressure," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "I think certainly there's the expectations and we want to be there every year. We got so close for a couple of straight years and there was some disappointment. I'm sure the fans are, but the coaches and players are more disappointed. Certainly our senior group didn't want to be one of the first to go through their time here without playing in an NCAA tournament. So, that's been the focus and that's been the goal since the year began."
The players have heard all about the drought. Many of them grew up in Minnesota following the program and know the history and the expectations that come with being Gophers.
"To get back to the NCAA tournament for us is going to be exciting," Schmidt said. "At the same time, we've got to play with a little more poise and a little more determination this weekend in order to beat a team like BU."
Minnesota has been waiting for this weekend for a long time, but the waiting was made even more difficult after last weekend's disappointment in the WCHA Final Five tournament, also at the Xcel Energy Center. The top-seeded Gophers led 3-0 against North Dakota and dominated the first 30 minutes of play before the Sioux scored six unanswered goals to advance to the championship.
The loss still stung five days later and another reason Minnesota is ready to play another game. The Gophers want to erase that feeling.
"Yeah, it's tough," Schmidt said. "You want to win a game like that and when you lose a game like that in the fashion that we did, we're ready to go for this weekend. I think that's one of those things, waiting for a game, waiting for a great opponent like we are. But we're going to be ready for it when it happens."
Playing close to home will add to the excitement level, though last weekend proved that Minnesota won't be the only team with many fans in attendance. North Dakota's fans travel well and making the short trip to St. Paul as the No. 1 seed will be even stronger motivation for there to be a lot of Sioux green in the crowd.
With the West Regional at the Xcel Energy Center, it was believed all along that the Gophers would stay close to home if they made the tournament. Now as the unofficial home team, they are ready to finally get back to the NCAA tournament.
The way Lucia sees it, playing in St. Paul is only an added benefit.
"That's the icing," Lucia said. "I think we can be playing in Barrow, Alaska and be excited to play. You want to be in the NCAA tournament. That's the big thing. Obviously there was an extra caveat that it was in St. Paul, knowing that if we got in, it was going to be in St. Paul.
"We'll have our share of fans there, but I'm sure there's going to be some green fans cheering for the red team when we play on Saturday afternoon. It should be a good atmosphere."
Boston College, Michigan and Union (NY) earned the top seeds in the other three regions. Defending NCAA champion Minnesota Duluth is the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Regional in Worcester. Boston College is the top seed in the East.
The Frozen Four is scheduled for April 5 and 7 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
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