GRAND RAPIDS - Holy nervous.
It was like nothing else had mattered. The entire regular season, the CCHA playoffs - all meaningless.
It had all come down to Michigan and Minnesota, for the right to advance to the NCAA semifinals in Milwaukee, in a game that had no business occurring as early as the quarterfinal.
But thanks to the misguided fourth-seeding of the Gophers, the matchup was set, the one that every Michigan fan feared. The Gophers were hungry for revenge after The Goal helped seal their doom in last season's quarterfinal game against the Wolverines.
But as tense as the situation was, that's how quickly Michigan struck. Thirty-three seconds it took captain Brendan Morrison to score the first goal.
Minnesota held the Wolverines at bay for most of the rest of the first period. But just when it looked like the Gophers would escape the period down by only one, there was Michigan forward Bill Muckalt on a breakaway with 1:19 left. He scored to make it 2-0, and then linemate Jason Botterill scored with 17.4 remaining.
Just like that, it was 3-0, and the party was on in Van Andel Arena. No more than 57 seconds into the second period it was 5-0. And if you are a Michigan fan, you were probably just kicking yourself for having stressed about this one.
This was no mistake. The Wolverines weren't pounding the Gophers by accident last night. They were ready for this one, thanks in no small part to coach Red Berenson.
This was the sixth consecutive season the Wolverines had earned a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament. And every time, the Wolverines had come out a step behind. Although they had won four out of their last five regional appearances coming into the game, the Wolverines trailed in most of them, and all were decided by only one goal.
As beneficial as the bye may seem in theory, the down time can be nerve-wracking.
"The worst part is waiting to play," Muckalt said.
But Berenson was on top of the situation right from the get-go.
"We've had the bye for five years now and each time there's been a catching up process," said Berenson early last week.
In fact, Berenson was saying all the right things to his team last week. For the first time in six years, the Wolverines could not have been better prepared for the NCAA regional.
"You got to get into the regional, you want to be the No. 1 seed," Berenson said. "We got that, now you got to make the next step."
But the much ballyhooed Michigan teams of recent history had not been able to make that step with ease.
"All the hoopla around the team can be a negative distraction," Berenson said. "First couple years, we went into these tournaments and we thought we were better than everyone. And we were, but we didn't prove it."
To keep his team on an even keel may have been a more difficult a task this season than in the past.
There's no way this team could lose, no matter what it did, at least that's what everyone said about a Michigan team that set the school record for victories in a season yesterday night.
But Berenson wasn't about to let his players believe that, even if it is true.
"I don't want you listening to all the fans and everyone around saying, 'Oh you're gonna do this, and you're gonna do that,'" Berenson emphasized to his team last week. "Because all that is lip service, and that doesn't get the job done on the ice."
The Wolverines did a stand-up job this time. And much of the credit has to go to Berenson. He has guided this team perfectly. Not once all season has he allowed his players to look past anything. One game at a time - it's a cliché and Berenson works it to a tee.
You can be sure that whatever happens later this week in Milwaukee, Berenson will have the Wolverines as ready as can be.
This team has national champion written all over it. Nevertheless, should the Wolverines' season end with a loss, no one should start the 'Berenson can't win the big game' stuff, which somehow magically disappeared about a year ago.
He just guided the Wolverines to what could prove to be their most important win of the season.
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... where at least one Michigan fan plans to join them.