MILWAUKEE - The Wolverines have arrived.
So have the Terriers. The Tigers and the Fighting Sioux are here, too.
College hockey has invaded Milwaukee. Michigan, Boston University, Colorado College and North Dakota have all sent representatives, and the City of Cheese and Beer is welcoming them with open arms.
Banners announcing the arrival of the NCAA are draped above the city streets. Bars and restaurants are bracing for an infusion of road-tripping college students. Everywhere you look downtown, some sign screams, "College Hockey at the Bradley Center!"
But the Michigan players say they don't care.
And they better not.
It would be easy, it seems, to get swept away in the atmosphere surrounding this weekend's festivities. These are college students - they're not used to this kind of hype, not like their professional counterparts are.
It would be easy to put hockey on the back-burner for a while, see the sights, hit the streets, bask in the lights of the television cameras.
It would be easy - but it would also be costly. Michigan is The Team To Beat. Everyone is gunning for the Wolverines. Boston coach Jack Parker has already said that it's "Michigan against the rest of the field."
That's the attitude the other teams are taking into this tournament: 'us against The Mighty Wolverines.'
That will be difficult enough to deal with. It would be tough enough even if there weren't any hype.
But there's plenty of hype.
So much hype, in fact - so much media, so many interview requests, so many television cameras - that Michigan coach Red Berenson has taken it upon himself to disobey the NCAA's orders and refuse to open the Michigan lockerroom to the media.
But Berenson is not a college student. He has no trouble distancing himself from the media frenzy and keeping his focus on the ice.
But can his players do the same?
They'd be able to. Because getting swept up in the excitement will take the focus away from where it needs to be - on the ice.
"The hardest part about this whole tournament is the time between games," Michigan defenseman Harold Schock said. "It sounds funny, but it really is true - the hockey is the easy part."
After practice ended at 3:30 yesterday, the Wolverines met the media and said they were ready to play. They said they were excited about facing Boston and playing for a spot in Saturday's final.
Greg Crozier was sitting by himself in a chair, waiting for Marty Turco to finish a radio interview. Crozier was staring into space, biting his fingernails and tapping his foot on the floor.
"I'm ready to play, right now," he said. "I just want to get it over with."
There were still 28 hours until faceoff.
What to do until then?
"I dunno," Crozier said. "Not sleep."
One thing is for sure. There are plenty of distractions around. Plenty of things to do. Few of them have anything to do with hockey. None of them fall under the "preparation" category.
And the worst thing Michigan could do would be to get caught up in the carnival of attention that has pervaded the Bradley Center and surrounding area.
The Wolverines say they know it.
"I don't think we came to Milwaukee to do some sightseeing," Jason Botterill said with a smile. "We came to win a couple of hockey games."
They say they're here to do a job, and they sound like they mean it. And they probably do mean it.
But if there's a likely time for a letdown, now seems to be it. The championship is within reach, the much-anticipated Minnesota game is in the past and this Boston team isn't supposed to be nearly as good as the team Michigan beat last year in this same game.
And at this stage, the Terriers are not going to play dead and let the Wolverines walk into the final game.
So there's more than enough to deal with. Even without all the added hype.
The Wolverines say they know what to expect. They say the extra attention won't be a problem. They say they're ready.
They'd better be.