Now that the appetizer has been served, it's time for the main course.
The Gophers did a praiseworthy job Saturday not looking past Air Force and brushing off the rust from not playing in three weeks by easily swallowing up the Falcons, 4-0.
But now comes the Sunday Showdown every Gophers fan has been waiting for -- No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 4 Minnesota -- with the Mariucci Classic trophy on the line.
"I told our guys, 'It's not often you get the defending national champs, the No. 1 team in the country in your own building, so it's a good measuring stick,' " coach Don Lucia said. "It's not the end-all ... but we need to play them, we need to find out where we're at."
Add the tiny fact that it was the Eagles who ended the Gophers' season last April in the Frozen Four, and the drama is scrumptious.
"It's a great challenge for us," said Erik Haula, who scored the winning goal and had an assist against Air Force for his 26th career multi-point game. "It'll be nice to play them again. If you can't get fired up for them, I don't know what has to happen."
The Gophers (12-3-3, 6-0 against nonconference teams) have won 12 of the 21 previous Mariucci Classics, but Jerry York says his Eagles don't want to leave without the trophy. They will be without leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau, who like Gophers defenseman Mike Reilly is in Russia representing the United States in the world junior championship.
The Gophers put together a complete effort against the Falcons. In addition to Haula, they got goals from Ryan Reilly, Kyle Rau and Nate Condon, two assists from Nick Bjugstad and 18 saves from Adam Wilcox, who recorded his third shutout.