Can Minnesota hockey win its first title in 20 years?

Editor's note: This story was originally published March 23, before the start of the NCAA men's hockey tournament. Minnesota will play in the national championship game Saturday.

MINNEAPOLIS — The markings of greatness are scattered around 3M Arena at Mariucci, home to University of Minnesota hockey.

A glass case in the main lobby displays the 2003 NCAA championship trophy. Those walking the arena's underbelly pass banners recognizing Minnesota's back-to-back national titles in 2002 and 2003. A picture in the players' lounge shows captain Grant Potulny holding the 2003 trophy on the ice in Buffalo, New York.

Other reminders aren't collecting dust. Coach Bob Motzko was an assistant when the Gophers twice reached the summit of college hockey. Paul Martin, an alternate captain on the 2003 squad and a 14-year NHL veteran, was a graduate student manager with the team.

«You can't help but be in this program, walk down the halls and see all the trophies,» Motzko said.

Minnesota hasn't gripped an NCAA trophy in 20 years, a frustrating famine for the flagship college program in a hockey-obsessed state. Eleven teams have claimed national titles since the last Gophers triumph, including Minnesota Duluth, who has won three, and rivals North Dakota and Wisconsin (one each). The Gophers have been close, reaching the championship game with the nation's No. 1 team in 2014 before falling to Union, and making four Frozen Four appearances, including last year, when they were blitzed 5-1 by Minnesota State in the semis. But 20 years is 20 years.

«I was curious myself,» defenseman Jackson LaCombe said of the lull. «Obviously, they were close, but there are so many great teams. It's a hard thing to win.»

Minnesota has a team poised for a