Gophers carry weight of history to men's Frozen Four. Will Bob Motzko's team end a 20-year title drought?

The excitement in Bob Motzko's voice came roaring through the phone last July. He was driving home from the airport after returning from Montreal, where he attended the NHL draft and witnessed four future Gophers selected in the first 37 picks.

Motzko kept calling it a "special group." He joked that his star-studded recruits are so young they don't even shave yet. He sounded like someone who just walked into Magic Kingdom for the first time. Pinch-me giddy.

I mentioned that he wasn't muffling expectations, which is a normal tactic for college coaches who have supremely talented young players.

"You can't avoid expectations at the University of Minnesota hockey program," Motzko answered.

So they don't run from it.

The Gophers carried that cargo with them to Tampa, Fla., for the Frozen Four. They are the No. 1 seed in search of the program's sixth national championship overall and first since 2003.

College hockey has undergone fundamental change in the 20 years since the Gophers won that title. Schools have made a bigger investment in the sport. The talent pool is much more expansive nationally, allowing more programs to be competitive. A pitstop at juniors before arriving on campus has become a common career path, which leads to older, experienced rosters.

The sport is just different. The push to create more parity has been successful.

Gophers hockey entered a period of slumber as the sport changed, but the target on the program never fully faded from view. It's always there for those who wear the jersey.

"You definitely feel the responsibility," said Grant Potulny, captain of the '03 championship team.

Potulny said he never felt "championship-or-failure" pressure when he stepped on the ice, but he understood the perception of Minnesota hockey as a benchmark program. Success is measured differently than at other places.

"You're uniquely positioned for those moments," Potulny said, "because every rink that you go into throughout the whole year, that's one of their biggest games, if not the biggest."

The championship banners that hang above the ice at 3M Arena at Mariucci provide ubiquitous reminders of that reality. The program's history literally dangles above their heads. They see it and understand it. And they know the math too.

"Five national championships is a lot," senior defenseman Ryan Johnson said. "But you see the last one is 20 years ago. It's like, OK, what's going on? We know we have the talent every year to win it."

The team's leaders meet every Monday during the season. They talk often about the program's past and what it means to carry the torch.

"This program means a lot more than just you and the name on the back of the jersey," captain Brock Faber said.

Motzko seems comfortable lugging around that history. He served as an assistant coach under Don Lucia on the back-to-back national championships in 2002 and '03. He knows outside expectations don't waver once a program achieves a championship pedigree.

Motzko was two minutes into his opening statement at his introductory news conference in 2018 when he acknowledged that gigantic standard.

"I fully understand what's in front of me," he said. "I think every coach going back to Glen Sonmor has played for a national championship. Pretty powerful program."

Motzko's team fell one game short of that destination last season, losing in the semifinals. As much as being back in the Frozen Four felt like a return to normalcy, this season restored the joy and fire inside a fan base that had held a proud allegiance for so long.

The style of play of this wondrous group of future NHLers brought back sellout crowds. The Gophers are a tough, skilled team with a coach who embraces high standards as a privilege.

"You don't take the job and not know the expectations at Minnesota," he said. "We wanted to move to this level. That's what happens when you come here."

Motzko saw the potential for something special last summer. Now his team is two wins from securing its own championship banner to hang with the others and link the program's storied past with the present.