DETROIT - Can you hear that?

DETROIT - Can you hear that?

That's not a rush of air from the bubble bursting.

It's the collective sigh of relief all across Wolverine nation.

Michigan is in the NCAA Tournament.

Following a 3-2 win over Northern Michigan in the consolation game of the CCHA Tournament - a bittersweet ending to the weekend after a 4-1 loss to Michigan State on Friday - the 11th-ranked Icers learned they would be traveling to Grand Forks, N.D. for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan's first opponent will be the host, No. 8 North Dakota (the WCHA Conference tournament champion), in a matchup between the No. 2 (North Dakota) and No. 3 seeds in the West regional. The regional also includes No. 1 Minnesota (the regular season WCHA champion) and the AHA conference champion Holy Cross.

"From day one, I've said we're fortunate to be in the Tournament," said Michigan coach Red Berenson, whose Icers will play in the NCAA Tournament for the 16th straight year. "It doesn't matter to me who we play or where we play. The way the bracketing went down, (our bracket) is probably the toughest challenge of all the brackets."

Coming into the weekend, USCHO.com had the Wolverines in its projected NCAA Tournament field, but Michigan still felt it needed at least one win to guarantee itself an at-large bid. They failed to advance to the CCHA Tournament championship game on Friday night but still had third place - and an NCAA Tournament bid - to play for on Saturday against Northern Michigan (14-12-2 CCHA, 22-16-2 overall).

Michigan (13-10-5, 21-14-5) outshot the Wildcats 30-18 after the first two periods but entered the third period tied at two. At 8:19 of the third period, alternate captain Matt Hunwick scored the game-winning tally, his second of the night.

"I was trying to do something similar to my first goal, coming in the back door and looking for a pass," Hunwick said on Saturday. "I realized I wasn't going to be able to get to the puck, so I kind of spun back and gave it a turnaround slap shot."

The win took some of the pain away from Friday night's loss to the Spartans (14-7-7, 24-11-8). In that game, the Wolverines were out played for the first two periods, failing to create many good scoring chances. Michigan woke up in the third period and peppered Michigan State goaltender Jeff Lerg with 13 shots, but solid goaltending and a couple of shots off the posts prevented the Wolverines from tying the game.

After the bracket was announced yesterday at 11 am on ESPN2, the mood wasn't exactly jubilant.

The season has been anything but normal for the Michigan hockey program. After beginning the year 9-1-1 and being ranked No. 1 twice, the Wolverines went 12-13-4 the rest of the season, sweeping just two series - Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 9-10 and Ferris State in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.

"I think, at first (we were) just happy we're actually in the tournament," said captain Andrew Ebbett of the mood in the locker room. "Just to be sure of it and have proof. And we're kind of excited. It's going to be a challenge, and we're going to be looking forward to it."

Yesterday morning, while talking to reporters, Berenson raved about Ralph Engelstad Arena, the location of the Wolverines' regional. He mentioned the imported leather lining every seat and the grand marble floors of the arena. When asked if the younger players would also feel a sense of awe when they arrived, Berenson waved the thought of. He pointing out that by playing at Michigan, the younger players already know what it's like playing in a big game. But he understands that experience in big games isn't the only thing the Wolverines need.

"Our young guys and everybody else are going to have to play like they've never played before on the road to have a chance," Berenson said.

The hockey team may also give Wolverine fans a chance to cheer like they've never cheered before in the month of March.