“It’s like two kids in a sandbox,” Michigan ice hockey coach Red Berenson said after practice Monday, reflecting on last weekend's series split. “It’s not always the big one that gets the toy, it’s the one that wants it the most.”

Facing off against then-No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha on Friday and Saturday at Yost Ice Arena, the fourth-ranked Wolverines (2-0-0 CCHA, 3-1-2 overall) certainly were the little kids.

Michigan knew it wasn't a match physically for the Mavericks — a group that boasts 15 players over the six-foot mark, led by 6-foot-8 defenseman Andrej Sustr.

And after Friday's 4-2 loss, Berenson’s team looked not only small, but bashed and broken.

The defense was spread out by cross-ice stretch passes, and its gaps were exposed and exploited by Nebraska-Omaha’s nation-leading offense.

Defensemen were outmanned, crowding around their own net for the majority of the night. Four shots slipped by senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick before the Wolverines finally managed to score, but that wasn't until just six minutes remained in the third period.

Despite holding a 36-26 shot advantage, Berenson insisted that his team had been out-chanced, and the defense was the weak spot he wanted to focus on after the loss.

Whatever he did prior to returning the following night was the perfect remedy for the defense.

On Saturday, it was Nebraska-Omaha (5-1-0) that looked overwhelmed. Michigan scored eight seconds in and didn’t let up, as five players scored and the team coasted to a 6-1 victory.

The Wolverines' attacking strategy rendered the Mavericks’ size a non-factor, and senior defenseman Chad Langlais credited the turnaround to Michigan's adaption to its attacking scheme, which was able to counter Nebraska-Omaha's size.

“They have a big defense, and (on Friday) some of our forwards were trying to skate through that,” Langlais said. “Sometimes that works for us, but we thought we could get away with too much with them.

“We realized that if we get behind their defense, then we could just move around them. They’re a big defense, but they’re slow down low, and I think we exposed them on Saturday night.”

The offense penetrated the Maverick zone time after time, knocking a combined six goals past the Nebraska-Omaha goaltenders.

But the forwards weren’t just scoring goals — they played a major role in keeping the potent Maverick offense at bay.

After the defense was left stranded on Friday night, the coaches stressed the importance of the forwards being two-way players.

According to Langlais, the full team effort on defense was a key to Saturday’s resounding victory.

“That’s something we’ve talked about all year long — the forwards coming down to support us, especially the centermen helping out,” Langlais said. “It’s something that definitely helped us on Saturday night and will help us out in the long run.”