With junior goalie Bryan Hogan still out with an injury, the Michigan hockey team knew it needed to help junior Shawn Hunwick defensively if they were to beat Lake Superior State in its first round, best-of-three, CCHA playoff series.

The team did its part in a 5-2 win, but some took it more literally than others.

With just over eight minutes remaining in the first period, a long shot slap shot forced junior goalie Shawn Hunwick to be out of position after he made the save. Lake Superior tried to capitalize, picking up the rebound and sending a shot on the open net. But junior Ben Winnett made the stop with his skates as he wrestled with a Laker on the goal line. Winnett’s save stopped not only a goal, but a dangerous change of momentum, as well.

A minute before that, freshman A.J. Treais picked up a rebound and backhanded it past the glove of the Laker goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson for the first goal of the game.

After outshooting Lake Superior 12-7 in the first, Michigan kept the momentum on their side into the second. Less than a minute into the period, sophomore David Wohlberg cut in from the left wing to go on a breakaway. His shot bounced off Mahoney-Wilson and trickled behind him. But as the Wolverines put their hands up to celebrate, the puck also bounced just wide of the post.

Wohlberg found redemption about four minutes later. After his pass from the corner got caught in the skates of a defenseman, Mahoney-Wilson came out to poke the puck away. Wohlberg got to it first and let go of a wrist shot that went off of the Laker goalie as he scrambled back to the goal and into the net.

Already up two goals heading into the third, Michigan wasted no time trying to put the game out of reach. Thirty-seven seconds into the period, junior Matt Rust stole the puck in the corner and walked out in front. After faking a shot and going to his backhand, Rust slid it five-hole to put his team up three.

As the game winded down, the Wolverines would be thankful for the extra goal. Michigan had two penalties called on the same play, resulting in a two minute five-on-three for Lake Superior State. The Wolverines killed off the penalties but as the players were getting out of the box, the Lakers went on a rush and a cross-ice pass deflected off Treais stick and past Hunwick.

Senior Brian Lebler got the momentum back less than a minute later as he wheeled out of the corner and shot through freshman Chris Brown’s screen.

Down three in the third for the second time, the Lakers cut the lead to two for the second time.

But the Lake Superior was never able to get closer to preventing Michigan from being one win away from the CCHA quarterfinals, and Michigan added an empty net to ice the game. The Wolverines will have their chance Saturday and the if rest of the favorites win, a match-up with rival Michigan State in East Lansing looms the following weekend.