DETROIT - On one end of the Joe Louis Arena ice yesterday stood Michigan State goalie Ryan Miller - the 2001 Hobey Baker award winner, 2002 CCHA Player of the Year and the conference leader in every major statistical category for goalies.

At the other end was Michigan netminder Josh Blackburn - a senior named to the CCHA Honorable Mention team and ranking behind Miller in every statistical category: wins, shutouts, save percentage and goals against average.

But after yesterday's 3-2 win, it was Blackburn who could be called a 2002 CCHA regular season and tournament champion.

Blackburn made several crucial saves to keep the Spartans off the board, and one of the two goals that he allowed came on a centering attempt by Michigan State forward Steve Clark, which was redirected off the stick of Michigan junior defenseman Mike Roemensky and into the net.

But when given a chance to make a save, Blackburn did so to help Michigan to its first CCHA tournament title since 1999.

"We knew that Josh would have to have a great weekend for us to come out on top, and he had a tremendous weekend," Michigan defenseman Andy Burnes said. "He was the reason we won. That's why he came to Michigan, that's why we all came to Michigan, to play in big games and beat State."

Twice in yesterday's game, after Michigan had jumped out to a lead, the Spartans countered with extended periods of pressure, but Blackburn slammed the door to keep the Wolverines on top.

In the second period, the Wolverines pulled ahead 2-1 on a goal by junior captain Jed Ortmeyer. Shortly after that, Michigan State tested Blackburn, but the senior made two sprawling saves before the puck was cleared out from the front of the net.

Then in the third period, Michigan grabbed a 3-2 lead when Ortmeyer tallied his second goal of the game and the Wolverines turned to Blackburn again to keep them on top.

With just over 12 minutes left, a scramble in front of the Michigan net led to a loose puck at the side of the goal. But as the Spartans tried to tuck the puck into the net, Blackburn dove back and stretched out to block a shot with his stick and deny them.

"I just wanted to come down here and play well," Blackburn said. "I was trying to help our team any way I could."

Blackburn also made a critical pad save to prevent Michigan State from capitalizing on a 3-on-1 late in the first period when the score was tied at one.

Saturday night was much of the same in the Wolverines' 2-1 overtime win over Ohio State. The Wolverines admitted after the game that their effort against the Buckeyes was "sluggish" and not up to par.

But Blackburn was more than capable of taking the Wolverines into the title game.

He turned aside 19 shots, and the Buckeyes were only able to beat the veteran late in the second period when a bad bounce off of defenseman Mike Komisarek's stick resulted in a 2-on-0 break.

As solid as he was on Saturday, Blackburn's real time to shine came yesterday. While Miller struggled to keep the Wolverines from pouncing on rebounds and creating chances, Blackburn did everything necessary to ensure the Wolverines' 3-2 victory.

"He came up big tonight," Michigan defenseman Eric Werner said. "He made some huge saves for us and kept us right in the game. He's been spectacular."