DETROIT - When asked about the difference between Friday's loss and yesterday's win, alternate captain T.J. Hensick pointed to a low goals against.

"We only gave up one goal," Hensick said. "Those seem to be hard to score."

In the Michigan hockey team's last five games, the winning team has not scored more than three goals.

So while the Wolverines might be the top-scoring team in the country, the key to their recent success is goals against.

It showed in yesterday's 3-1 win over Lake Superior State.

Even though the Wolverines scored below their season average (4.21), a team defensive effort and Billy Sauer's solid goalkeeping allowed them to come away with a win.

All season long, Michigan coach Red Berenson has preached the importance of maintaining a low goals against, no matter how many times his team scores.

With the playoffs on the horizon, teams have ratcheted up the defensive intensity, forcing the Wolverines to place a greater emphasis on keeping the puck out of their own net.

Pot of gold found in Alaska: Heading into the weekend, Michigan could finish anywhere between first and fourth in the CCHA. Now, the possibilities are limited to just second or third.

Notre Dame's sweep in Alaska clinched the program's first conference title, while Western Michigan's sweep of Michigan State ruled out any possibility that the Wolverines would get fourth because they hold the tiebreaker over the Spartans.

Michigan can clinch second in the league with three points next week.

The Wolverines hopped over Miami in the CCHA standings with yesterday's win. The RedHawks split two nonconference games this weekend with Robert Morris.

Miami finishes the regular season with a series at Northern Michigan, while the Wolverines head to Columbus.

No Mo' Joe: Yesterday's game marked the end of a 12-year "Home-and-Joe" agreement between Joe Louis Arena and Lake Superior State. Under the terms of the deal, the Lakers would play one game per season in Detroit against Michigan or Michigan State instead of in Sault Ste. Marie.

While Lake Superior State is technically the home team in these matchups, it hasn't enjoyed much of a home-ice advantage. Michigan has gone undefeated in games in the series.

"I'm sure their coach is looking to when they play both games at home," Berenson said.

When the agreement was made, Lake Superior State was a hockey powerhouse, winning NCAA Championships during the 1991-92 and 1993-94 seasons. But since then, they have made just one NCAA Tournament appearance.

In exchange for the games at the Joe, Mike Ilitch - whose company Ilitch Holdings Inc. operates the arena - agreed to fund part of the expansion of Lake Superior State's Taffy Abel Arena.

Notes: Sophomore Danny Fardig's goal on Friday night was his first in his last 46 games. Before the contest, he was the only player who played forward in every game without a goal. He knocked in a rebound in the first period to give Michigan an early lead. . With his two-point performance on Friday night, sophomore Andrew Cogliano became the third player on the team to notch 40 points this season. It's the first time the Wolverines have had three 40-point scorers since the 1997-98 season when Bill Muckalt, Mark Kosick and Booby Hayes reached that mark.