Three minutes into the third period of the Michigan hockey team’s loss to Boston University on Saturday, freshman Chris Brown was given a game misconduct and five-minute major for checking from behind. Brown was ejected with the Wolverines down 2-0.

The penalty forced Michigan coach Red Berenson to play junior Matt Rust on two lines, a rare occurrence at this level of hockey.

The move paid off. Rust scored the game-tying goal later in the third period while playing left wing instead of at his usual position at center.

No. 5 Michigan (2-2-0) lost the game 3-2, but the line changes sparked the stagnant Wolverine attack.

Berenson made even more drastic line changes in yesterday’s practice.

“You don’t want to stay with your same lines if your team is underachieving,” Berenson said. “And I think we are underperforming in (every) area. And it’s early in the year. So we’re still not sure who the best combinations are.”

The Michigan offense has struggled, except for the line of Rust, Brown and junior Carl Hagelin. The trio has combined for 11 of the Wolverines’ 30 points this year.

That means Berenson is moving Hagelin to join junior Louie Caporusso’s line and shifting sophomore David Wohlberg to play with Rust in order to spread the wealth.

“We don’t know if (that line) is gone for sure,” Hagelin said. “I think we play well — me, Rusty and Brown — but they want to get Louie and Wohlberg going and get some points for those guys.”

The Wolverines average 2.75 goals per game, but they know that they are missing opportunities.

“We have full faith in Coach Berenson,” Brown said. “He knows his stuff. He’s been around long enough that he can gel some guys together so we can start scoring some goals instead of just getting chances. ... .500 is not going to cut it for Michigan.”

Giddy Up: Caporusso, Michigan’s top returning scorer (24 goals and 49 points last seaso) and a preseason All-Conference first team selection, is under pressure.

And through the first four games of the season, he hasn’t registered a single point.

“I’m surprised,” Berenson said of his lack of scoring. “After four games, you would’ve thought with the power play time we’ve had (that he would have scored).”

Berenson acknowledged Caporusso has had a strong presence on offense with his passing and playmaking abilities, but he and his teammates haven’t been able to capitalize.

Berenson said rest could play a role in rejuvenating him, too.

“I think it’s actually a good thing that Louie doesn’t have a goal yet, because we know it’s going to kick in some day and he’s going to get on a roll,” Hagelin said. “We know he’s a dangerous threat for us. He didn’t have that many points after four games last year either, so we know he’s going to pick it up. When he picks it up, he’s going to be great for us.”

Caporusso could benefit from Hagelin’s presence on his line, and Berenson is confident it won’t be long before Caporusso is back to scoring goals.

“Is he a bit of a concern? Yeah. He’ll work his way through it,” Berenson said.

Injury Notes: David Wohlberg was held out of practice because he was “sick to the stomach,” according to Berenson. Junior Ben Winnett, who pulled his groin during practice a week and a half ago, is about 90 percent healthy, according to Berenson.