A week ago on Friday, Michigan beat Notre Dame in double overtime to take a 1-0 series lead. The Wolverine won again on Saturday to advance to the CCHA semifinals, where another win in double overtime was required on Friday night to move on. The Wolverines came back from a 2-0 deficit and beat Bowling Green in two overtimes to advance to the CCHA championship game.
For almost two full periods, it looked like Bowling Green's amazing run was going to continue. Despite being the No. 11 seed in the CCHA tournament, the Falcons found themselves up 2-0 and only 20 minutes and some change away from reaching the championship game. Then, with 10 seconds left in the second period, Michigan cut the lead in half on an odd goal by Jon Merrill that took a funny bounce into the net. Just like that, the Wolverines were only one goal away from tying things up with a full period left.
In the third period, Bowling Green's Andrew Hammond continued to play well in net and was keeping the Falcons on top. He couldn't do much when David Wohlberg scored the game-tying goal with less than three minutes to go in regulation, though. Derek DeBlois made a beautiful pass to Wohlberg, who was right in front of the net to bury the puck.
Neither team managed to score in the final minutes of regulation, nor in the first overtime. There were some close calls, though. Bowling Green hit the post once in overtime and Michigan drew iron twice. It wasn't until the second overtime began that Michigan closed out this game. A.J. Treais dangled his way past the Bowling Green defense and sent the puck into the crease. There was a mad scramble, and Luke Moffatt tipped the puck into the net for the game-winning goal. After 1:04 of the second overtime, Michigan won 3-2 to move on to the championship game.
In the championship game at 7:35 p.m. on Saturday night, Michigan will take on Western Michigan. The Broncos rolled over Miami (Ohio) by a score of 6-2 earlier on Friday to clinch a spot in the championship game. Bowling Green, meanwhile, will face Miami in the third-place game at 3:35 p.m.