As unforgettable as the night had started for Carl Hagelin, the finish was just plain surreal.

Senior captain Carl Hagelin's two goals - including the game-winner with 2.9 seconds left in overtime - salvaged Michigan's 5-4 senior night win over Western Michigan Saturday night.

AnnArbor.com file photo

Three hours after the Michigan hockey team's senior captain stood fighting back his emotions as his Swedish homeland's national anthem played, Hagelin skated around Yost Ice Arena with his country's flag draped around his shoulders.

In a matter of minutes, Hagelin salvaged his final regular-season home game - first with a game-tying goal with 39.1 seconds left in regulation and then with a game-winning wrister with 2.9 seconds remaining in overtime - rallying the No. 11-ranked Wolverines to a heart-pounding 5-4 senior night win over Western Michigan Saturday night.

"That's as good as it gets," Michigan coach Red Berenson said after the Wolverines notched their first overtime victory since 2007 and its first in their last 11 games decided after regulation.

Michigan (21-9-4, 18-7-1 CCHA) never led Saturday night, first erasing an early 3-1 deficit before trailing for most of the third period.

But with Western Michigan clinging to a 4-3 lead with just 90 seconds left, the Wolverines pulled goalie Shawn Hunwick, providing Michigan with an extra skater.

With Michigan pressing for a late scoring chance, Hagelin took a pass from defenseman Jon Merrill and fired a shot toward the net. The puck bounced off a Broncos' defender's skate and somehow snuck through the pads of Western Michigan goalie Jerry Kuhn, whose body flailed in frustrated disbelief once the puck slid just inside the right pipe.

"He just let one go and it found the back of the net," Michigan senior Louie Caporusso said. "It was a huge goal."

Turns out, Hagelin had one more left.

With time again ticking away, the Wolverines got a power play chance with 28 seconds remaining in the 5-minute extra session. Michigan, which entered the game having failed to scored on its last 22 power play chances, had already tallied a first-period goal with a man advantage.

With four seconds still showing on the clock, Lee Moffie got the puck to Hagelin, who banked a shot off the right post and past Kuhn for the game-winner, sending the 6,838 fans packed into Yost into a frenzy as the Michigan bench poured onto the ice.

At the center of it all was Hagelin.

"I knew when we got out there (on the power play), there was only 30 seconds left," Hagelin said. "Moffie made a great play to me and I felt I had to take the shot. I was lucky it went in."

But in a season when the puck hasn't always bounced the Wolverines' way, the timing for the fortunate ricochet couldn't have been better. First-place Notre Dame had already beaten Ferris State, extending its lead over to Michigan to four points.

But when Hagelin came up with his game-winner, it gave Michigan its fourth straight win and kept the Wolverines only a point back of the Irish with two games remaining. The Wolverines travel to Northern Michigan next weekend while Notre Dame faces Western Michigan.

But early on Saturday night, it appeared Michigan would have plenty of more catching up to do.

Michigan gave up a goal on the game's first shift, falling behind just 43 seconds in. David Wohlberg tied the game midway through the period, but Hunwick then gave up goals on back-to-back breakaways - the second with Michigan skating on the power play.

Just like that, the Wolverines trailed 3-1. Chad Langlais drew the Wolverines back to within a goal before the period ended. Kevin Lynch drew Michigan even on a short-handed goal of his own, again giving the Wolverines to get over the hump.

But when Danny Dekeyser scored just 6 seconds into a Western Michigan power play 3:20 into the third period, Michigan was left to come up with another answer.

That's when Hagelin came to the rescue.

"We really didn't do a lot to answer them offensively, but we got the goals we needed at the end," Berenson said. "It was a great finish.

"But they just had that look in their eye - they had to do it. They wanted to do it. They were tired, but you could just see them pushing through it."

For the Wolverines, who saved their best hockey last season for a miraculous run to their 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, Saturday's win may have been just the spark Michigan needed heading into the final weekend.

The Wolverines have spent the past month neck and neck with Notre Dame, a team they split with earlier this season. But after Hagelin saved Michigan - which hadn't lost on senior night since the 2004-05 season - it may have been Karmic evidence that there just may be something to the team.

"When you win when you're not supposed to win, I think it's a sign," Caporusso said. "It's a sign that maybe this is the year for Michigan hockey. Sometimes last year, we couldn't get a win and it was tough. Every game, we would get bad calls, bad bounces and sometimes, it works out for you.

"Hopefully this is the year."

Jeff Arnold covers Michigan hockey for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by e-mail at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.