A lone baseball cap floated over the boards Saturday night, reaching the ice less than a minute into the second period.

By hockey standards, it was early. But by the time the celebratory hat trick souvenir arrived, Michigan's hockey team had done enough damage to put any thoughts of playing for a third straight day to rest.

Louie Caporusso tallied three goals and Carl Hagelin provided another two, leading the Wolverines to a convincing 6-0 victory over Lake Superior State, closing out their CCHA first-round playoff series at Yost Ice Arena two games to none.

A night after waiting until the third period to put the Lakers away, Michigan's offensive statement was more emphatic Saturday night.

"Coach said we had to eliminate their hope," Caporusso said. "I think that was the biggest thing. They were playing desperate, but they were also playing with hope, and if we could dominate them in the first (period) and maybe pop a few quick ones and kind of demoralize them, that would help. And it did."

The victory propels the No. 7-seeded Wolverines (21-17-1) into a quarterfinals showdown with No. 2-seeded rival Michigan State in a best-of-three-series next weekend at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing.

Caporusso proved to be the catalyst behind Michigan's scoring explosion. The junior forward that led the Wolverines in scoring last season as a sophomore registered all three of his goals by the opening seconds of the second period.

The script the Wolverines followed Saturday was much different than in Friday's 5-2 win when they relied on defense early on. But after Caporusso's eventful first period when he scored two of Michigan's three goals, it was clear that coach Red Berenson's pleas for urgency a following Friday's victory had been heard.

"You knew (Lake Superior State) would come out with a desperate attack and they did," Berenson said. "They forechecked, they worked really hard and it was not a one-sided game at that point. We were just fortunate on the offensive side.

"I think a couple of our goals were lucky goals, but when you're working hard, you get lucky."

Michigan pelted Lake Superior goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson with 34 shots in the opening 40 minutes, beating him from virtually every angle. Caporusso and Hagelin both scored on wrap-around goals while fill-in freshman forward Jeff Rohrkemper scored his first career goal.

The sizable cushion gave goalie Shawn Hunwick plenty of insurance a week after the junior back-up goalie made his first career start against Notre Dame. Hunwick, in net in place of injured Bryan Hogan, brushed aside each of the 28 shots he faced Saturday, adding confidence to his small but growing body of work.

Hunwick made a couple of key saves early, again allowing him to build confidence. But once Michigan's offense starting rolling, any signs that Hunwick is still adjusting to life as a starting goalie evaporated.

But he knows if his stint in net continues next weekend against the Spartans, his challenge gets even more daunting.

"It's huge for us to get out of this third round," Hunwick said. "Next week's going to be a battle though. Michigan State's a good team, they took three of four from us in the regular season, but it's a good rivalry so it should bring out the best in our team."

Notes: Michigan captain Chris Summers saw limited minutes after sustaining what Berenson called a lower body injury. Summers was checked hard into the boards and required assistance leaving the ice. Berenson moved forward Scooter Vaughan back to his natural position on defense after Summers left the game.

Berenson said that Hogan's status for next weekend's series against Michigan State remains unknown. Hunwick, who has picked up the nickname "Rudy" given his 5-foot-7 stature, is now 1-1 as a starter and registered his second shutout in three games. "I can't tell you about next weekend, but I like what he's done so far," Berenson said.

Jeff Arnold covers Michigan hockey for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at jeffarnold@annarbor.com or 734-623-2554. Follow him at Twitter @jeffreyparnold.