If only for a brief instant, Shawn Hunwick's mind flashed back, replaying a few frantic seconds from his not too distant past that had ended in disappointment.

The Michigan senior goalie realized that if Ohio State won the face-off right in front of him, the Buckeyes had enough offense on the ice to erase the one-goal lead the Michigan hockey team was clinging to in the final seconds of the third period Saturday night.

Hunwick had been in this spot before, yielding a last-second goal in Columbus earlier this season, allowing what appeared to be a sure win against the Buckeyes to slip away. But with a season-best Yost Ice Arena crowd of 6,900 on its feet and and with Ohio State trying to wipe out another Wolverines' lead, Hunwick settled in for yet another nail-biting finish.

And as they had 24 hours earlier, No. 13-ranked Michigan survived a late surge, holding off the Buckeyes with a 2-1 victory to complete the weekend sweep to remain in the thick of the CCHA championship race.

But make no mistake about it - Hunwick and his teammates realizes this is the way things will be the rest of the way.

"We have four games left and we're still hopefully fighting for first place," said Hunwick, who made 22 saves to secure Michigan's second straight one-goal win. "So the two wins are huge - it really doesn't matter how you get them right now - as long as you get two wins."

For the second straight night, Michigan had to survive the third period to hold off the Buckeyes.

In Friday night's 3-2 victory, the Wolverines (19-9-4, 16-7-1 CCHA) scored twice in the first eight minutes of the third period to build a comfortable lead.

But they had to endure a late Ohio State power-play chance and a two-minute stretch when the Buckeyes played with an extra skater after pulling their goalie.

On Saturday night, Michigan carried a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes, making Chris Brown's game-winner that came just 1:20 into the second period stand up. The Wolverines had to withstand a 5-minute major penalty just 2:10 into the third period after Brown was assessed the major penalty and a game misconduct for checking from behind.

Over the next five minutes, though, Ohio State (14-16-2, 9-13-2) managed only one shot as Michigan's penalty killing unit kept the Buckeyes from gaining the equalizer. Michigan was able to continually clear the puck out of the Ohio State zone, keeping the Buckeyes from generating any serious scoring chances.

It proved to be a pivotal white-knuckle stretch for the Wolverines' confidence in protecting a slim lead.

"This is playoff hockey," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We're in kind of a playoff mode right now and everything is important right now. Every time you get the puck (out of the zone), or a faceoff is important or a blocked shot, penalties, power play - hopefully, this will move our team in the right direction."

Michigan's defense made the Wolverines' two goals enough despite getting a flurry of early offensive chances. Luke Moffatt's goal just past the midway mark of the first period gave the Wolverines an early lead. Yet, Michigan managed only the one goal despite getting 17 shots, including nearly a half-dozen prime scoring chances.

Brown's goal pushed the lead to two before Ohio State responded with Cory Schneider's short-handed goal late in the second period that cut the deficit in half. But Michigan didn't allow anything more, surviving the third period when the Buckeyes played with an extra attacker for the final two minutes after pulling goalie Cal Heeter, who kept Ohio State alive with 30 saves.

"I think it's great for our team to win close games like this," captain Carl Hagelin said. "It always gives a team some extra energy for the next weekend and also some confidence."

Michigan remains only a point out of first place behind Notre Dame, tied with Miami, which bounced back to knock off Western Michigan Saturday night. The Broncos visit next weekend for a pair of key CCHA games. But coming off this weekend's sweep, the Wolverines are confident they can finish strong with four regular-season games remaining.

The Wolverines will enter their final home weekend riding the momentum of a nine-game winning streak within Yost's friendly confines.

"We want to play (this style) every night here on out," Brown said. "I think if we do, we'll have a really good chance of winning. We know if we play this way, we know we can win and beat any team."

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.