Once again, it appeared the slimmest of margins would serve as the dividing line between a Michigan hockey team trying to preserve one of the top spots in the CCHA and a bottom-dwelling, feisty Bowling Green squad that always manages to hang around.

But just when it appeared sound defense would define a rare Tuesday night effort, the Wolverines offense provided a healthy dose of insurance in a 4-0 victory over the Falcons at Yost Ice Arena.

With the win, No. 19-ranked Michigan (17-13-1, 12-9-1 CCHA) leap-frogged a pair of conference foes into sole possession of fourth place. The win was also Red Berenson's 690th career victory, moving him into sixth place on the all-time list.

Louie Caporusso sparked the win, recording his first multi-goal performance in more than a year. And despite doing a number of little things for much of the second half, the scoring touch that has seemed to allude the junior forward suddenly re-emerged.

"If I knew (how to get scoring chances) I would bottle it and take it before every game," Caporusso said. "Some games you're in the right spot at the right time and some games you're playing well, but not getting into the right spots."

Twice on Tuesday night, Caporusso positioned himself well enough to set up goals - first slipping a shot underneath Andrew Hammond's legs before taking a perfect pass from Chad Langlais to extend Michigan's scoreboard advantage to two goals.

The Wolverines, who limited Bowling Green's quality scoring chances throughout the night, maintained the lead before Brian Lebler and Brandon Burlon added late goals to finish off the win.

"The goals were really precious tonight," Berenson said. "When you get isolated chances, you've got to make them count."

Caporusso certainly did that, taking advantage of opportunities provided to him by his line mates. After trying to play through the nights when the scoring chances didn't come, Caporusso provided the lift his teammates have been waiting for.

The timing couldn't have been better. Three days after suffering a 3-2 loss to No. 3 Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium, the Wolverines began the stretch run with a solid team-win that can provide some momentum heading into this weekend's road series at Nebraska-Omaha.

Despite a smaller crowd due to Tuesday night's wintery conditions, Michigan shrugged off a slow start and heated up behind Caporusso. Despite not playing in the emotionally-charged environment they are used to, the Wolverines discovered the urgency they know they'll need to play with the rest of the way out if they hope to earn a post-season berth.

"This should help a lot," Caporusso said. "We've got to understand the outdoor game is over now and we've got to move forward from here and these are the games we have to win."

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.