Michigan players celebrate Luke Glendening's first-period goal against Bemidji State on Saturday. (Photo: Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com)

Third-seeded Michigan (26-17-1) advances to Sunday's 8 p.m. regional final against the tournament's No. 1 overall seed Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks moved on with a 2-1 victory over Alabama-Huntsville in Saturday's other regional semifinal.

The Michigan-Miami winner will reach the Frozen Four in Detroit. The Wolverines, who would be playing for their 10th national championship should they reach Ford Field, stunned Miami in the CCHA Tournament semifinal at Joe Louis Arena eight days ago.

With a chance to move onto college hockey's biggest stage, Berenson and his players realize Sunday's rematch comes with much bigger stakes.

"They're a tremendous team and last week really doesn't matter now," junior goalie Shawn Hunwick said. "It's win or go home, just like it was last week, and they're going to come out hard and it's going to be a tremendous test for us."

Said Berenson: "It is what it is - we're here, they're here, and last week's game just motivated them. We did everything we could to help them get ready for this week. And they did. They're the team to beat, they're the No. 1 seed here and we know we'll have our hands full."

Michigan clung to a 1-0 lead for much of the first two periods before Louie Caporusso resumed his torrid postseason. His eighth goal in seven playoff games gave the Wolverines a 2-0 lead with 38 seconds remaining in the second period. 

It turned to be a turning point. Not only for Michigan, but for a Bemidji State team that failed to beat Hunwick until the third period.

"Any time you give up a goal that late, it can be a little deflating," Bemidji State captain Chris McKelvie said. "That was definitely a preventable goal. You just have to bear down on pucks there."

Despite trailing by the two goals, Bemidji State (23-10-4) responded in the third, though, snapping an 0-for-7 drought on the power play. Beavers leading scorer Ian Lowe scored at the 10:24 mark, trimming the Wolverines lead to 2-1.

But before the Beavers could build on the momentum shift, Hagelin responded, snapping a shot past Bemidji State goalie Dan Bakala two minutes later, extending the Wolverines lead back to two goals.

Hagelin then scored again - this time with Michigan playing short-handed - to close out the Beavers before Brian Lebler added a empty netter with 1:58 remaining.

"That third period - we knew we had to win the period," Berenson said. "We had to put the pressure on. If we were on our heels, they could take over the game."

Bemidji State, which hadn't played in two weeks, failed to capitalize on much of anything. Despite the flurry of early Michigan penalties, the Beavers couldn't manage any serious scoring chances until Lowe's power-play goal finally put Bemidji State on the board.

Beavers coach Tom Serratore believed if his team couldn't score in the first period, it would have a tough time competing against Michigan's speed. Despite closing the gap to one goal midway through the third period, Bemidji State couldn't answer once Hagelin extended Michigan's lead back to two goals.

"Every time we had a breakdown, they took advantage of those opportunities," Serratore said. "That's just the sign of a great hockey team. That's the hottest team in the country and that may be the best team in the country right now."

The Wolverines ride a seven-game winning streak into Sunday night's regional championship. But they'll try to maintain their role as the underdogs, hoping to play with the same backs-against-the-wall mentality that got them here.

"Now, we get another day to play," senior defenseman Steve Kampfer said. "We've got to be ready against Miami - it's going to be a tough one and obviously, the winner goes to the Frozen Four. We have to be ready because we know they are."

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.