DETROIT -- The afternoon time slot wasn't exactly familiar to a Michigan hockey team better acquainted with prime time.

But considering what a second straight Great Lakes Invitational loss would mean to their long-range playoff hopes, the Wolverines had to make the most of it.

After a disappointing loss prevented the Wolverines from playing for their third straight GLI title, Michigan salvaged its 2 days at Joe Louis Arena with a 5-3 win over Michigan Tech Wednesday in the tournament's consolation game.

Freshman Lindsay Sparks and an improved Michigan power play propelled the Wolverines back to the .500 mark.

Sparks scored the first 2 goals of his career and Michigan tallied a season-high 3 power play goals in a game the Wolverines absolutely had to have following a 4-3 loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Tuesday night.

"It's a tough game to play -- anytime you come down to this tournament, the goal is to play in the championship game," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "But our team has a lot of pride. They know they played well (Tuesday night) and didn't have much to show for it....but to come out of here with two losses would have been a tough week for Michigan."

The Wolverines (10-10) showed improvement on the power play, registering their first 3 goals with a 1-man advantage. But penalties also allowed Michigan Tech to stick around, especially in the second period.

The Huskies (3-16) spent extended time with a 5-on-3 advantage as Michigan twice found itself with 3 defenders in the penalty box. Nevertheless, Bryan Hogan -- who was pulled during Tuesday night's loss -- allowed only 1 goal during that stretch.

Hogan finished off Wednesday's win with 20 saves after Michigan outshot Michigan Tech, 44-23.

Michigan Tech refused to fade, twice getting to within a goal in the third period. That's when Sparks struck for the second time, extending Michigan's lead back to 4-2. The Huskies kept things interesting, slashing the deficit back to 1 goal at the 12:22 mark of the third period.

Hogan preserved the lead with a dramatic save with just more than a minute remaining before Brian Lebler notched his second goal of the game -- this time into an empty net with 11.5 seconds remaining to close out the win.

Despite not playing in the championship game like they hoped, the Wolverines gave themselves some momentum heading into next weekend's home-and-home series with Western Michigan.

"We just had to come out with a positive attitude and take every shift and every period one by one and keep playing the win," Sparks said. "You're trying to salvage (the tournament) and so you have to get that win."

Junior Matt Rust agreed.

"Obviously, you want to be playing in the (championship) game and it's tough waking up (Wednesday) morning knowing you're playing in the consolation game for third place, but it's important," said Rust, who tallied a second-period goal in the win. "It was tough after (Tuesday night) but I thought we came back from the top line down to the fourth and we responded."

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.