BIG RAPIDS - It was a simple math equation. Penalties plus power plays equals goals.
And in the end, the equation equaled a win for the Michigan hockey team.
All but three of the combined 10 goals in the Wolverines' 7-3 victory over Ferris State on Saturday night were scored on the power play.
Brendan Morrison and Matt Herr led the Wolverines' charge with two power-play goals apiece, and Warren Luhning scored one.
Michigan forward John Madden assisted on six of the seven goals. His six-assist performance was his career high and two shy of the team record. His final assist of the night was his 25th, putting him one ahead of Morrison for the team lead.
Madden was named the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week for his two-game output of one goal and six assists.
Forward Todd Steinmetz led the Bulldogs with a power-play goal and an assist. Ferris defenseman Andy Roach assisted on all three of the Bulldogs' goals.
The Wolverines (8-1-1 CCHA, 15-1-1 overall) increased their point total to 17 in the conference standings, moving them to within one point of first-place Lake Superior and Michigan State. Ferris State dropped to 5-9, 8-11-1.
It wasn't only Michigan's power play that was clicking Saturday night. The Bulldogs kept themselves in the game with their power play, converting on two of seven opportunities.
"Certainly, Michigan had the best power play we've seen this year," Ferris State coach Bob Daniels said. "I felt our power play looked real good too."
Kenzie Homer knocked in the second of Ferris State's power-play goals at 9:01 of the second period to cut the Michigan lead to 4-3 on a five-on-three advantage. That was the closest the Bulldogs would get.
Morrison capitalized with just three seconds left on a Michigan man-advantage with 4:54 remaining in the second period.
He blasted a shot past Ferris State goaltender Mike Szkodzinski from the point. It was Morrison's second power-play goal of the night and his ninth goal on the season.
"It's a good sign in that we took advantage of our opportunities and kept them from playing too aggressive by capitalizing on the power play," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "The other good sign is Morrison is starting to shoot the puck. He had to start shooting, and I think that opened things up for everyone else."
Luhning added a power-play goal and Chris Frescoln scored for the first time this season with a second left in the game.
Berenson said that if the Wolverines hadn't been successful on the power play, it would have been a completely different game.
"The bad sign is that five-on-five - it was a close game," Berenson said. "Take the penalties out, and it was a much closer game than the score indicated."
The Wolverines also could have prevented the Bulldogs from scoring their power-play goals had Michigan's top defenseman - assistant captain Blake Sloan - played in Saturday's game.
Sloan was suspended by the CCHA for the game against Ferris State. CCHA Coordinator of Officials Dave Fisher called Berenson late Friday night in his hotel to inform him that the league had reviewed a check from behind into the boards in the second period of Michigan's 3-1 victory over Western Michigan Wednesday night. Sloan originally received a two-minute minor for the hit.
What frustrated Berenson and the Wolverines most was how late the decision was made - one night before their game.
"I was completely surprised, completely caught off guard," Berenson said. "(I had) no sense of warning or indication or maybe we would've brought another player with us on the trip."
The CCHA rule states that a decision on a reviewed play must be "brought to the office within 72 hours of the infraction." But the Wolverines' mid-week game against Western Michigan made things worse.
"(The rule) is assuming that you're playing the next Friday, not a Wednesday-Saturday, so typically by Tuesday, you'd know if a player's going to miss a game and you'd have some time to prepare. We had no time to prepare."
Sloan didn't even hear of the news until the morning of the game.
"I deserved a penalty, but I don't think I deserved a game-misconduct," Sloan said. "The guy (I hit) did a good job of acting, as far as I'm concerned."
Fisher said that the referees should have called a harsher penalty on Sloan's hit.
"It's an automatic game misconduct and a five-minute penalty and it wasn't issued," Fisher said.
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Michigan junior Chris Fox had two assists in Saturday's 7-3 Michigan victory over Ferris State. Here he slides a pass just by the outstretched stick of the Bulldogs' Brent Wishart.