These were not the same Wolverines who lost at Munn Ice Arena 5-2 Friday.

“They came out and played really physical, much better than us, in the first period,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “We fought hard to get back in it, but they played well.”

Despite not having Chad Kolarik in the lineup because of a hamstring injury, the Wolverines were able to bounce back after being trounced in East Lansing.

“I was totally unsatisfied 24 hours ago, and now I feel better about our team and everything,” Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. “(Friday’s) game was a real downer for me as a coach.”

The Wolverines netted three first period goals, taking the wind out of MSU’s sails before heading into the locker room. Tim Miller scored two goals for U-M — one in the first period and one in the third period. Aaron Palushaj also scored. With about 20 seconds left before the end of the first period, U-M’s Brandon Naurato scored to put the Wolverines up by three.

“They’re a high quality offensive team,” senior defenseman Daniel Vukovic said. “We took too many penalties. ... We got out of our groove.”

It seemed the momentum pendulum swung in MSU’s favor during the second period as senior forward Chris Mueller’s shot from the top of the circle finally put the Spartans on the board. Soon after, junior forward Tim Kennedy would tally another MSU goal on the power play off from a shot by freshman defenseman Jeff Petry.

But the Wolverines wouldn’t go away.

U-M’s Max Pacioretty tipped a shot from the blue line in front of the net past junior goaltender Jeff Lerg with nearly 40 seconds left in the second period. The Wolverines would score an empty net goal at the end of the third period for the 5-2 final score.

“We played with more emotion tonight, and we were more physical,” Berenson said. “As a result, we were rewarded.”