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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Doing the difficult seems to be no problem for the Wolverines.

Whether facing the best offensive team in the country or one of the best defenses in the country, Michigan had just enough to get the job done in the NCAA's West Regional, played on the home ice of Yost Ice Arena.

	Denver goalie Wade Dubielewicz can only skate away after Jed Ortmeyer's game-winner late in the third period.

Michigan advanced to the Frozen Four for the second straight season by defeating Denver 5-3 Saturday night. Jed Ortmeyer broke a 3-3 tie with 1:21 left and Eric Nystrom, who set up Ortmeyer, added an empty net goal for his second tally of the game with 26.2 seconds left.

Denver (32-8-1), the West Regional's top seed, was considered the top team in the country, having won both the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season and playoff titles. The Pioneers hadn't given up a lead after two periods all season.

The Wolverines defeated St. Cloud State, the top offensive team in the country, 4-2 on Friday night.

"We had to beat the best offensive team in the country, then had to play the first-place team in the WCHA," said Michigan coach Red Berenson. "Which is one of the hardest teams to score on and they don't give up leads."

"I thought Red's team was outstanding," said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. "They did a tremendous job of taking away some of our offensive movements and they took away our attack."

Asked why his team continues to beat the odds, Berenson said: "Its character. The team has confidence and it sticks together. It has everything except experience."

Michigan, which only has two seniors who play regularly, has eight freshmen.

"They're not freshmen anymore," Berenson said. "They've been through a lot this year."

Michigan opened the season by playing in front of over 70,000 fans, the largest crowd ever to watch a hockey game at Michigan State's Spartan Stadium and went on to win the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's regular-season and playoff championships.

"I think the team is a close-knit family," said Ortmeyer. "We were right from the start of the year. We did some team-bonding things and the freshmen fit in."

Michigan will face Minnesota in an NCAA semifinal game in St. Paul Minnesota in two weeks.

The Wolverines were down 3-2 after two periods but freshman Eric Werner tied it 4:47 into the third period for Michigan when his shot from the inside edge of the right circle beat Denver goaltender Wade Dubielewicz high on the glove side.

Ortmeyer's game winner came when he tipped in a cross-crease pass from Nystrom.

"It was just a sigh of relief," said Ortmeyer. "We were working hard at it and it was a great way to win to get the goal with a minute left."

It was a bitter defeat for the Pioneers to take.

"It's always tough at the end when you're not standing," said Gwozdecky. "Especially with this team that had so many expectations.

Michigan's home fans were also a big key.

"I don't think the crowd hurt us as much as it helped them," said Gwozdecky. "They were really energized by them."

The Pioneers' Luke Fulghum broke a 2-2 tie with 7:35 left in the second period when he tipped in a bouncing pass from in front of the net.

Michigan opened the scoring when Eric Nystrom scored 56 seconds into the second period by slamming a cross-crease past Dubielewicz.

But Denver tied the game 1-1 at 3:05 on a Chris Paradise power-play goal. His slap shot from the right point beat Michigan goaltender Josh Blackburn high on the glove side.

But the Wolverines went ahead 2-1 on a power-play goal of their own at 5:43 when Mike Komisarek's wrist shot from the blue line found its way past a screened Dubielewicz high on the stick side.

But Kevin Doell's power-play goal at 9:16 of the period tied it 2-2 as he slammed a pass into an empty net from in front.