The “Children of Yost” were eerily quiet, given the circumstance.

Michigan’s famed student section, normally loud no matter the occasion but especially in desperate times, was stunned into a few murmuring chants Saturday night late in the third period of Michigan’s 3-3 tie with Michigan Tech. And who could blame them?

The Wolverines had just given up two goals in less than two minutes to surrender yet another third-period lead as Michigan Tech’s horde of fans had taken over the hockey game in Michigan’s homecoming weekend.

But the Wolverine faithful weren’t quiet because their team was losing, they were quiet because as the Huskies kept the puck in Michigan’s zone for minutes on end and looked completely in control, the Wolverines didn’t have a pulse. Again.

Michigan has been out-shot and out-played in every game this season, sometimes by comical margins. But the Wolverines are 3-1-1 through five games thanks to timely, at times seemingly random bursts of offensive genius.

There have been last-minute goals — such as Cutler Martin's Saturday to salvage a tie from an otherwise-dismal third period — highlight-reel goals and game-winning one-timers. Outside of its season-opener, Michigan has always gotten the goal it needed, right when it needed it most like lightning bolts of genius.

But what happens when the lightning stops, and the heart-pounding wins turn into losses that would silence a heart monitor.

The only stat that matters in hockey is the final score, but the Wolverines’ other stats don’t suggest that favorable final scores are on Michigan’s horizon. The Wolverines have been out-shot by 68 goals in five games, are fifth-last in the nation with a faceoff percentage of 44.1 percent and are dead last — 60th out of 60 teams — with a Corsi percentage of 39.7 percent.

If you’re wondering what Corsi percentage is, it’s the rate of total shots attempted a team takes in a game. To put it simply, the Wolverines are worse at holding onto the puck and generating opportunities than any team in the country.

That’s not all hockey is, and Michigan does sport the fifth-best shooting percentage in the country and hasn’t lost since its opener. But consider this: The four teams with Corsi percentages below 40 percent from 2014-16 went a combined 24-102-16, and none won more than eight games.

For a team that went 25-8-5 last season, that’s not a rebuilding year. That’s falling off the cliff.

“Let’s face it, we haven’t played the best teams in the country yet,” said senior forward and team captain Alex Kile. “Once we do … we can’t play like this or else we’re going to lose.

“We got outplayed both games this weekend, and we were lucky to come out on top last night and get the shootout win today.”

The good news for Michigan is that it still has 29 games to figure it all out, and has seen strong goaltending play keep it in games (the nation's third-best save percentage, since I’m spewing stats).

But with less talent on the roster than in the past and more than a third of their lineup populated by freshmen, the Wolverines need their best hockey sooner rather than later to have a prayer against the best teams.

That means creating shots, holding onto the puck, not giving up third period leads like it has done in three games and actually dominate games, not count on highlight-reel goals to resuscitate the team every night.

“We don’t have our top five scorers from last year, let’s face it,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “So there’s new roles for new players, and can they live up to it.

“We have some talent in our locker room, but I don’t think we’re playing up to that yet. It’s a long season, but we have to get better.”

Michigan’s mission is clear. Get better before the luck runs out, before the eerily quiet student section becomes a regular occurrence.