Philip Beaulieu scored twice, including the game-winner at 8:19 of the third period, and helped the Wildcats edge their Upper Peninsula rival, defending the Cappo Cup championship for another year.
Troy Loggins also scored for NMU (15-10-3, 13-5-2), while goalie Atte Tolvanen made 17 saves.
Max Humitz and Brayden Gelsinger scored in the first and second periods, respectively, for the Lakers, who dropped to 6-18-4 overall and 4-13-3 in the conference.