"above the 'thumb'" of the mitten, so... 
Your 44 degrees latitude is "hinterlands" compared to my 40 degrees latitude. 
You do have that big lake to moderate temps there though. I have seen some ideas where people would dig out some couple foot deep trenches and then put pots in them with some straw during those marginal "transition" temp times as the ground tends to keep a more constant, and often milder temp than air temp when it's frosty (similar practice to "heeling in" a plant). Then boards (and/or shelf units) could be placed over the trenches to cover them when doing regular summer growing. People who grow potted figs will do that too (put them in trenches) if they don't have a good winter storage location that doesn't go below about 25F - 30F, where 15F can kill the fig tissue if sustained.
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