Huh? Neither Superior nor Michigan ever froze up, nor did lake effect ever stop, when I lived near them. Maybe Erie and Ontario are different.
Eerie generally freezes over as it's way shallower than the others. If it's super cold the others will collect ice and become covered to some degree. Last winter's cold snow ice over much of the lakes:
http://time.com/9480/great-lakes-frozen-time-lapse-video/