BOSTON — The University of Maine’s seventh-ranked hockey team fell short in a Hockey East semifinal game against Boston University on Friday night at the TD Garden.
Junior goalie Mathieu Caron came up with an outstanding 32-save performance and the Terrier power play continued its prolific success at the expense of the Black Bears, scoring twice in three tries, to upend UMaine 4-1 and advance to Saturday night’s championship game against No. 1 Boston College, an 8-1 winner over UMass earlier Friday.
UMaine had its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 23-11-2. But the Black Bears have earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament and will learn where they are going during the tournament selection show on Sunday night.
Second-ranked BU improved to 26-8-2 including three wins over UMaine.
Sophomore center Ryan Greene scored a pair of goals and sophomore defenseman and Hobey Baker Award finalist Lane Hutson had the another for BU. Sam Stevens scored an empty-net goal.
BU is now 6-for-11 on the power play in three games vs. UMaine this season.
UMaine outshot BU 33-18. UMaine freshman goalie Albin Boija made 14 stops.
UMaine senior Lynden Breen scored for UMaine early in the third period to pull UMaine within one after Greene’s first-period even-strength goal and Hutson’s second-period power play goal staked BU to a 2-0 lead.
Breen scored with a wrist shot from a difficult angle to the left of Caron but the Terriers answered on the power play when Hobey Baker Award finalist Macklin Celebrini fed Greene for a one-timer from the low slot.
Greene opened the scoring at the 8:59 mark of the first period and Hutson extended the lead on the power play at the 9:21 mark of the second period.
It was BU’s fifth power play goal in nine chances over three games against the Black Bears this season.
Hutson’s goal was BU’s first shot on goal in the period.
The Black Bears had several glorious scoring chances over the final five minutes of the first period and in the second period but Caron stopped all 18 shots.
Greene’s goal came off a UMaine turnover.
Anthony Calafiore’s pass in the Maine zone landed on the stick of Quinn Hutson and he fed Greene in the middle of the low slot. Greene snapped a wrist shot through the pads of Boija for his 10th of the season.
A few minutes later, UMaine’s Donavan Houle pounced on the puck in the high slot after a BU player fell down but Caron made a blocker save off Houle’s snap shot from the inner half of the right circle.
Later in the period, he made a good stop off Cole Hanson from the slot and got his right skate on a screened shot from David Breazeale.
UMaine continued storming the BU net looking for an equalizer but Caron stopped a one-timer by Houle off a Thomas Freel feed and rejected another good bid by Houle moments later.
Hobey Baker Award finalist Hutson made it 2-0 when he took a pass between the top of the left faceoff circle and the blue line, faked a shot and maneuvered around a diving Black Bear before wristing a 30-foot wrist past Boija to the glove side.
Later in the period, Caron came up big again as he extended his right pad to reject a bid by Harrison Scott, who sliced across the crease from the right to left.
Moments later, he made another gem off a Freel one-timer.
