BOSTON - Sophomore Ryan Greene scored two goals and junior Mathieu Caron made 32 saves to help lead the No. 2 Boston University men's ice hockey team to a 4-1 win over No. 7 Maine in a Hockey East semifinal matchup on Friday night at TD Garden.

Greene gave BU (26-8-2) a 1-0 lead midway through the first period before sophomore Lane Hutson doubled the lead at 9:31 of the second stanza. Maine (23-11-2) got back within one at 6:48 of the third, but Greene's second strike of the game, which was the Terriers' second power-play goal of the night, put BU back up by two with 9:17 remaining in regulation. Graduate student Sam Stevens iced the game with an empty-netter in the final seconds.

Freshman Macklin Celebrini notched three assists while sophomore Quinn Hutson recorded two helpers. Senior Luke Tuch and freshman Shane Lachance also recorded one assist apiece.

Caron was excellent all night for the Terriers, but particularly in the final 40 minutes as he made 13 saves in each of the last two periods.

The Terriers will face No. 1 Boston College in Saturday's Hockey East title game at TD Garden.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Greene got BU on the board first just 8:59 into the proceedings. He forced a bad Maine pass off its own end boards which caromed right to Quinn Hutson. Quinn quickly found Greene in the slot, and Greene collected the pass and ripped the puck past Albin Boija (14 saves).
• Lane extended the lead to 2-0 at 9:21 of the second stanza. He collected a pass from Celebrini, toe dragged a Maine defender and then, with Lachance providing a terrific screen in front of Boija, uncorked a wrist shot into the back of the net for his 13th goal of the season.
• Lachance thought he gave the Terriers a 3-0 lead early in the third period but Maine successfully challenged the play, which was ultimately ruled to be offside.
• The Black Bears then got even more momentum back when Lynden Breen scored on a power play to cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 6:48 mark.
• Greene gave BU a huge insurance goal, however, at 10:43 of the third. Lachance outmuscled his defender along the wall to win the puck and slide it across the zone to Celebrini, who then found a wide-open Greene between the circles. Greene one-timed the puck past Boija for his 11th goal of the year.
• Caron continued to shine through the final minutes before Stevens' empty-netter iced the game with 27.6 ticks on the clock.

GAME NOTES

• This was the Terriers' first Hockey East semifinal win over Maine in seven tries.
• Greene, who has notched at least one point in all five Hockey East playoff games he has played, has recorded two goals and three assists for five points in three career Hockey East Tournament games at TD Garden.
• Caron is 7-0-1 with a 1.38 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage since Feb. 16.
• Celebrini's three assists brings him to 58 points (30g, 28a).
• The 17-year-old Hobey Baker finalist is third in the nation in points.
• Lane Hutson, also a Hobey Baker finalist, notched his 28th career goal on Friday and is now just one point behind the active career leaders in points by a defenseman with 93 (28g, 65a).

UP NEXT

• No. 2 BU and No. 1 BC will meet on Saturday for the right to lift the Lamoriello Trophy.
• Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
• This will be the third-ever meeting in the Hockey East title game between the longtime rivals, with BU having defeated BC in 1986 and in 2006.