Minnesota-Duluth Beats Maine 5-2, Sets Up Boston College-Duluth Northeast Regional Final

The Defending National Champs erased a two goal deficit, scoring five unanswered to skate past third seeded Maine 5-2 in the second Northeast Regional Semifinal. Boston College's 2-0 victory over Air Force earlier in the day sets up a Northeast Regional Final between the last two NCAA National Champions.

It'll be the Defending Champs vs. the favorites for a spot in the Frozen Four in Tampa.

Duluth got two goals from center Jake Hendrickson as well as goals from J.T. Brown, Jack Connolly and Caleb Herbert. Hendrickson's empty-netter late in the third sealed the victory for UMD. Bulldogs goaltender Kenny Reiter made 25 saves in the victory.

Boston College and Minnesota-Duluth have previously met 15 times, with the Eagles holding a 10-4-1 edge in the all-time series. The two programs have met just once in the NCAAs -- in the 1985 NCAA Frozen Four Consolation Game. UMD won 7-6 in overtime.

The two programs last faced one another early in the 2003 season, a 2-2 tie in the opening round of the Ice Breaker.

Duluth is easily the top two seed in this year's Tournament, having spent more weeks at No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I men's poll than any other program. The Bulldogs boast the nation's top offense, averaging 3.67 goals a game. Jack Connolly, Travis Oleksuk and JT Brown are all among the nation's top 15 scorers in the country.

The Bulldogs will be the best team Boston College has faced in quite some time. The Eagles will put their 16-game winning streak on the line for a chance to punch their ticket to the 2012 Frozen Four in Tampa. BC is also now the lone flag-bearer for Hockey East, as Boston University, Maine and UMass-Lowell's seasons all ended today.

Three more wins. Go Eagles!