By Andrew Mahoney, The Boston Globe

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Charlie Russell’s shot deflected off Nolan Renwick’s shin and into the Northeastern net 11:02 into the second overtime to send Maine to Friday night’s men’s Hockey East championship game with a 4-3 win at TD Garden.

The Black Bears will face UConn, which pounded Boston University, 5-2, in the night’s first semifinal to extend their unbeaten streak to nine games and reach their second championship game.

“You get deep into a second overtime, we figured it was going to be a greasy goal to end it, so I just went and parked myself at the side of the net,” said Renwick. “Charlie Russell made a great play there. He saw me, and he threw it to that back post. And I was lucky, it went off me and we were able to end the game.”

It marks the first time Maine and UConn will meet for the right to play for the Lamoriello Trophy, and the first Hockey East championship game without a Massachusetts team since 2002.. Maine improved to 23-7-6.

Northeastern, which became the first No. 9 seed to reach the semifinals with a 3-1 upset of No. 1 Boston College in the quarterfinals, saw its season come to an end at 14-20-3. Sophomore Cameron Whitehead made 57 saves in the losing effort. Maine goalie Albin Boija recorded 34 saves.

“He responded and showed up in the big games when it mattered most. That’s what you need your goaltender to do,” said NU coach Jerry Keefe of Whitehead. “And he gave us a chance to win here in overtime and throughout the playoffs. I know our guys had a lot of confidence in him. Just like our team, I thought we played our best hockey right here at the end, and he obviously led the way in the net.”

Northeastern had rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second period and took a 3-2 lead when sophomore Andy Moore picked a good time to score his first collegiate goal, putting back a rebound of Nick Rheaume’s shot 4:29 into the third. While the rest of the Huskies celebrated, Rheaume bolted to the net to retrieve the puck for his linemate.

“Mooresy’s one of the most well respected guys in that room,” Keefe said. “He’s a gamer. He comes to work every day. He’s a leader on that team. And I thought that gave our team such a big boost to get the lead. … So I know the guys were excited for him. He earned it.”

The lead stood until Luke Antonacci answered for Maine, sending a shot toward the net that deflected off Northeastern defenseman Jackson Dorrington and past Whitehead for the equalizer with 7:17 remaining in regulation. That was how the score remained, as the game headed to overtime with the Black Bears holding a 39-24 edge in shots.

Maine took the early lead 14:02 into the first, just as it killed a power play, with Owen Fowler coming out of the box after serving two minutes for elbowing, and scoring on a breakaway, beating Whitehead five-hole. The goal was set up by Harrison Scott, who got to the puck after Northeastern’s James Fisher whiffed on it, and found Fowler in stride.

The Black Bears doubled the lead early in the second period, with Fowler following up Breen’s rebound by roofing it past Whitehead 2:03 in for his second of the night and a 2-0 lead. Considering Northeastern had managed just four goals in three meetings with Maine during the regular season, going 0-2-1, it appeared to be an uphill climb.

But the Huskies would cut the lead in half minutes later, scoring on the power play after Brandon Charbier went off for holding at 2:58. Northeastern had plenty of traffic in front of the net when Cam Lund sent in a shot that Joe Connor re-directed. Boija made the initial stop, but Dylan Hryckowian was able to get to the loose puck and knock it past him at 4:01.

Northeastern drew even in the final minute of the second period, following a similar pattern to Maine’s first goal, with Dorrington exiting the penalty box after serving two minutes for interference. He created a 2-on-1 with Lund, who buried it for his team-leading 18th goal to send the game to a 2-2 tie entering the third period.

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