Hats off to Joey Muldowney.

A 5-9, 160-pound sophomore forward, Muldowney lifted UConn to an impressive 5-2 victory over Boston University during a Hockey East semifinal Thursday at the TD Garden.

Muldowney didn’t let the 4 p.m. start time slow him down. He netted three straight goals to fuel the fourth-seeded Huskies (22-10-4) to the championship game.

His 25th, 26th and 27th goals of the season propelled UConn, which joined Hockey East in 2014, to its second championship game. UConn has yet to hoist the trophy.

Squaring off in the nightcap were second-seeded Maine (22-7-6) and Northeastern (14-19-3). The ninth-seeded Huskies were trying to pull off their third straight upset playoff win after eliminating Merrimack and Boston College, the top team in the nation.

Also enjoying three-point games for UConn in the first semifinalwere Ryan Tattle (goal, two assists) and Jake Richard (three assists).

Third-seeded BU (21-13-2) won’t add to its 10 championship titles, but the Terriers are still headed to the NCAA Tournament.

Callum Tung stopped 25 shots, but the story of the game was UConn’s dominant second period when a 1-0 deficit turned into a 3-1 lead.

The Huskies were playing without their second-leading scorer, Hudson Schandor, who was injured in a quarterfinal win over Providence.

But Huskies brought their skating game in the second, scoring three goals and at times looking like they had an extra player on the ice.

Tristan Fraser made it 1-1 just 59 seconds into the middle frame when he sent a high shot past Mikhail Yegerov, a 6-foot-5 Russian goaltender who joined BU after Christmas.

The Huskies were just getting warmed up. Richard sprung Tattle for a breakaway – the nearest BU player was in a different area code – and Tattle slid the puck between the pads of Yegerov at 2:56.

With UConn forwards buzzing all over the ice, Muldowney netted his 25th goal of the campaign to make it 3-1. Yegerov made a fantastic save to rob Muldowney, but Muldowney retrieved the puck and backhanded in the rebound despite a poor angle at the 8:42 mark.

Muldowney put the game out of reach when a terrific Richard dish left him a tap-in at the right post in the third and he added an empty-net goal to make it 5-1. BU’s Kamil Bednarik scored with 10 seconds left to account for the final.

UConn held a 7-4 shot advantage during a first period filled with icings, but the Huskies trailed 1-0 as BU’s Quinn Hutson sent a low shot from 25 feet out into the cage after receiving a pass from his brother, freshman defenseman Cole Hutson.

It was the 21st goal of the season for the older Hutson and it came on the power play.