Maine and Boston University have faced more than their fair share of adversity this season.

Friday, the two will lock horns with a berth in the Hockey East final at stake as the No. 3 Terriers and No. 4 Black Bears meet in the conference semifinal round at the TD Garden in Boston.

“We are coming off a very hard fought series with Merrimack,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. “The bad news is there were a lot of ice bags handed out, and the good news is there were a lot of ice bags handed out … Merrimack really forced us to raise the bar and to elevate our game to a higher level. I told our guys after the Game 2 loss that this is a good thing because if we plan on going to the (NCAA) playoffs, we had better be prepared for games like this.”

BU and Maine met three times during the regular season. The Terriers took the first meeting back in December at Alfond Arena in Orono before Maine returned the favor two-fold, taking both games of a doubleheader at Agganis Arena in Boston.

“Maine is a much better team now than they were in December,” BU coach Jack Parker said, “and they proved that when they came down and played us. I don’t think we played very well against them on Friday night. I thought we played extremely well on Saturday night … and yet we still didn’t win.”

Both squads have faced a bit of adversity this season. For the Black Bears, it came in the form of a horrendous start to the season and a heavy reliance on a single line for offense. They began the season 2-6-2, and were near the basement of the college hockey landscape.

Then, something clicked. Players across the lineup, from forwards to defensemen and particularly Dan Sullivan in the crease, elevated their games. While Spencer Abbott, Brian Flynn, Joey Diamond and Wil O’Neill continued to pile up points (and particularly on one of the top-rated power plays in the country), the rest of the team got involved, too.

“We had lost some key guys and were wondering about that but they have been solid,” Whitehead said. “Up front you have guys like (Adam) Shemansky, (Matt) Mangene, (Kyle) Beattie, and (Lewiston native Mark) Anthoine and a lot of others that have really stepped up so we are not a one-dimensional team anymore, and that has really made a difference for us.”

Anthoine is having a solid sophomore campaign for the Black Bears, with 11 goals and six assists while logging some power play and penalty kill time in key situations.

The Terriers, meanwhile, have been beset by scandal this season. One of the team’s top players, Charlie Coyle, left the team during the holiday break to play junior hockey with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Another pair of top players have been dismissed from the team due to legal troubles, forcing Parker to revamp his lineup while the University itself studies the program’s culture.

“I don’t think it gets any easier for the team,” Parker said. “They lost three really good teammates as far as their skill is concerned, but they also lost good friends … “I think that’s difficult for these kids to handle.”

But yet, after a pair of double-overtime games in a three-game set with New Hampshire, the Terriers are back on Garden ice.

Alex Chiasson and Matt Nieto, two of nine NHL-drafted players still on the BU roster, continue to lead the team in scoring, while fellow draft pick Kieran Millan continues to rewrite the school’s goaltending record book between the pipes.

“They have strengths at all three positions in addition to being a very well coached team for many years,” Whitehead said. “I think certainly the way they have come together after losing several key players is a great indication of the leadership there … This is a club that has pulled together. We went through that a couple of years ago when I had to release our goalie from the team and it pulled us tighter together and I see the same reaction from their team. Its really impressive so we know we have our hands full.”

As for the perceived advantage the Terriers have by skating at the Garden, where they play a pair of games each year in the Beanpot Tournament?

“I don’t think we’re uncomfortable there, that’s for sure, but I don’t think we have a big advantage over Maine there because they’ve played at the Garden many times as well,” Parker said. “The Garden’s ice surface is more like Maine’s than it is like ours, so they are more comfortable that way.”

No. 1 Boston College will square off against No. 7 Providence in the first semifinal game at 5 p.m., with Maine and BU slated to face off at 8 p.m.

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