WORCESTER, Mass. — A two-goal lead was looking pretty comfortable.

The University of Maine had built that cushion on single goals in the first two periods and had gotten some great saves from Dan Sullivan at the other end.  The Black Bears seemed poised and in control of their NCAA Northeast Region semifinal Saturday night at the DCU Center.

That all changed late in the second period. The defending national champions from Minnesota-Duluth scored a goal and then another and another. All of a sudden, in less than seven minutes, the Bulldogs had rallied from a deficit to take the lead.

UMD got another goal midway through the third, and added an empty-netter, taking a bite out of Maine’s hopes to reach Sunday’s regional final with a 5-2 win.

“We didn’t ultimately get what we wanted,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “We wanted to win the Hockey East championship and the NCAA championship, but we’re real proud of these boys. There’s not doubt they’ve got us headed back in the right direction.”

UMD(25-9-6) plays Boston College Sunday night at 8 p.m. Maine ends its season at  23-14-3.

“It’s the end of the four best years of my life,” said Maine defenseman Will O’Neill. “It’s a very special place. I love Maine. Coach gave me a great opportunity, and I loved playing for him.”

After Maine got goals from Spencer Abbott and Matt Mangene, the Black Bears had a 2-0 lead midway through the game. Jack Connolly brought UMD to life with a power-play goal. Then tallies by Caleb Herbert and Jak Hendrickson came one minute apart late in the second to put the Bulldogs ahead. A JT Brown goal in the third padded the lead.

“That’s how the game is,” said O’Neill. “They got on the power play and buried that goal. That gave them some momentum and it was 2-1. They scored two goals and it was like a 0-0 game. Maybe that gave them some energy off it and fed off it.”

Maine was held to just two shots through the first half of the final period and finished with just three in the third.

“They were just playing solid defensively,” said Abbott. “We had trouble getting the puck in their end and getting cycles. They were all over us all night and didn’t allow us to do what we do.”

Abbott scored on the power play with 2:44 left in the first to put Maine up 1-0. Abbott dished the puck down to the left circle to Brian Flynn, who sent it back to the point. Abbott wristed it from there for the power-play tally.

“They were playing a little back, and I had a little time at the top,” said Abbott. “We tried to work it around and open up some seams. I just tried to find my way in there.”

At the other end, Sullivan came up with some key saves to keep the game scoreless. He stopped Hendrickson on a shorthanded bid at the left post. After a Maine power play, Brady Lamb came out of the box for an open bid that Sullivan gloved. Sullivan also stopped a blast from the point that may have been tipped in front. Jeremy Reiter kept it a 1-0 deficit for the Bulldogs. He made a stop on rebound in front on Martin Ouellette on a power play in the final seconds of the period.

That lead lasted only until 7:10 of the second. Mangene burst in alone and backhanded one by Reiter to make it 2-0. UMD had knocked the net off behind Sullivan at the other end, but officials reviewed the goal and let it stand.

“We didn’t feel like we had the game in hand when we had that lead,” said Whitehead. “We had the lead. That’s all. Minnesota-Duluth did a great job bouncing back. The key for them was getting that power play goal and getting back in the game.”

The Bulldogs cut it to 2-1 with 9:13 left in the second on the power play. With Ryan Hegarty off for slashing, Connolly buried one from the slot.

That goal gave the Bulldogs a lift and a tally by Herbert had the momentum going UMD’s way. Herbert stole the puck away from Maine defenseman Brice O’Connor. He went in alone and put a high wrister over the net and off the glass. The shot bounced backward off the glass and into the goalmouth, where it hit Sullivan’s pads and went in with 3:32 left.

“That was a crazy bounce,” said Whitehead. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like that.”

Then a minute later, UMD took the lead. Lamb had a shot from the right side. Hendrickson was there at the post to stuff it in.

“We still felt good in the locker room after two,” said Whitehead. “We just couldn’t get the equalizer.”

Brown made it 4-2 with 10:45 left in the third. Travis Olesuk cut toward the net from the right corner. His centering pass found Brown for a backhander at the left circle. UMD added an empty-netter late in the game.

“They just clamped down defensively and seized momentum,” said Whitehead. “We had trouble sustaining pressure in their end.”

BLACK BEAR NOTES: Abbott was cleared to play Saturday after his status was in question for much of the week. He suffered a head injury in the Hockey East semifinal win over Boston University. Though Abbott skated with the team during the week, he was not cleared to play until meeting with a doctor and passing a few tests one hour prior to the game. Had Maine drawn a regional semifinal game Friday, Abbott likely wouldn’t have played. … Mangene’s goal in the second period came while the goal was knocked off at the other end of the ice. A statement released by the NCAA said that the officials enforced NCAA Rule 6-10-C, which states:  A player, including the goalkeeper, shall not delay the game by deliberately displacing a goal post from its normal position. The referee shall stop play when a goal post has been displaced. If the non-offending team has an offensive opportunity and its defensive goal cage has been displaced, play shall be allowed to continue until the scoring chance is complete. … This was Maine’s first trip to the NCAA Regionals since 2007. Maine won the East Regional and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis and lost to Michigan State. … This was Maine’s 18th trip to the NCAA Regionals. Maine is 14-4 and entered the weekend 7-1 in Worcester. Maine came in with an overall record of 30-19 in the NCAA Tournament, good enough for a .612 winning percentage. Whitehead was 10-6 in the NCAA Tournament, a .625 winning percentage.

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