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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Motivated by the memory of its late coach, Maine is on its way back to a place Shawn Walsh knew well -- the national championship game.

Peter Metcalf, Robert Liscak and Paul Falco scored two goals apiece Thursday to lead the Black Bears to a 7-2 victory over New Hampshire in the Frozen Four semifinals.

	Tim Horst stops Maine's Rob Liscak here, but UNH couldn't stop the center in the third.

"We're proud to do this for coach Walsh," forward Niko Dimitrakos said. "One game away. We're supposed to be here. We're Maine."

The Black Bears dedicated the season to Walsh -- their 17-year coach who died of cancer the day before practice began this season after leading Maine to national titles in 1993 and '99.

The Black Bears outshot New Hampshire 40-25 and broke the game open with four goals in the third period before a crowd of 19,227 at Xcel Energy Center.

Maine (26-10-7) will play Minnesota in the championship game Saturday night. The Golden Gophers beat Michigan 3-2 on Thursday night in the second semifinal.

"If there were a story to write, this is how I'd write it," said forward Todd Jackson, one of four seniors who played for Walsh in the 1999 championship game -- an overtime win over New Hampshire.

Under interim coach Tim Whitehead, the Black Bears played with green shamrock-shaped patches bearing Walsh's initials on their left shoulders and hung a blue jersey behind the bench with Walsh's name on it.

"He's a great inspiration for us," forward Tom Reimann said. "He taught us how to win."

The Wildcats (30-7-3), competing in their sixth Frozen Four, had a 10-game winning streak stopped with their worst loss this season.

"If you don't come to play the way you should," said forward Steve Saviano, "that's just the way it's going to bounce."

The Wildcats, facing Hockey East conference rival Maine for the fifth time this season, led 2-1 after one period on goals by Sean Collins and Saviano.

New Hampshire needed only 21 seconds to score, when Maine's Martin Kariya lost control of the puck in his own zone and Collins corralled it and scored on goalie Mike Morrison, who got the start over of Matt Yeats.

Morrison, improving to 20-3-4, made 23 saves against the nation's highest-scoring team, at 4.6 goals per game.

New Hampshire sophomore Michael Ayers, the only non-senior goalie among the four semifinalists and the nation's leader in winning percentage, let in six goals in the final two periods.

"I personally have never been in a game like that," Ayers said. "Giving up seven goals is one thing, but helping your team is another. When things aren't bouncing your way in an important game like this, it's frustrating."

Metcalf scored on identical slap shots from behind the left circle 2:20 apart to give Maine a 3-2 lead halfway through the second period.

Liscak and Lucas Lawson scored in the third period, and Falco scored both of his goals late.

The Black Bears wiped out all four power plays for New Hampshire, which had another national title chance chased away by Maine.

"Tonight's loss was definitely more frustrating," said Wildcats coach Dick Umile. "If you're going to lose, you want to go out there and play well."

Haydar, one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, had a 10-game point streak snapped.

"This is something I'm going to have to live with for awhile," Haydar said. "Take nothing away from them, but we we're disappointed in our showing. They outworked us, and they were a little bit smarter than us."