BOSTON -- The Northeastern Huskies are back in the Beanpot Championship.

Freshman Kevin Roy picked the right time for his first-career hat trick as he tallied a late strike in the third period to put the game away and pick up a 3-2 win over the No. 11/13 Boston University Terriers in the opening semifinal of the 61st annual tournament on Monday night at the TD Garden.

With the victory, Jim Madigan becomes the first Northeastern coach in his second year behind the bench to lead the Huskies to the title game. It also marked NU's first Beanpot victory over the 29-time title-winning Terriers since 1988 - the year of its last tournament title.

The Huskies silenced the critics at the 15:22 mark of the final period, as rookie Kevin Roy completed a hat trick by whacking a loose puck out of the air from the side of the cage and by BU goaltender Matt O'Connor.

BU made things interesting with 1:11 left as junior Sahir Gill redirected a puck short side on NU's Chris Rawlings to make the score 3-2.

Joshua Kummins covers Hockey East for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.