MANCHESTER, N.H. - Notre Dame backed into the NCAA tournament on a two-game losing streak, a disappointed group of mostly underclassmen that was one more loss away from the end of the season.

The Fighting Irish weren't ready for that. Now they're two victories away from a national championship.

Notre Dame advanced to the Frozen Four for the second time in school history with a 2-1 victory over New Hampshire on Sunday night in the Northeast Regional final.

"We recognized that we didn't want our season to end. I think this weekend was a great example of how we've turned it around," said Billy Maday, whose goal with 5 seconds left in the second period gave the Irish a 2-0 lead and deflated a pro-New Hampshire crowd.

Stephen Johns also scored for the Irish, and Mike Johnson made 37 saves.

Notre Dame (25-13-5) advanced to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2008. The Irish, who have 12 freshman on the roster, will play Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. April 7 in St. Paul.

ASSOCIATED PRESS