By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
Coming off a 5-1 loss against Michigan on Friday, Bruins prospect Mason Langenbrunner and Harvard earned a point against the number one team in the nation on Saturday night. The Crimson battled back from a three-goal deficit to force overtime, but Michigan prevailed 4-3.
Harvard came out much stronger to start the rematch, holding Michigan’s nation-leading offense scoreless and generally controlling play for the bulk of the opening frame. Though the Wolverines looked like the decidedly bigger, stronger, and faster team, the Crimson held a sizeable edge in both faceoffs (17-7) and shot attempts (25-10), maintaining their composure amid a relentless forecheck. Michigan only had two significant scoring opportunities: a shorthanded wrap-around chance and a later two-on-one breakaway, both of which were turned aside by Crimson netminder Ben Charette.
As well as Harvard played in the first period, their momentum didn’t carry over into the second. The Crimson came up empty on two early power plays and left the door wide open for Michigan to take over, which is precisely what happened. Shortly after the second penalty kill, Michael Hage forced a turnover deep in Harvard’s defensive zone, and TJ Hughes threaded a backhand past both Harvard defenseman and Charette over to Will Horcoff, who tapped in the icebreaker.
From there, the game was fully in Michigan’s control, and the ramped-up physical play seemed to energize the Wolverines even more. Like their first goal, Michigan doubled their lead rather quickly after serving a penalty. Michael Hage stepped out of the penalty box, recovered a loose puck at his own defensive blueline, and skated it all the way into the back of the Crimson net, blowing right past Langenbrunner in the process.
The floodgates fully opened moments later. Harvard were caught pressing with four players deep in the offensive zone, and Michigan sprung a three-on-one, with Langenbrunner back as the only defender. His diving block attempt yielded little resistance for Aidan Park, who roofed his shot high over Charette’s glove for the Wolverines’ second goal within three minutes, and a 3-0 edge they would take into the intermission.
Things were looking dire for Harvard heading into the third period, and Michigan looked to be cruising to another decisive road victory. That is, until Langenbrunner gave the Crimson a much-needed spark six minutes in. Amidst chaos in front of the Michigan goal, his low wrist shot was deflected home by Salvatore Guzzo to break the shutout bid. The Wolverines began to unravel soon after, with Will Horcoff gifting Harvard two consecutive power plays that they would convert on to complete a stunning comeback and send the game to overtime.
Both teams had the game on their sticks in the extra frame, with neither Harvard’s Richard Gallant nor Michigan’s Josh Eernisse able to put the game away. Instead, Will Horcoff redeemed his earlier penalties by scoring the game-winner on the power play, sending his Wolverines home with five out of a possible six points.
Takeaways: Despite being on the ice for two goals against, Langenbrunner played a very solid game for the Crimson. It’s hard to fault him for the second goal, especially as the lone man back defending a three-on-one breakaway. He played on both sides of special teams, missing a power play goal by mere inches in the second period, and came up huge in a late third-period penalty kill to carry the game into overtime. His assist can’t be overstated either, as it completely shifted the momentum of the game to put Harvard into position to salvage a point to begin with.
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