Top-10 fight between Michigan and Harvard ends in 4-4 tie

Philippe Lapointe secured his first career multi-point game with one goal and one assist.
freshman Gavin Brindley and Rutger McGroarty each tallied a pair of assists.
junior goalkeeper Noah West made his third career start in net for the Wolverines.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A sold-out crowd at the Yost Ice Arena was treated to a highly entertaining non-conference game on Friday night (November 25) as the University of Michigan fifth-seeded ice hockey team came back from a two-goal deficit. tied Harvard’s ninth in a 4-4 game on Friday night (Nov. 25) at Yost Ice Arena.

junior goalkeeper Noah West, who celebrated his 22nd birthday, earned the starting nod with the white-uniformed Wolverines for their first non-conference play since playing in Western Michigan a month ago. The backstop from Pittsboro, Ind. ended the night with 26 saves on 30 shots faced in his third start for Michigan.

freshman phenomenon Adam Fantilli made his presence known when he opened the scoring at 10:58 with a perfectly placed one-timer from the end after the visitors turned the puck behind their net. linemate Dylan duke quickly found the loose puck below the goal line and immediately executed a pass to Fantilli’s wheelhouse between the dashes, where the freshman forward quickly scored his 10th goal of the season to put Michigan ahead 1–0.

Harvard (7-0-1) tied the game at 5:12 in the first period as a long shot from an on point defenseman passed through several skaters to find the back of the net and make it 1-1.

The Crimson claimed their first lead of the night when possession in the offensive zone resulted in a goal from a bad angle from under the left circle on a perfect shot to put Harvard 2-1 ahead with 2:44 left.

Four minutes into the second period, Harvard extended the lead to 3–1 after Michigan failed to leave the defensive zone on a confused breakaway attempt in the second period. The Crimson quickly set up in the offensive zone before a blueliner fired a shot from range that set off a rebound from West’s pads and quickly plummeted into Michigan’s net with 16 minutes left.

An effective shift from young Michigan forward Gavin Brindley and Rutger McGroarty was concluded with a beautiful individual performance by second-year blueliner Ethan Edwards, who scored his second goal of the season with 2:37 left in the second period. Edwards took the puck past the half-wall and turned to the blue line before cutting back into the slot between a pair of Crimson forwards. After ramming the puck through traffic with just one hand on his stick, Ethan took advantage of a momentary window between the collapsing defenders to unleash a hard wrist shot from the low slot that rope found. Brindley and McGroarty earned assists on Edwards’ marker to bring Michigan within one point, 3–2.

With 16 seconds left in the second period, Brindley was penalized for charging to give the visitors a power play. Most of the resulting advantage (1:44) carried over into the third frame, and Harvard capitalized with an early power play goal as a rebound off the end wall ricocheted behind the net at 1:16 to make a 4–2 to take the lead.

The Wolverines (9-5-1) responded at 3 p.m. with another own goal to get the crowd going again. This time it was Nolan Moyle who pocketed his second goal of the season to cut the deficit to 4-3. The game started below the goal line where T. J. Hughes worked hard along the boards to keep possession of the ball. The freshman forward sent a pass to the correct point where Johnny Druskinis waited to uncork a shot on target. Druskinis’ attempt made its way through traffic before hitting Philippe Lapointe, which was placed on the right side of the fold. As the puck fell into an empty crease, Moyle was there to clear the rebound and score UM’s third goal, while marking Druskinis’ first collegiate point.

Michigan earned an elusive tie with a time remaining of 6:53. Another tenacious shift from the duo of Brindley and McGroarty resulted in a chance from the high slot for Lapointe, who wasted no time before converting with a wrist shot. Combined with his earlier assist, the goal marked Lapointe’s first career multi-point game in which he attracted corn and blue, while Brindley and McGroarty each scored their second helper of the game.

The home side subjected the visitors to a steady stream of shots on target as the Wolverines dominated the game in the second half of the final frame, but neither side could find a fifth goal.

At the end of regulation in a 4-4 game, Michigan’s lead in shots on target was 37-27. The Crimson’s skaters blocked a whopping 27 Michigan shots, while UM blocked only six.

Fantilli, Mackie Samoskevich, and Luke Hughes began the extra 3×3 session for Michigan. The trio passed a Class A chance to an opposing skater, but the close shot sailed high over the bar. Soon after, Samoskevich was called a penalty for holding, giving Harvard a 1:11 power play in overtime.

Michigan’s penalty kill held firm to reject the 4×3 advantage after two minutes of intense play. When Samoskevich left the box, the Michigan offense immediately escalated while the game was temporarily 4×4.

Brindley had a great chance to end the game with 1:35 left in overtime when he pushed into the Harvard zone all alone on a long pass. The freshman covered several times, but his effort was pushed aside by the Crimson goaltender.

The second final buzzer sounded at the end of extra time. Shots on target after 65 minutes were 39–30 in Michigan’s favor, but the game ended in a 4–4 tie.

In a gunfight organized purely out of pride, Adam Fantilli and Luke Hughes their efforts were hampered as Samoskevich scored on a crafty move. Harvard won the shootout 2-1.

Saturday night (Nov. 26), the non-conference foes will reunite at Yost Ice Arena to wrap up the two-game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.