ALBANY, NY – A spirited comeback attempt by No. 15/15 Harvard men's ice hockey (21-11-3) fell just short, as the Crimson fell 4-3 to No. 1/1 Minnesota State (36-5-0) in the Albany Regional Semifinal of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
 
Trailing 3-0 late in the second period, Harvard scored twice in a span of :48 to make it a one-goal hockey game heading into the third.
 
From behind the goal line, sophomore forward Sean Farrell banked a shot off of Minnesota State goaltender Dryden McKay (19 saves) and into the net at 16:42 to make it 3-1.
 
Then on the next shift, first-year forward Alex Gaffney cut in from the half wall on a 2-on-1 down low and beat McKay between the pads at 17:30, sending the game to the third with the margin at one.
 
Minnesota State's Ondrej Pavel scored on a 2-on-1 rush at 5:59 of the third period.
 
But the Crimson responded once again on a late period power play, with junior goaltender Mitchell Gibson (36 saves) out of the net for an extra attacker.
 
Senior captain Casey Dornbach fired a shot from the right circle that deflected off a Minnesota State defender and into the net at 16:29.
 
Harvard pressured for the game-tying score in the final minutes, but could not even the game despite having possession of the puck in the offensive zone.
 
With the game scoreless early, the top-seeded Mavericks did their damage late in the opening period. Gibson had made a series of impressive saves throughout the frame, but Akito Hirose's shot from the point beat him through a screen at 14:12 to make it 1-0.
 
Then, on Minnesota State's first power play of the night, Reggie Lutz fired in a backdoor one-timer at 17:46, giving them a 2-0 lead at the first break.
 
Brendan Furry's wrist shot made it 3-0 at 2:06 of the second period.
 
Then the Mavericks were awarded a penalty shot at 10:02 of the second period when senior defenseman Marshall Rifai was called for closing his hand on the puck in the crease. Gibson came up with the stop on Julian Napravnik's attempt, and Harvard started its comeback effort later in the period.
 
Harvard Highlights

• Sophomore forward Sean Farrell (goal, assist), and sophomore forward Alex Laferriere (two assists) each had multiple point games.
• First-year forward Matthew Coronato finished the year with 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in his last 16 games of the year. He finished the 2021-22 season with a team high 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists).
• Mitchell Gibson recorded Harvard's first penalty shot save since Feb. 27, 2016 (Merrick Madsen '18 vs. St. Lawrence).

Game Notes

• Harvard scored its most goals in an NCAA Tournament game since 2017, when it scored three goals in wins over Providence and Air Force.
• Harvard finished the season with a 12-4-2 record in its final 18 games.
• The Crimson reached 20 wins for the fifth time in the Ted Donato era, won its 11^th Whitelaw Cup (fourth in Donato era), reached the NCAA Tournament for the 26^th time (seventh in Donato era), and won its 24^th Ivy League title (fourth in Donato era) in 2021-22.