11/18 RECAP: Tyler Sheehy Scores in OT as Gophers sweep Harvard

On shot No. 44, Merrick Madsen made his first mistake.

He didn’t make many Saturday night in a game where Minnesota continuously tested the Crimson defense. Unfortunately for Madsen, Rem Pitlick made him pay for it on shot No. 45.

Minnesota outshot the 13th-ranked Crimson 50-16 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Gophers needed all 50 shots to solve the Harvard goaltender, who made few mistakes Saturday. Junior captain Tyler Sheehy set off the home crowd with his game-winning goal 35 seconds into overtime in a 2-1 win and series sweep.

“That one felt good. That was one of my favorite goals I’ve scored just because we deserved to win tonight and so coming out with anything less than a win would have been unacceptable,” said Sheehy.

Madsen stopped a Tommy Novak redirection early in the first period to set the tone for Saturday’s game. No. 7 Minnesota (9-4-1, 3-2-1-1 Big Ten) outshot the Crimson 16-7 in the first period, but neither team was able to score a goal.

“It was one of those games where sometimes the goaltender has something to say about who is going to win the game,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said about Madsen, who finished with a career-high 48 saves. “He’s an elite goalie. He’s been that his whole career.”

Henry Bowlby put Harvard (2-5-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) ahead 7:02 into the second period when a shot by linemate Ryan Donato went off the boards and directly in front of him.

While Bowlby’s goal stood for much of the game, the Gophers continued testing Madsen and Harvard’s defense, which blocked 22 shot attempts much to the delight of head coach Ted Donato. When Madsen could not handle a Steve Johnson shot, Pitlick was there to tap the puck into the back of the net to tie the game with 5:22 remaining in regulation.

“No one was really down on the bench at all,” he said. “We were getting a lot of shots and it was just a matter of time. Getting the momentum really helped us and carried us into overtime and to get the win.”

Minnesota goaltender Eric Schierhorn made 15 saves to keep his team in the game.

The Gophers got a timely power play with 37 seconds left in the third period when Seb Lloyd tripped Casey Mittelstadt. Minnesota took advantage in the extra period. Having had three overtimes this season without a shot on goal, Sheehy went down on one knee to one-time a Brent Gates Jr. pass into the back of the net for his fourth goal in five games.

“You have to keep your head steady and just keep playing the way that we were. Going into the third period down it was the first time in a while,” Sheehy said. “It was one of those things where you see what we were made of as a team and we were able to battle back.”

With the win, the Gophers extended their home winning streak to seven games.

Minnesota travels to No. 4 Notre Dame next weekend in the first-ever Big Ten conference games between the two teams.

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