Harvard pushed back in the third period, but the Gophers’ four-goal lead held up, as the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team cruised to a 4-2 win in Minneapolis.
Brent Gates Jr. opened the scoring at 13:22 of the first period, stuffing home a rebound after Tommy Novak worked the puck out front with both teams down a man.
Star freshman Casey Mittelstadt made his first highlight-reel play of the evening at 18:17 of the first, placing a perfect pass on the stick of Rem Pitlick to make it 2-0 Gophers.
Steve Johnson stuffed a stray puck past Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen at 9:51 of the second period to put the Gophers up 3-0 after Tyler Nanne’s shot ricocheted off the end boards.
Then, Mittelstadt went to work.
The eighth overall pick in last year’s NHL draft went to work, grabbing the puck in his own zone and going coast to coast before rifling a wrist shot home from the top of the circles at 16:44 of the second.
The Crimson spoiled goalie Eric Schierhorn’s shutout bid just 52 seconds into the third period, then added a second goal at 8:50.
Schierhorn made 26 saves in the win, as Harvard out-shot the Gophers 28-27.
The two teams finish off their two-game series Saturday at 7 p.m.
