SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Chances arrived late Saturday for Harvard as it tried to muster a comeback in its Midwest Regional semifinal game.
The Crimson, a No. 3 seed in the regional, fired 19 shots on goal in the final period against No. 2 seed Nebraska-Omaha while trying to erase a two-goal deficit. But only one of those shots found the mark — Jimmy Vesey scored his 32d of the year — while Omaha buried two into an empty net to capture a 4-1 win.
Harvard finished with a 21-13-3 record after bowing out of its first NCAA Tournament since 2006. Omaha advances to face Rochester Institute of Technology Sunday night in the regional final with a shot at the Frozen Four at TD Garden on the line.
"I think we're extremely proud of each other as a group [and] what we accomplished this year," defenseman Max Everson said. "Disappointed, but I thought we played a good game, left it all out there. In a one-game elimination sometimes you don't get the result you want."
Omaha (19-12-6) grabbed the lead with a Grant Gallo goal at 1:59 of the first period. Harvard goalie Steve Michalek stopped an initial shot but failed to secure the rebound against his pads and Gallo stuffed the puck past the scramble in the crease.
Avery Peterson made it a 2-0 Mavericks lead with 1.4 seconds remaining in the period by capping off a 5-on-3 power play with a wrist shot over Michalek's blocker.
Harvard took four penalties in all, including two more in the third period, stunting its ability to mount a comeback. Brayden Jaw and Colin Blackwell were in the box for Peterson's goal thanks to tripping and boarding penalties, respectively.
"I'm not sure the wheels fell off in the mental department but we've been a team, I think we're in the top five in the least amount penalized teams in the country," Crimson coach Ted Donato said. "I think we put ourselves, I guess, in some spots where we made it difficult for ourselves. I thought our discipline all year had been great. I think we just made a couple of poor decisions.
"They weren't selfish penalties. They weren't retaliation penalties. But we have to be a little bit smarter."
Neither team scored in the second period as Omaha maintained its shooting advantage. The Mavericks outshot Harvard, 23-15, over the first two periods, although that would change after the second intermission.
Vesey cut the deficit to 2-1 at 3:09 of the third period with Desmond Bergin and Kyle Criscuolo picking up assists, signaling an onslaught of scoring chances.
Harvard peppered Omaha goalie Ryan Massa, who made 33 saves total.
"We kept coming," Donato said. "We had plenty of chances. We missed the net quite often and I think that hurt us. I give their goaltender a lot of credit. He was coming out and taking away angles. But I think we were trying to be too cute with some of our shots and we missed the net and missed a lot of opportunities."
Omaha withstood the barrage and poured two more goals into any empty net. Tyler Vesel made it 3-1 at 19:24 and Jake Guentzel added another at 19:56.
Vesey, a junior, ended the season with 58 points and will now ponder the future. He is a Nashville Predators prospect after being selected 66th overall in the 2012 NHL draft.
"I don't think Harvard hockey is going anywhere any time soon," Vesey said.
"If you look at our lineup, we're still very young, very talented. We've got a great coaching staff. I'd say Harvard hockey is here to stay in the long run in the national picture. Moving on, I think I'm going to sit down with coach Donato and my family as well and just weigh my options and see where I'm at."