The overtime game-winning shot from Maine's John Ronan sails into the upper right corner of the net past Harvard freshman goaltender DOV GRUMET-MORRIS in Saturday's 4-3 NCAA defeat.

WORCESTER, Mass.—The Harvard men’s hockey team’s thrilling playoff ride ended Saturday afternoon in the Worcester Centrum at the hands of Maine in a 4-3 overtime defeat. The loss ended an improbable three-week run of mounting success that catapulted the Crimson from dead in the water to sudden death in the NCAA tournament.

Harvard (15-15-4) provided close competition to a talented Maine squad that was ranked No. 6 in the nation and seeded third in the Eastern region. The Black Bears (24-10-7) were expected by many to overwhelm the Crimson, who was ranked No. 15 in the nation and seeded last in the region. But Harvard entered the game riding tremendous momentum from its ECAC title run.

“Harvard is playing as well as anyone in the country right now,” Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said after the game. “I really admired how they played. I think they competed with a lot of heart and a lot of passion.”

Harvard stood toe-to-toe with a deeper, faster Maine squad for three periods. But Maine’s speed and depth was what ultimately did in the Crimson.

The game-winning goal came two minutes and two ticks into the overtime, when the Black Bears’ excellent passing, spacing and team speed turned a Harvard offensive rush into a Maine two-on-one. Fourth-line Maine forward John Ronan won the game by placing a shot bare centimeters under the crossbar over Harvard freshman goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris.

Though he came out on the losing end, Grumet-Morris was the man who kept the Crimson in the game. He stopped 33 shots, including numerous close chances on Harvard’s five penalty kills.

“He really competed hard,” Whitehead said in praise of Grumet-Morris. “That was a key turning point when he made a couple of saves to keep it at 3-2.”

Maine’s excellent passing and team speed turned several Harvard turnovers into odd-man rushes, but Grumet-Morris stopped the majority of them, especially in the first period when he turned back 14 shots. That effort kept the Crimson in the game long enough to give Maine a scare.