For a full recap of the 3-1 win, click here.
NEW YORK — Playing in front of the biggest crowd of your life in prime time at the World’s Most Famous Arena sounds like a lot for a 19-year-old college kid to handle. But freshman Noah Bauld seized the moment and had a night he will not soon forget.
The freshman took the setting in stride and in the end, his second period goal — the first of his career — made the difference in Saturday’s victory over UNH at Madison Square Garden.
“I guess it hasn’t really hit me yet,” Bauld said after the game, “but it’s an amazing feeling for sure.”
With just over three minutes left to play in the second period, the freshman scored what would go on to be the game’s winning goal, electrifying the boisterous Madison Square Garden crowd. The goal put the Red up 2-1.
Cornell would tack on another in the third and close out the win, 3-1, in its now annual trip to MSG.
After the Red controlled the puck in the offensive zone, Bauld got his stick on a shot from the point by sophomore defenseman Matt Nuttle and redirected it past UNH goaltender Danny Tirone for the go-ahead goal.
The freshman credited luck and his teammates for the goal, as much as he did his own performance, after the game.
“It was a great pass from [Nuttle],” Bauld said. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and I got some luck and it went in.”
The Nova Scotia-native had been playing well all season, but, entering Saturday’s game, he had yet to find the back of the net. In New York, however, he scored when the Red needed him most. His first ever Cornell goal could not have been more timely, according to head coach Mike Schafer ’86.
“He’s been really solid for us all year,” Schafer said. “But it was great that he scored his first collegiate goal tonight. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Going into the game, Bauld said he knew that playing at the Garden would be something special — the sort of thing kids dream about growing up — but he was able to keep his emotions in check and get the job done.
“While you’re playing, you just try not to let [the stage] affect you,” he said. “You try to think it’s just another game and go out there and do your best.”
Immediately after the puck hit the back of the net, Bauld was mobbed by his teammates, who knew just how big this moment was for the freshman and the rest of the team.
“That was tremendous,” Bauld said. “They were really happy for me.”
New to the spotlight and the onslaught of questions from reporters, the freshman could not help but keep the focus on his team even though Saturday was his night.
“It was important to get the win tonight,” he said. “We have a big game against Colgate Tuesday night.”
While the Class of 1965 Arena is no Madison Square Garden and Hamilton, N.Y., is no New York City, Bauld will look to, once again, provide a sought-after spark for Cornell against Colgate with a game coming on the road in just a few days.