“And sometimes [putting it all on his shoulders] has worked for Noah. He’s made great individual plans, and made some big things happen.”

One of the things that did happen was a jump in Welch’s scoring. Limited by injuries his freshman year, Welch finished the season with only 11 points. But last season, Welch emerged as the team’s fifth-leading scorer, tallying six goals and 22 assists.

However, by showing that he’s not afraid to sit his All-American, Mazzoleni sent a message to his team and his defensive star about the importance of not committing penalties.

“It was the first time in my hockey career that I’ve gotten benched, and it was definitely a humbling experience,” Welch said. “That’s something that makes me stronger as a player.”

“I have a role that I need to go out and play, and that’s what I’m focused on, and I think all the other stuff will take care of itself.”

Beanpot Bungle

Part of focusing is the ability to forget. Last February, Harvard faced cross-town rival BU in the opening round of the Beanpot. With the score knotted at 1-1, and more than twelve minutes gone by in the final frame, Welch had a golden opportunity to give Harvard the lead.

Skating into the BU end on a two-on-one break, sophomore Charlie Johnson drew the attention of Terrier defenseman Ryan Whitney and goaltender Sean Fields and then fired a sharp pass to Welch on the left side of the ice. With a wide-open look at the net, Welch launched a shot from the top of the crease but was denied a goal on a brilliant kick-save by Fields. BU went on to score a goal just over a minute later, giving the Terriers a 2-1 win and leaving Welch to wonder ‘what if?’.

“Honestly it makes you stronger—missing that shot [against BU] and falling up at Cornell last year—stuff like that you’ve got to just laugh about and shake off,” Welch said.

“The Beanpot one stung bad because I realized if I had put that home, we win that game and then we go to the finals, first time Harvard has been there in a while. Plus the Beanpot is so big, being a local guy. So that one stung a lot.”

“Honestly, two days later I think it made the Top Ten plays on ESPN, that’s the first time I’ve been on ESPN. That’s just something you’ve got to laugh about.”

But as important as being able to laugh at your slip-ups is the ability to remain positive—and to be poised if a similar spot arises again.

“Next time I’m put in that situation, I’ll be confident that I’ll put it home,” Welch said.

“If you let the criticism get to you and bring you down, then you beat yourself there. You’re always going to get criticized as an athlete,” he added.

Part of that criticism is simply the nature of sports and of Welch’s role as a high-profile player—something his coach understands.