BEAUTS HEAD TO MINNESOTA TO BATTLE ‘CAPS

Buffalo is back on the road this weekend, heading to Minnesota for a rematch against the Whitecaps.

The two teams are heading into the weekend in quite different places in the standings. The Whitecaps are sitting in the third position with 32 points, and within striking distance of the second-place Toronto Six. Though the Six have 39 points, the ‘Caps have two games in hand, and could swap places by the season’s end. Meanwhile, the Beauts have been struggling to find the win column this season. Buffalo is currently sitting seventh in the standings with eight points.

Jonna Albers and Natalie Snodgrass are still leading the way for the ‘Caps. The two forwards are tied for the lead in scoring with 17 points each - Albers has nine goals and eight assists and Snodgrass has picked up eight goals and nine helpers. Also hot right now for Minnesota is Brittyn Fleming, who has four points in her last five games and is also riding a two-game goal scoring streak.

Buffalo’s Claudia Kepler is leading the Beauts in scoring with 13 points (7G, 6A), followed closely by Mikyla Grant-Mentis with 12 (3G, 9A). Emma Nuutinen and Madi Nichols have scored in the Beauts most recent game, with assists from Kepler and Summer-Rae Dobson.

Lovisa Berndtsson has been the Beauts go-to in net with Kassiday Sauvé now out for the season. She’s currently got a .882 save percentage and a 3.84 save percentage. With Amanda Leveille on LTIR, Minnesota will likely go with backup netminder Jenna Brenneman. Brenneman has been between the pipes for one game this season, picking up .923 save percentage.

The teams are split when it comes to special teams. The Beauts power play has hit a bit of a rough patch after dominating in the first half of the season, and currently has a 16.7 percent success rate. Meanwhile, the Whitecaps are leading the league with the extra skater, converting on nearly a quarter of their chances with a 23.1 percent success rate.

The puck will drop on the series on Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST. (6 p.m. CST). Sunday’s contest will be a matinee at 2 p.m. EST (1 p.m. CST). Fans can watch the game on ESPN+.

About the Buffalo Beauts

The Buffalo Beauts are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York and competing in the Premier Hockey Federation (formerly the National Women’s Hockey League). The Beauts are one of the Founding Four teams that stepped on the ice in 2015 and the 2017 Isobel Cup Champions. The team is owned and operated by NLTT Hockey Ventures. Visit beauts.nwhl.zone to learn more.

About the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)

The PHF is the leading home of professional women’s hockey in North America. Established in 2015 as the National Women’s Hockey League, the NWHL rebranded to become the PHF in 2021 and maintains the mission to provide strong role models and fuel the continued growth of the sport. The league is made up of the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force and the Toronto Six who all compete annually for the Isobel Cup.