BEAUTS HOT START FIZZLES OUT AGAINST SIX

Despite taking an early lead in Sunday’s game against Toronto, the Six offense came alive in the final two periods. Toronto scored five unanswered goals to hand Buffalo a 7-2 loss.

Lovisa Berndtsson got the start for Buffalo and made 17 saves before she was replaced by Samantha Ridgewell, who made two saves to close out the game. Toronto netminder Carly Jackson made 15 stops for the win.

Emma Nuutinen got the scoring started for the Beauts six and a half minutes into the first period. Summer-Rae Dobson set up a give-and-go with Nuutinen, who finished off a perfect pass from Dobson to make it 1-0 Buffalo.

Toronto responded quickly about three minutes later on the team’s first power play of the day. Breanne Wilson-Bennett carried the puck below the goal line and sent a pass to a waiting Lexi Templeman, who evened the score up.

The Six struck again just a couple of minutes later on a behind-the-back pass from Tereza Vanišová to Wilson-Bennett, who snuck the puck past Berndtsson’s pad to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Buffalo tied the game back up again on a two-on-one opportunity between Claudia Kepler and Madi Nichols. Kepler carried the puck into the zone and chipped it ahead to Nichols, who slid it five-hole on Jackson to make it 2-2.

The two teams remained tied at the end of the first period, but the Six started to pull away in the second frame. Shiann Darkangelo sniped a goal approximately eight minutes into the period, and Brooke Boquist and Emma Woods scored back-to-back goals less than two minutes apart a few minutes later to give the Six a 5-2 lead.

Daryl Watts scored her first PHF goal 1:02 into the third period for Toronto’s sixth goal, and Michela Cava scored a couple minutes later on the power play for the Six’s final goal.

The Beauts will have a bye week next week before traveling to Minnesota to take on the Whitecaps on February 18 and 19.

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.

Contact: For media information, please contact Nate Oliver: noliver@beautshockey.com.