BEAUTS HOT START SECURES WIN

Saturday’s game against the Whitecaps was the Mikyla Grant-Mentis and Emma Nuutinen show for Buffalo. The two forwards combined for all four of Buffalo’s goals in a 4-2 road victory over the Whitecaps, Buffalo’s first win on the road since February 6, 2022. The victory also snapped Minnesota’s six-game win streak.

Buffalo’s Lovisa Berndtsson earned the Third Star of the Game, making 27 saves for the win. Minnesota’s Jenna Brenneman also made 27 stops at the other end of the ice. Minnesota was missing four core players - Natalie Snodgrass, Liz Schepers and Sydney Brodt were preparing to represent Team USA in the Rivalry Series, and goalie Amanda Leveille was out with an injury.

Buffalo got the scoring started less than a minute into the game. Mikyla Grant-Mentis collected the puck and set up a give-and-go with Summer-Rae Dobson. Dobson got the pass from Grant-Mentis and sent it back over to her, and Grant-Mentis sniped the puck past Brenneman to give the Beauts a 1-0 lead just 46 seconds into the period.

Nuutinen notched her first goal a few minutes later to double Buffalo’s lead. Nuutinen pounced on a Minnesota turnover and raced up the right wing, firing the puck into the back of the net to make it 2-0 Buffalo at the 8:45 mark.

Both teams stayed out of trouble in the first period - neither of them took a penalty, and the Beauts held off the ‘Caps to sustain their 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Once the second frame started, the penalty parade started for Minnesota. Buffalo had two chances on the power play that Minnesota’s penalty kill stopped, but the third time was the charm for the Beauts with Olivia Knowles in the box for interference.

It was Nuutinen again who gave the Beauts a 3-0 lead, dancing past a pair of Whitecaps defenders and squeaking the puck past Brenneman for a power play goal.

Though they were in a 3-0 hole, Minnesota refused to go away and made a push late in the second period. Sydney Baldwin danced just inside the blue line with the puck and unleashed a blast that beat Berndtsson to get the ‘Caps on the board with 3:46 remaining in the second.

The Whitecaps also got a 5-on-3 power play chance near the end of the period, and they made it count. Several Minnesota players crashed the net, whacking away at a rebound that eventually bounced over to Baldwin, who scored her second goal of the night to pull the ‘Caps within one goal heading into the second intermission.

Grant-Mentis scored the dagger in the third period. Whitney Dove fired a blast from the point that went just above the net, but the rebound bounced directly to Grant-Mentis, who slammed the puck into a wide-open net to give the Beauts their fourth and final goal of the game with 3:57 remaining.

Minnesota had a brief power play chance late and pulled their netminder to give them an extra attacker, but it was too little, too late for the home team.

Minnesota and Buffalo will face off again on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST. 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.