BEAUTS LOOKS TO EXTEND WIN STREAK IN MONTREAL

After sweeping Minnesota on the road last weekend, the Beauts are looking to continue their upward trajectory against Montreal this weekend.

Buffalo will wrap up its six-game road trip against the Force this weekend, with games on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. EST and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST. This series could have a big impact on the standings - Buffalo currently sits seventh in the league with 14 points, with Montreal two spots ahead in fifth with 19 points. Up to six points are up for grabs, and if Buffalo can replicate its sweep from last weekend, they could leapfrog the Force in the standings.

In order to accomplish that, Buffalo will look to its goaltenders to continue their strong performances in net. The duo of Lovisa Berndtsson and Samantha Ridgewell allowed just one goal all weekend against Minnesota, and Ridgewell’s shutout performance in a 1-0 victory earned her the PHF’s Second Star of the Week honors. She made 33 saves to earn the shutout, and fans should expect to see her in the crease again this week.

Another player with a standout performance against Minnesota was Mikyla Grant-Mentis, who scored twice and added an assist in Saturday’s win to boost her point total total to a team-best 15 points (5G, 10A). Emma Nuutinen also added two goals in that Saturday contest, and has been a consistent threat for Buffalo all season. Claudia Kepler (7G, 6A), Antonia Matzka (3G, 5A), Summer-Rae Dobson (3G, 5A) and Whitney Dove (3G, 5A) will be other players to watch for the Beauts.

On the other end, the Force are looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Montreal dropped both games against the No. 1 Boston Pride last weekend, and split its series against No. 2 Toronto the weekend before that. Though Montreal has struggled to score lately, the last time the Force and the Beauts met was a higher-scoring affair; over the course of two games, the teams combined for 14 goals.

The Beauts will need to keep an eye on Jade Downie-Landry, who is coming into the weekend on a two-game point streak and is leading the Force with 19 points (7G, 12A), and Ann-Sophie Bettez, who has a team-best 11 goals. Monreal’s goaltenders have nearly identical stats - the duo of Marie-Soleil Deschênes and Tricia Deguire have 2.60 and 2.66 goals against average, respectively. Deschénes has the slightest edge in save percentage with a .918, while Deguire has picked up a .917.

The two squads are neck and neck when it comes to special teams - Montreal has a slight edge on the penalty kill with a 85.9 success rate, just above Buffalo’s 85.5. Buffalo has the advantage on the power play, converting on 16.9 percent of its chances, while the Force have a 12.7 percent success rate.

The last time these two teams met was at the very beginning of the year, and they split the series between them. It should be another competitive and close contest between them again the second time around.

BEAUTS LOOKS TO EXTEND WIN STREAK IN MONTREAL

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.