BEAUTS RALLY STYMIED BY WHALE

The Beauts attempted a late comeback against the Connecticut Whale on Wednesday night, but fell short in a 7-3 loss at the International Skating Center of Connecticut.

Buffalo goaltender Tera Hofmann made 42 saves in the loss. Connecticut netminder Abbie Ives stopped 20 shots for the home team.

Connecticut didn’t wait long to get the scoring started. Melissa Samoskevich picked up a pass from Justine Reyes in the slot and snuck the puck past Hofmann to make it 1-0 Whale a minute and a half into the contest.

Samoskevich’s goal was the first of four consecutive goals for the Whale. Janka Hlinka threw the puck towards the net a few minutes later that bounced off a Beauts skate and into the net, and Kennedy Marchment tipped a shot from Tori Howran past Hofmann to make it 3-0. Reyes scored on a power play two minutes after Marchment’s goal to give the Whale a 4-0 lead with six and a half minutes remaining in the opening period.

After Reyes goal, the Beauts started the process of reeling Connecticut back in. With just seconds left in the opening period, Mikyla Grant-Mentis skated in with the puck and sent a tape-to-tape pass to a waiting Summer-Rae Dobson, who tipped it past Ives to get Buffalo on the board with six seconds left.

After a wild first period, both teams tightened up their defense in the second frame, and Connecticut started a parade to the penalty box. After two power plays in the second period, the third time was the charm for the Beauts. With Caitrin Lonergan in the box for tripping, Jess Healey kept the puck in the offensive zone and got it up to Claudia Kepler, who sniped it past Ives to make it 4-2.

Buffalo kept Connecticut off the board for the remainder of the second and beginning of the third. Kepler got in one-on-one against Ives and fired a rocket past her short side to pull the Beauts within one goal with just under 13 minutes left in the third period.

With the Whale’s back against the wall, Marchment took over for the home team. Less than a minute after Kepler’s second goal, Marchment flung a puck at the net that beat Hofmann to give Connecticut a two-goal lead again. A minute later, Hannah Bates scored the Whale’s sixth goal of the night, and Marchment completed the hat trick with a empty-net goal to put the game out of reach for the Beauts.

The Beauts will head back to the friendly confines of Northtown Center this weekend for a series against the Metropolitan Riveters. The puck will drop on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST.

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.