Beauts ready to return outside for annual Buffalo Believes Classic

In one of the most highly anticipated games of the season, the Beauts are heading back outside for the team’s annual “Buffalo Believes Classic” at Buffalo’s Riverworks.

The Beauts will host the Toronto Six in a doubleheader this weekend, and the first game of the series will be the popular outdoor contest on Friday at 7 pm EST. The second game of the series will be back at Northtown Center on Saturday at 7 pm EST.

This year’s outdoor game against the Six will be a rematch from last year’s Buffalo Believes Classic, when Toronto also came to town to play the Beauts outside. That game was one to remember for Buffalo, who skated away with a 3-0 shutout victory in front of a home crowd. Then Beauts goaltender Carly Jackson made 36 saves, and Claudia Kepler, Autumn MacDougall and Dominique Kremer all scored for Buffalo.

This year will be an interesting matchup, as both teams have returning stars that have swapped squads since they last met. Former Beauts goalie Jackson is now with the Six, while Mikyla Grant-Mentis will lace up for Buffalo instead of Toronto this season.

The Beauts are coming off a tough weekend against the Boston Pride, dropping two close contests at home. Meanwhile, Toronto split their last series against the Metropolitan Riveters, falling in a shootout before bouncing back with a 5-2 regulation win the following game.

All three goal-scorers from last year’s outdoor game are back, and Kepler in particular has been leading the Beauts this season. Kepler is one of three players leading the team in points (1G, 3A) alongside newcomer Antonia Matzka (3G, 1A) and Grant-Mentis (0G, 4A). Grant-Mentis is still looking for her first goal as a Beaut - what better place to find it then against her former team?

Kassidy Sauvé made her Beauts debut last weekend, starting both games against the the Pride. Lovisa Berndtsson also saw the ice in Sunday’s contest. It’s likely that Sauvé will get the start again against Toronto on Friday.

Saturday’s game will be the Beauts Autism Acceptance game. Tickets for both Friday and Saturday’s contests can be bought at https://beauts.goigniter.com/.

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.