Buffalo Beauts

Buffalo Beauts
2015–16 Buffalo Beauts season
City Buffalo, New York
League National Women's Hockey League
Founded 2015
Home arena HarborCenter
Colors

Blue, White, Black, Gray

                   
Owner(s) NWHL
General manager Linda Mroz
Head coach Shelley Looney, Ric Seiling
Captain Emily Pfalzer
Media The Buffalo News
WBNY
NWHL Cross Ice Pass (On YouTube)

The Buffalo Beauts is a professional women's ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. It is one of the four charter franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).

History

The Beauts play at HarborCenter in Buffalo,[1] which is across the street from and connected to First Niagara Center, the home of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. The Beauts held their first-ever summer free agent camp on May 23 and May 24, 2015.[2] In July 2015, the Beauts signed free agent and 2-time Team USA Olympic goaltender Brianne McLaughlin, making her the first player in franchise history to sign a contract with the franchise.[3]

Of note, the team made its debut at home on October 11, 2015 in a 4-1 loss versus the Boston Pride. During a 5-3 home loss against the Boston Pride on October 25, 2015, Brianne McLaughlin allowed three goals by Brianna Decker, resulting in the first hat trick in NWHL history. Of note, McLaughlin also became the first goaltender in league history to lose three consecutive games.

The Beauts would finish the regular season third out of four teams, beating out the New York Riveters. In the semi-finals for the inaugural Isobel Cup championships, the Beauts faced off against the Connecticut Whale. The Connecticut had a perfect record against the Beauts in the regular season. The Beauts would go on to upset the Whale by winning the last two games, going on to face the Boston Pride in the finals. There, they would drop two games in succession and finish second in the playoffs.

Team

Roster For 2015-16 Season

[4]

Updated September 25, 2015

Player Position Nationality
Amanda Makela Goalie  Canada
Brianne McLaughlin Goalie  United States
Kimberly Sass Goalie  United States
Lindsay Grigg Defense  Canada
Paige Harrington Defense  United States
Kelly McDonald Defense  Canada
Megan Bozek Defense  United States
Shelby Bram Forward  Canada
Hailey Browne Forward  Canada
Meghan Duggan Forward  United States
Jessica Fickel Forward  Canada
Kourtney Kunichika Forward  United States
Hannah McGowan Forward  United States
Tatiana Rafter Forward  Canada
Devon Skeats Forward  Canada
Hayley Williams Forward  United States
Erin Zach Forward  Canada

Draft history

Courtney Burke from the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey program became the first player in franchise history to be selected in the inaugural 2015 NWHL Draft.[5] Raised in the state capital of Albany, New York, Burke was also the first defenseman selected in NWHL Draft history.

NWHL Draft

Main article: 2015 NWHL Draft

The following are the Beauts' selections from the 2015 NWHL Draft of college players in their junior year held on June 20, 2015. Note: The team has not announced any contract signings from this list to date. A player who is drafted but does not sign with the organization that selected her, may enter free-agency after completing her senior year.

# Player Position Nationality College
4 Courtney Burke Defense  United States Univ of Wisconsin
8 Sarah Lefort Forward  Canada Boston University
12 Amanda Leveille Goalie  Canada Univ of Minnesota
16 Emily Janiga Forward  United States Mercyhurst
20 Jenna Dingeldein Forward  Canada Mercyhurst

[6]

Franchise milestones

Milestone Player Date
First goal Kelley Steadman October 11, 2015
First win Brianne McLaughlin November 29, 2015
First Isobel Cup goal Shelby Bram March 11, 2016

Media

In local Media the Buffalo Beauts are covered by The Buffalo News and home games are broadcast live on radio by WBNY the station out of Buffalo State College.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.