Buffalo Beauts
| Buffalo Beauts | |
|---|---|
| File:Buffalo Beauts.png | |
| City | Buffalo, New York |
| League | National Women's Hockey League |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Home arena | HarborCenter |
| Colors | Blue, black, silver, white |
| Owner(s) | Pegula Sports and Entertainment |
| General manager | Nik Fattey |
| Head coach | Ric Seiling and Craig Muni |
| Captain | Corinne Buie |
| Media | 716 Sports Podcast / WBNY The Buffalo News NWHL Cross Ice Pass (On YouTube) |
| Website | Official Website |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | 2016–17 |
 Current season | |
The Buffalo Beauts are a professional women's ice hockey team based in the city of Buffalo, New York. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four founding franchises of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). They play at HarborCenter[1] which is across the street from and connected to KeyBank Center, the home of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. The Beauts are owned by Terry and Kim Pegula, who purchased the club in 2017.
The team has advanced to the Isobel Cup Finals in the NWHL's first three seasons, winning in 2016–17.
History
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]
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.
The Beauts would finish the regular season third out of four teams, beating out the New York Riveters. In the semi-finals of 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.
On October 7, 2016, Beauts forward Harrison Browne came out as a transgender man and thus became the first openly transgender athlete in professional American team sports.[4] That same year the Beauts won the 2016–17 Isobel Cup Championship in an upset win over the defending champion Boston Pride. This was Buffalo's first professional hockey championship since the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League won the 1969–70 Calder Cup.
The Beauts would sign three superstars from the CWHL's Brampton Thunder on August 31, 2017 signing Jess Jones, along with Sarah Edney and Rebecca Vint.[5]
On December 21, 2017, Pegula Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres and HarborCenter, announced it had purchased the Beauts. This made the Beauts the first team in the NWHL not owned by the league and the first professional women's hockey team in North America to be owned by the same organization of its market's NHL team.[6]
On June 27, 2018, the Beauts signed Team Canada goaltender Shannon Szabados. Szabados had previously only played professional hockey on men's leagues such as the Southern Professional Hockey League and is the first women to record a shutout in men's league.[7]
Season-by-season records
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 57 | 69 | Lost Isobel Cup Championship to Boston Pride |
| 2016–17 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 60 | 77 | Won Isobel Cup Championship over Boston Pride |
| 2017–18 | 16 | 12 | 4 | — | 0 | — | 24 | 51 | 41 | Lost Isobel Cup Championship to Metropolitan Riveters |
Team
Current roster
Updated June 18, 2018[8]
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.[9] Raised in the state capital of Albany, New York, Burke was also the first defensewoman selected in NWHL Draft history.
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 |
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 |
| First Championship MVP | Brianne McLaughlin | March 19, 2017 |
| First Shutout | Amanda Leveille | January 27, 2018 |
Media
In local Media the Buffalo Beauts are covered by The Buffalo News and home games are broadcast live by 716 Sports Podcast and simulcast on radio by WBNY, the noncommercial student radio station of Buffalo State College. With the Pegulas' purchase of the team, the company's broadcast partners, radio giant Entercom and television service MSG Western New York, would have default rights to future Beauts contests.
Awards and honors
- Megan Bozek, Buffalo Beauts, 2017 NWHL Defensive Player of the Year Award
References
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2015/04/16/buffalo-beauts-to-play-at-harborcenter.html
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2015/05/22/buffalo-beauts-hold-first-summer-training-camp.html
- ^ "Buffalo Beauts sign goaltender Brianne McLaughlin – Sports". The Buffalo News. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
- ^ "NWHL player Harrison Browne comes out as a transgender man". ESPN. 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
- ^ "SCORING MACHINE JESS JONES IS A BEAUT". www.nwhl.zone. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^ Amy Moritz (December 21, 2017). "Pegulas add the Buffalo Beauts to their hockey holdings". The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Shannon Szabados signs with Buffalo Beauts". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
- ^ "Buffalo Beauts 2017–18 Regular Season Roster". www.nwhl.zone. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
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External links
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- Buffalo Beauts
- Sports in Buffalo, New York
- Tourist attractions in Buffalo, New York
- 2015 establishments in New York (state)
- Ice hockey clubs established in 2015
- Women's ice hockey teams in the United States
- National Women's Hockey League (2015–) teams
- Ice hockey teams in New York (state)
- Pegula Sports and Entertainment