The Buffalo Beauts finished third in the NWHL regular season, a standing earned only with a victory on the last day of the season. Underdog status aside, the Beauts pulled off the improbable and clinched the second-ever Isobel Cup.
Their run began Friday night in Newark, New Jersey. The Boston Pride, the league’s top seed (16-1-0), had already clinched their spot in the Isobel Cup Final with an easy 8-2 victory over the bottom-seeded Connecticut Whale. To set up a rematch of last year’s final, Buffalo would need to upset the second-place New York Riveters.
New York fielded a formidable roster, featuring the league’s recipient of Goaltender of the Year Katie Fitzgerald, rookie upstart Rebecca Russo and perhaps the league’s biggest name, Amanda Kessel. Though Kessel played in just eight regular season games, she dominated the league, tallying four goals and 14 assists. The Riveters were the only team to beat the Boston Pride in the regular season, doing so in the final weekend. New York was the odds-on favorite.
The semi-final game was a cautious defensive battle in the opening frame. Buffalo did not have a shot through the first 14 minutes of play, but their defense shut down open space in the slot. The Riveters were forced to the boards while the Beauts applied relentless pressure on the puck-carrier.
As the game became more physical, penalties began to be handed out with increased frequency. Buffalo went on the powerplay late in the first period. Grinding out board battles opened up space at the center of the blueline for Megan Bozek. Bozek, last year’s hardest shot competition winner at 88 mph, blasted a one-time slapshot to put the Beauts on top.
Though the Riveters owned time-on-attack, Buffalo again capitalized on the few opportunities they had. An errant breakout pass led to a rush opportunity, and Emily Janiga buried her shot. Though New York would answer back quickly with a tally off a netmouth scramble, Janiga would again snipe a wrist shot top-shelf to beat Fitzgerald.
New York held the shot advantage 22-9 after 40 minutes of play, yet trailed 3-1.
The Riveters scored just 11 seconds into the third period, and skated with a newfound aggression and desperation. Beauts goaltender Amanda Leveille proved to be unsolvable, saving the final 13 shots of the game to preserve a 4-2 victory for Buffalo.
Lowell, Massachusetts were the setting for the Isobel Cup Final just two days later. Again, the Beauts were significant underdogs against the mighty Pride. Boston was 5-0 against Buffalo in the regular season, never allowing more than one goal in a game. They outscored the Beauts 21-4 in their five meetings.
Pundits were hardly optimistic of the outcome.
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If the Beauts actually pull off the improbably and make the ICF for the second year in a row I'll be SHOCKED https://t.co/4gjdlpM3V4
— Hannah Bevis (@Hannah_Bevis1) March 18, 2017
Circumstances were far from unfamiliar. Boston cruised to the Isobel Cup Finals as the top seed last season. Buffalo made the finals as the #3 seed that year but fell in what was then a best-of-three series.
Brianne McLaughlin, goaltender for the US National team, was tapped as the Beauts’ starting goaltender. Despite Leveille’s dominating performance in the Semi-Final, McLaughlin was given the opportunity to start in her final professional hockey game. Leveille noted after the game that this was always the plan, given their propensity to trade off starts.
Brittany Ott started for Boston, last year’s Goaltender of the Year.
Buffalo wasted no time in applying pressure to the defending champions. Just under two minutes into play, Bozek again opened up the scoring, again on a blistering slapshot. Carrying the puck across the blueline, Bozek wound up and fired a long-distance shot to test Ott. Ott failed the test.
Later in the opening frame, Janiga netted her third goal of the postseason. Cutting across the slot, Janiga picked up the loose change of her own blocked shot and picked a perfect spot to put the Beauts up 2-0.
From there, the game became the Brianne McLaughlin show. Boston had 10 shots in the opening seven minutes of play, but the totals were fairly even at the end of the period. Boston held a slight 15-11 edge. In the second, the Beauts were outshot 23-3. The score in that period? 1-0 Buffalo. Corinne Buie, who had 12 regular season goals, cut to the net and deked out Ott to give Buffalo a 3-0 lead.
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Ott was pulled in favors of backup Lauren Slebodnik. Invigorated by the deficit, Boston threw everything, kitchen sink included, at the Beauts’ net. McLaughlin encountered 24 shots in the third period. Her counterpart did not face a single registered shot on goal in the final frame.
Contemplate the near-impossibility of that feat for a moment. In a championship game, safeguarding a 3-0 lead, the defending team turtles so hard that they are outshot 24-0 in the third period.
Boston would strike once 4:27 remaining in regulation and again with only 4 seconds left. It was too little, too late.
Against all odds, the Buffalo Beauts were the Isobel Cup Champions.
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McLaughlin was named the game’s MVP, rightfully so. She registered 60 saves on 62 shots. She will ride off into the sunset as a champion and an MVP, rightfully so.
Buffalo was also aided by the late-season addition of Hayley Scamurra. The forward out of Northeastern registered a goal and three assists in the postseason after playing in just one regular season game, adding a spark from college to the postseason reminiscent to that of Chris Kreider for the 2012 New York Rangers.
Harrison Browne became the first transgender athlete to win a championship.
Corinne Buie’s stick that potted the game-winning goal will be heading to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
It pays to get hot at the right time.
