Beauts kickoff Isobel Cup Playoff against Pride
Buffalo seeks fourth straight Isobel Cup Final appearance.
ISOBEL CUP PLAYOFF SEMI-FINAL
Saturday:
Buffalo Beauts (11-4-1) vs Boston Pride (11-5-0)
Puck Drop: 7:30PM Saturday, March 9 | HarborCenter | Buffalo, NY
TV: Streaming at NWHL.zone
Know Your Opponent
Boston Pride
Record: (11-5-0) | 22 PTS
Last 10: 7-3-0
League Standings: 2nd Overall
PP: 1st (22.9%)
PK: 1st (92.9%)
What to Watch
1. PLAYOFFS?!?!?!
It’s a word Buffalo fans might not be familiar with. For those that don’t remember, the playoffs are a very exciting time that takes place after the regular season. Teams compete in a tournament to decide who will be the champion.
The Beauts are favored in this opening matchup by grace of the standings, and their head-to-head edge of 3-1 on the Pride. In the four games, the Beauts outscored Boston 15-7, and in their three straight wins against the Pride, 14-3,
HarborCenter will surely be packed for the exciting action, so get your tickets online now.
2. #CrownTheRink
Shannon Szabados. At this point, it should be enough to write her name, and heroic images of grand splendor should immediately come to mind.
This week, the international superstar was named a finalist for goaltender of the year and newcomer of the year - the only player to be nominated by the writers in two categories.
Off the ice, Szabados was growing her legend, and the footprint of women’s hockey. Burger King created a goalie mask that mimics its rubbery terror of a mascot, and offered it up to any goaltender, calling it their King a Goalie campaign.
Women’s hockey fans took to the twitter to demand that the crown be placed on the head of the true monarch of hockey, and BK agreed. The company will Crown the Queen today, and everyone in attendance will get a certificate for a free whopper.
No better day to #QueenAGoalie than on International Women’s Day. Thanks for changing your entire campaign @BurgerKing 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/vzHm1D9sTL
— Shannon Szabados (@ShannonSzabados) March 8, 2019
Fans are encouraged to stop by Burger King on the way to the rink and grab a paperboard crown to show their support. Let’s #CrownTheRink, Buffalo!
3. History
With a win tonight, Buffalo will head to a fourth consecutive Isobel Cup final. They would be the only team in North American women’s professional hockey to do so - the Montreal Stars (now Les Canadiennes) made three straight trips to the Clarkson Cup earlier this decade.
Four straight may give some Buffalo fans flashbacks of horror, but the Beauts have already brought home the Cup once, and if they can get past Boston, they have a solid chance of beating Minnesota; they blanked the Whitecaps in their last matchup, 4-0.
The Pride are a good team - Buffalo’s foil, for sure. They are fast and skilled. Coach Cody McCormick told Die By The Blade his team is ready. “With a high offensive team like that, we want to make sure we’re taking care of our end first. They have a lot of weapons on that team that can come through and score big goals on us. We have to take care of our end and be sure we keep our structure.”
Buffalo Beauts
Forwards
Hayley Scamurra-Maddie Elia-Dani Cameranesi
Emily Janiga-Kelly Babstock-Juliana Iafallo
Corinne Buie-Annika Zalewski-Taylor Accursi
Defense
Blake Bolden-Emily Pfalzer
Lisa Chesson-Savannah Harmon
Jacque Greco-Emily Pfalzer
Blake Bolden - Jordyn Burns
Starting Goaltender: Shannon Szabados