Boston Pride Inch Closer to First, Buffalo Beauts No Longer Last!

Boston Pride hands Connecticut Whale Another Loss (Photo: MyWSports)

Boston Pride Move One Point Behind for First

This weekend was a crucial one in the National Women's Hockey League. The Connecticut Whale started the season off hot, but has found their kryptonite in the Boston Pride. The Whale recently lost head coach Jake Mastel, and have been the topic of a lot of discussions this past week since the league announced the resignation. Boston for their own part has played well lately, since their loss to Buffalo in overtime earlier in January. The Pride needed a win to pull within one point of Connecticut, so this matchup had a lot on the line.

The game began and the first was, as you would expect, two of the top teams in the league going back and forth up ice. Connecticut had a few good chances on Brittany Ott, but the Pride defense would bail out the goaltender as well to prevent some scoring chances for the Whale. Boston would do the same, Jamie Leonoff has struggled against the Pride this season but in the first she kept the high scoring offense off the boards. The first would end scoreless but both teams had a lot to take from the period.

The second period was nothing like the first, Boston’s' Gigi Marvin took the puck 18 seconds into the frame and scored past Leonoff to give the Pride a 1-0 lead. The Pride offense would explode in the second, working their way into the offensive zone, and having their way with the Connecticut defense. Jordan Smelker and Hilary Knight tallied back-to-back goals to give Boston a 3-0 lead and putting Connecticut in a situation they haven’t been in all season. Quickly the Whale went down ice trying to cut the deficit and they would when Kelli Stack deflected a shot past Ott to make it 3-1. Boston would be assessed a penalty but it would not phase the potent offense as Brianna Decker broke in on Leonoff shorthanded and snuck it five hole to give the Pride a 4-1 lead going into the third.

Both teams would score in the third, Boston would make it 5-1 and Connecticut would add a late goal to make the final 5-2. Boston has played their best hockey against Connecticut and has played really well in the month of January. This is the final month before the inaugural Isobella Cup playoffs begin, teams are positioning themselves for the final push and right now CT and Boston are two teams heading in different directions.

Goaltending Has Buffalo Out of Basement in NWHL (Photo: MyWSports)

Buffalo Beauts Claim First Home Win vs. Rival NY Riveters

The New York Riveters have struggled recently and traveled to Buffalo to take on a hot Beauts team that has played better of late. The Buffalo Beauts have spent most of the season in the basement of the NWHL. This weekend gave the Beauts a chance to escape last place and surpass rival New York in the process. In 2016, the Beauts have figured it out behind Boston or even ahead (Buffalo did beat Boston in OT earlier this month) Buffalo has been the hottest team in the NWHL.

Following a rough start to the season, Buffalo has dominated play in the month of January. Kelley Steadman once a practice player has seen increased ice time and after winning the inaugural All-Star game MVP, Steadman scored twice in the matchup against New York. Brianne Mclaughlin has also seen her performance better as the season has progressed. She leads the teams in wins and has posted at .908 save percentage on the year.

Buffalo would take the win over New York 4-2, and here’s how it happened:

Buffalo, controlling the offense in the attacking zone throughout the entire period, dominated the first period. New York struggled to get shots on net and turnovers created some juicy opportunities for the Beauts. The Riveters are a physical team and this game was not different, unfortunately when New York is shorthanded they seem to give up a lot of power play goals. While on a 5-3 power play the Beauts picked apart the New York Defense and Kelley Steadman would score past Nana Fujimoto to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. Another power play opportunity a few minutes later would give Steadman a chance to double her goal count and the lead. Buffalo would capitalize on the advantage and Steadman would score her 11th goal on the season, tying the league with Hilary Knight.

In the second period, New York noticeably frustrated began to play a bit more physical game and the refs would not like it. The Riveters would draw Buffalo into the battle and both teams would be assessed penalties throughout the period. New York caught a break when Beth Hanrahan scored on a Riveters power play to cut the deficit to one. The Riveters would build off of the moment and keep Buffalo off the scoring sheet for the second and go into the third motivated to tie the game.

New York playing well in the last few minutes of the second continued that play into the third, preventing Buffalo from creating opportunities early on. Buffalo did have one great opportunity early but the defense quickly poked it away and allowed for New York to counter. Bray Ketchum would get a chance for the Riveters and converted to tie the game 2-2 in the third. Buffalo has been in a series of close games this year, most of which they were the team making the comeback. Buffalo would not be denied though, they wanted a win on home ice, it would be the first on the year. Shelby Bram tipped in a slap shot from the point to give the Beauts a 3-2 lead and an empty net goal would make the final 4-2 from Buffalo.

Recap:

It was a great weekend in the NWHL, Buffalo and Boston are the two teams that are hot while New York is definitely struggling and Connecticut is a mystery. The next three weeks will have a lot on the line as Boston and Connecticut play each other twice while New York and Buffalo will also meet those weeks. Personally, Boston was the favorite coming in and right now they are clicking on all cylinders. Buffalo is a favorite of mine, they have slowly gotten better through out the season and without struggle there is no progress as once said Fredrick Douglass. They will be a fun team to watch no matter what seed they get in the playoffs. New York has some issues on defense, goaltending has also been an issue, if they want to compete they have to adjust this month if not they will be an easy out in the first round. And finally Connecticut, I love this team and maybe its my love for the Whale logo and the whole history behind that, not to mention BC Alum Kelli Stack has been sensational since her college days. Well CT has a lot going on and its been confirmed that these issues have been on going since the beginning of the season. They play well against everyone except Boston, so if they can keep that up and not lose the #2 seed they wont have to see Boston until the finals. Hey anything can happen in the finals, right? Well we will see what next week has in store for the Isobella Cup Playoffs.