The Buffalo Beauts Shock the Boston Pride for Isobel Cup
2017 Isobel Cup Champion Buffalo Beauts
LOWELL, MA - The second ever Isobel Cup Final was anything but ordinary. In fact, the word extraordinary can be used in many ways to describe what the fans who watched online or packed the Tsongas Center, in Lowell Massachusetts, saw on Sunday, March 19th. The outcome was so shocking, that the stunned Boston Pride fanbase that saw the game, exited the arena in almost a silent daze.
The 16-1-0 Boston Pride, who had dominated the 6-10-1 Buffalo Beauts all season, came into the Final with high expectations. The Pride had outscored opponents 73-29 in 17 games, a 2.5 goal differential per game. More specifically to the Buffalo, Boston was 5-0 and outscored Buffalo 21-4 during the regular season. The Pride boasted arguably the most dominant line, including the NWHL with the two time MVP Brianna Decker, the second leading point scorer Alex Carpenter, and Hilary Knight who averaged 1.5 points per game this season.
However, we watch sports because, as we have seen time and time again, when all the odds are against a team, amazing things can happen. The Beauts for the second year in a row were in the Isobel Cup final even though they had won only six games on the season. Captain Emily Pfalzer said “We played like we had nothing to lose.”
This is a bit of an understatement though. The Beauts had a lot to fight for, whether they admitted it or not. First, they wanted revenge for the 2016 Isobel Cup Final. Second, this was the last game for Brianne McLaughlin and Harrison Browne, who announced their retirements earlier this season. Lastly, the city of Buffalo, who had given the Beauts the beautiful Harbor Center and a ton of fan support for the first two years of the NWHL.
The excitement started very early when just a minute and 44 seconds into the game Megan Bozek blasted shot on net from the point and Pride goaltender Brittany Ott just missed it and the puck found the back of the net. The Beauts drew first blood, but there was still a sense that it was just early and that the Pride would right the ship.
The Beauts would extend the lead 13 minutes into the game with a beautiful pass by Hayley Scamurra, the newest edition to the Buffalo roster, to Emily Janiga who fired the puck into the net. The Beauts, now up 2-0, had put the top seed Pride on their heels and it was still only 13 minutes into the game.
The Pride continued to pelt McLaughlin the whole period with chance after chance, but nothing would light the lamp. At the end of the first period, the shots on goal seemed close with the Pride outshooting the Beauts 15-11. Although the scoring opportunities were greatly in favor of the Pride, the Beauts were up 2-0 and McLaughlin so far was a superhero.
The second period was even more lopsided than the first with the Pride outshooting the Beauts 23-3. Corinne Buie was the star of the period when eight minutes into the period she took a long pass from Bozek, got past the defender and went back hand to push the puck over the line and give the Beauts a 3-0 lead. Buie was a member of the Boston Pride one year earlier and hoisted the Isobel Cup in 2016, but left for Buffalo in the offseason. The Pride still had no solution to the McLaughlin wall, even on the two power play opportunities, Boston could not make the connection. After Buie’s goal, Coach Bobby Jay pulled Brittany Ott in favor of Lauren Slebodnick.
The Beauts were unable to get a shot on net in the third period, but the offensive damage had been done. The game would come down to the Beauts defense and McLaughlin’s reflexes. McLaughlin held the Pride scoreless for 55 minutes and 33 seconds, something no other goaltender had ever done to start a game to the Boston Pride.
As the minutes ticked away, the Pride seemed to become more and more frustrated with the lack of luck going their way. A blast from Kacey Bellamy clang off of the cross bar and officials rewatched the play to see if maybe the Pride had gotten on the scoreboard, but it was clear, the goal was no good. The Pride finally got on the board with a power play goal from Alex Carpenter with just under five minutes to play. The Pride would close the gap to one with a goal from Hilary Knight, with only 4.2 seconds left on the clock when the goal went in, the Pride had run out of time.
After the game Captain Emily Pfalzer was asked when they felt that they had won the cup and she said “When there were 4.2 seconds left, we knew that we could win the faceoff or let them win it in their direction.” McLaughlin was awarded the MVP for her 60 save effort. Three Beauts players, McLaughlin, Pfalzer and Bozek met with the media after the game and besides being excited for the win, all three discussed how proud they were to be a Beaut and how this win was every player’s focus during the game. That teamwork, that selflessness, that sense of family is what ultimately helped lead the Buffalo Beauts to win the second Isobel cup.
For the Beauts, the revenge was sweet. The great efforts from McLaughlin and Browne in their final game were crucial to the Beauts victory. Corinne Buie, the former Pride player, was credited with the game winning goal. Buie is the first player to win two Isobel Cup Championships. Last night, Buffalo proved that in sports anything is possible.
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