Beauts Culture Will Carry Them
by Janet Schultz, NYHOL; Photos by Janet Schultz Photography©
Buffalo is a hockey town! Fans support their teams, win or lose, in good times and bad, and always look forward to the next season. It’s the Western New York culture. That culture will be the driving force behind the Buffalo Beauts when they take the ice for season opener this weekend (November 5/6).
“In training camp we established an identity and a culture,” said Head Coach Rhea Coad. “Along with a strong team bond both on and off the ice, they will be playing a fast and in-your-face game.”
According to Coad, the team rolled into training camp with momentum and has worked on building confidence and belief in themselves.
“On and off ice, it’s been fun to see the team gel so early,” said Captain Dominique Kremer. “Everyone hangs with everyone and are committed to doing what they can for the player next to them.”
Kremer was the first Beauts signing this season and coming back she was apprehensive about what the team would be like. However, she trusts the staff and found that found a group that wants to work together.
Kremer is seeing the PHF producing teams that are all good and high caliber.
“Every game is a challenge and I like to be challenged every game,” said Kremer. “This league is so much stronger this year.”
The Beauts will face the newest team in the PHF, the Montreal Force. Kremer sees this as the perfect opening weekend because they will look at themselves and come out strong.
“Every team is really good,” said Coad. “It doesn’t matter who we play, we show up the same every time. We are about being our best.”
This year’s team has so much talent with a deep roster that Coad feels the errors won’t be happening. They are also defined as being a professional and that your best play comes from within.
With that said, Kremer also believes that having so much talent on a team challenges each player to bring their best to practice and to the games.
In addition to a deep commitment to the game and to each other, the Beauts leadership will come from Kremer and Alternate Captains, Cassidy MacPherson and Claudia Kepler. The staff selected Kremer based on having known her for the past two years and she has become the face of the Beauts. The alternates were selected by their teammates after the first few weeks of practice and the exhibition game.
The Beauts have also brought in five European players, all of which have had some collegiate experience along with their national experience for their respective countries.
This alone has been a challenge for the Beauts staff, with Visa requirements,meeting with the Embassies and travel arrangements. However Coad is confident in these players due to the relationship General Manager Nate Oliver has with the European coaches and players.
“Everything was handled well by the staff,” said Coad.
Kremer and Coad see having the European players in the PHF as a positive. The players are connected to home and it shows the world that women can play professional hockey successfully. Along with that the current salary cap increase and two-year signings are also a move to a more professional status.
The Beauts goalie, who re-signed a one-year contract this season, Lovisa “Lollo” Berndtsson actually writes an article for her hometown on what it’s like to play in the United States, including places she has traveled and things she has experienced.
Another player, Emma Nuutinen, is a NIKE representative in Sweden showing her as a Buffalo Beaut and an example to younger players on what a woman can achieve in ice hockey.
“They also take what they have learned and share it with youth when they go home for the summer through camps,” continued Coad.
Kremer concurs. She has found that she can now devote more time to hockey. Prior to this year she worked an 8 am to 5 pm job, went and worked out for two hours; dinner at home, slept and did it all the next day. This was the first summer, due to the salary increase, she could dedicate herself to preparing for the hockey season.
“Some player still can’t be just hockey, but they may be able to work part-time rather than full-time,” said Kremer. “Hockey is what I do, that’s professional identity.
The Beauts practice four days a week on ice and one day on off-ice workouts. This as opposed to two practices last season. In addition, the players have individual gym memberships so they can workout at any time. These memberships paid for through the Beauts.
This is the Beauts culture, before even talking about what will happen on the ice.
“We will be an in-your-face team so that the opposition can smell the Starbucks on us,” said Coad.
On the ice, returning to the position of goaltender is Berndtsson. Lollo saw action in 17 games last season and put up a 4.36 GAA and 0.868 save percentage. The Beauts Carly Jackson was the go-to last season and will now be stopping Beauts’ pucks for the Toronto Six.
The Beauts top scorer in overall points, Autumn MacDougall, has returned. She had 5 goals and 9 assists in 20 games last season and will be needed to do the same and more this season. Out of the five top point-scorers, the Beauts have returned three–MacDougall, Kremer and Anjelica Diffendal.
Returning on defense, along with Kremer, are Samantha Fieseler and Allison Attea. Attea is a Buffalo native who played for Nichols School.
Returning to the offense are MacDougall, Kepler, MacPherson, Diffendal, Amy Budde, Jenna Suokko and Grace Klienbach. Kepler joined Buffalo late last season, scoring 3 goals in 8 games played.
The Beauts have hired former professional ice hockey player Jeff Slate to serve as an assistant coach. Slate joins HC Coad and Assistant Coach Julia DiTondo on the bench.
Slate played three seasons of junior hockey in both the USHL and OJHL. two seasons with Merrimack College and then signed a two-year contract with the New York Rangers. While with the Rangers he played for the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack and the ECHL Charlotte Checkers. Following his time with the Rangers he played for teams in the UHL, ECHL, and AHL. He finished his playing days after stops in Scotland and with the Elmira (NY) Jackals.
“He can read players and understands the relationship between players,” said Coad.
In addition, the Beauts have Mark Zarbo as a skills coach and Shane Madolora as the goaltending coach.
“We have something special and unique in Buffalo,” said Coad. “We put team first and make the players feel valued.
“You make players feel comfortable and they work hard.”
The puck drops at 7 p.m Saturday, November 5 against the Montreal Force at the Northtowns Center. They faceoff again on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The team then heads out on the road to Connecticut and return to Northtowns on December 10 and 11 to face the Boston Pride and Toronto Six on December 16 and 17.
To obtain tickets go to: https://beauts.goigniter.com/
