BUFFALO – One of the Beauts most promising rookies from the 2021-22 Premier Hockey Federation season will be returning to the club for a sophomore campaign. Winger Anjelica Diffendal has re-signed a 1-year contract to rejoin the team. The 6-foot Diffendal tied for the Beauts’ team lead in goals with six tallies in 20 games. She was one of six Beauts players to reach double digits (6-4-10) in point totals last season.
“Buffalo has the best fans in the league and I love the energy they bring to every game,” said Diffendal. “There is definitely some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of, and I am excited to be part of it.”
The Beauts selected Diffendal in the second round of the 2021 PHF Draft with the seventh overall pick. Her points typically came in bunches as she had three multi-point games throughout the course of the season. Diffendal’s finest weekend came against the Metropolitan Riveters on November 20/21 when she went 2-2-4 for scoring in two games. By season’s end, she had tied with Autumn MacDougall for the Beauts team lead in plus/minus as a plus-5. Diffendal’s solid rookie performance saw her be named to the PHF All-Star Showcase as well.
“Jelly obviously has tremendous reach with her size and she is a very smart hockey player,” said Beauts GM Nate Oliver. “She scored some big goals for us last season, and I believe that she is going to further amplify her output in Season 8. Jell is fun and light-hearted on the bench and in the locker room, and she keeps her teammates loose. But make no mistake – she can be very deadly on the ice when you need a goal or something positive to happen.”
Diffendal finished tied for third place in the entire PHF with three power-play goals. She was responsible for nearly half of Buffalo’s tallies with the player advantage, accounting for three of the team’s eight power-play conversions. Diffendal’s .128 shooting percentage was second-best for Buffalo in 2021-22 and was tops among Beauts skaters that played 10 or more games. Her most memorable moment from this past season was her game-winning overtime goal against Boston in a 3-2 regular-season finale at the Northtown Center. Diffendal made a long rush, split the defense, and proceeded to beat Boston goaltender Lovisa Selander to seal the win for Buffalo in OT.
While she wants to continue more of the same, Diffendal has her sights set on even loftier goals.
“Bringing the Isobel Cup back to Buffalo is obviously the goal,” she said. “I believe that our team has what it takes to do that. I am excited to get back to Buffalo and get down to work!”
