Buffalo Beauts earn second straight shutout, top Pride 5-0

The Buffalo Beauts got goals from four different scorers and Shannon Szabados turned away all 30 shots she faced in a 5-0 victory over the Boston Pride Saturday afternoon at Harborcenter.

The win was Buffalo’s second shutout in a row and moved the team to within two points of Boston and the Minnesota Whitecaps for first place in the league. The Beauts have now won each of their past two games against the Pride.

“Boston is a very fast offensive team and we just wanted to make sure we were matching their speed,” head coach Cody McCormick said after the win. “We’re not going to change anything if we’re up two, three, or four, or if we’re down. We know what we can do and we’re playing into the system.”

Both teams came out firing in the first period and the game had a quick pace throughout the frame with consistent offensive, but the period ended with no scoring despite 29 combined shots on goal.

The second period started slowly for the Beauts, as Emily Pfalzer received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for checking from behind just over three minutes in. Buffalo’s penalty kill held strong though and finished 2-for-2 in the game.

Kelly Babstock opened the scoring with five minutes to go in the period with her first goal as a Beaut, followed by Taylor Accursi’s first tally of the season five seconds before intermission.

“I think we had a lot of chances (in the first), but the goalie had some good saves on us and I think it was just a matter of time,” Babstock said. “It was awesome getting my first goal as a Beaut; (I’ve) been waiting for it since the beginning of the season.”

Savannah Harmon notched an insurance marker early in the third period while Dani Cameranesi recorded her first career two-goal game with Buffalo’s fourth and fifth goals of the contest. Maddie Elia finished with two assists in the game and Blake Bolden notched an assist to extend her point streak to three games (one goal, two assists).

Szabados’ 30 saves helped her move back into the NWHL lead in save percentage (.943), just ahead of teammate Nicole Hensley (.942). As a team, the Beauts have allowed just 14 goals through their first 10 games of the season.

Buffalo’s next game is against the Metropolitan Riveters at Harborcenter on Saturday, Jan. 12. Faceoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.