Whale And Beauts Set For Third Clash Of The Season
It’s game day for the Whale and they will square off against the Buffalo Beauts tonight. It’s a chance for the Whale to prove that they are much better than they were at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately in the previous two games against the Beauts; the Whale were unable to score, and the Beauts went on to win both matchups by a combined 11 goals. The first game was a final of 4-0 for the Beauts in Connecticut during the Whale home opener at Terry Conners Rink. Unfortunately the second game was worse, a 7-0 shellacking in Buffalo.
Definitely not scores we want to see repeated. Both Beauts goaltenders recorded a shutout in those games. However, like all things there are some positives to take from the game. The puck movement for the Whale was good at the start of the year, even though the shots were lacking. In the past three games, the Whale have done a much better job at taking shots from the point and collecting rebounds, which have led to some big goals.
The biggest positive that I noticed, seeing the boxscores of the two games played already; as it has been all year long, the Whale penalty kill has been spectacular. It stymied the Riveters in the last three games, and the Beauts are no exception either. In the two games the Whale penalty kill were perfect again, by making the Beauts go a combined 0 for 8. If the games against the Riveters proved anything, it is that momentum can be gathered from a successful penalty kill.
The game will be in Buffalo at the HarborCenter at 6p and can be seen live on Twitter.
3 Players to Watch
Meeri Räisänen: Recently coming off a shutout on her birthday in Pittsburgh, she looks to continue her good play and improve upon the 93 saves she has made in the past three games.
Katerina Mrázová: The leading scorer for the Whale is on fire. She has five goals on the year, and she has four goals in last three games.
Haley Scamurra: In the two games she played against the Whale, she scored three goals and added three assists for six points.
Boxscores
Here is the boxscore for the first game:
https://www.nwhl.zone/game/show/22207010?subseason=512423&referrer=4170047
Here is the boxscore for the second game:
https://www.nwhl.zone/game/show/22207013?subseason=512423&referrer=4170047
