(Photo: Melissa Burgess)
Boston Pride netminder Brittany Ott made history on Sunday, recording the first shutout in the history of the NWHL as the Pride defeated the Buffalo Beauts, 1-0.
After scoreless first half of the contest, Hilary Knight broke the goose-egg with her league-leading eighth goal of the season.
Jordan Smelker and Kacey Bellamy notched assists on Knight's tally.
Ott made 25 saves in the Pride's win, while Beauts goaltender Brianne McLaughlin once again had a strong performance despite facing a significant number of shots.
McLaughlin had 42 saves in the loss.
The Beauts are now 1-6-2 on the season, while the Pride improved to 6-3-0. They're now just two points shy of the league-leading Whale, who continue to be undefeated (8-0-0).
Knight earned first-star honors for her game-winning goal, while Ott - with the shutout - was second star. McLaughlin was third.
Meghan Duggan, Hailey Browne, and Devon Skeats each registered four shots on the goal for the Beauts, while Knight had 11 shots for the Pride.
Skeats leads the Beauts with nine points in five games this season. Her six goals are tied with Kelley Steadman for the team lead, while captain Emily Pfalzer's seven assists are top on the Beauts.
Knight, meanwhile, leads the Pride with 14 points (7-7) this season. She also leads the team in goals, while Brianna Decker ties her in assists.
NWHL fans will get to see many of these players in action together when the league hosts its first-ever All-Star Game in late January in Buffalo.
Eight Buffalo Beauts and 11 Boston Pride were named to the two teams, including captains Knight and Pfalzer. Bellamy, Alyssa Gagliardi, Smelker, Decker, Gigi Marvin, Blake Bolden, Ott, Emily Field, and Zoe Hickel are the other Boston team members.
Pfalzer is joined by McLaughlin, Shelby Bram, Hayley Williams, Duggan, Steadman, Megan Bozek, and Skeats.
Though the Beauts' record appears poor on paper, the team has been steadily improving over the weeks, occasionally running into bad luck plus trouble generating shots on net. Next weekend, the Beauts host the New York Riveters for the first time, while the Pride and Connecticut Whale face off.
Game stats taken from the NWHL's website.
