Beauts clinch No. 2 seed, host first semifinal in franchise history

March 17 will be a beautiful day in Buffalo, as the Beauts will be hosting their first-ever playoff game as the No. 2-ranked team in the league.

The Beauts will play the No. 3 seed in a single-elimination playoff game at their home rink, KeyBank Rink at Harborcenter, at 5:30 p.m., according to NWHL PR.

If the season ended today, the Whale would be the No. 3 seed, having the same number of points (8) as the Pride, but with one more win. Boston and Connecticut play each other two more times this regular season, once at Terry Conners Ice Rink, once at Warrior Arena.

Buffalo is currently 8-4-0 with 16 points, riding a six-game win streak that includes a 5-3 victory over the previously-undefeated Riveters. The rest of their season will be on the road, as they take on the Riveters two more times, as well as the Whale and Pride once more each. With a seed already clinched, the pressure is off, which means we could see an even better team than in the past six games.

Incidentally, the Beauts have not lost a game since their new owners, Kim and Terry Pegula, announced their acquisition. Whether that has anything to do with it or not, this is easily the most successful season we’ve seen from the Beauts in their three years on the ice.

The NWHL is about to enter All-Star Weekend starting Feb. 10. Regular-season play resumes Feb. 18.