Buffalo scores late to eliminate Connecticut from NWHL playoffs

Connecticut’s Kelly Babstock scored two goals but it wasn’t enough as the Whale were eliminated by Buffalo in the NWHL playoffs Sunday night in Stamford.

STAMFORD, March 6 – Connecticut’s Kelly Babstock scored two goals but the visiting Buffalo Beauts broke a tie with a short-handed goal with 2:14 remaining and eliminated the Connecticut Whale with a 4-3 victory in the decisive Game 3 of the National Women’s Hockey League’s Isobel Cup playoffs on Sunday.

With a second straight victory, Buffalo eliminates Connecticut, winning the best-of-3 three series, 2-1. On Saturday, Buffalo beat the Whale for the first time all season, 4-1, after seven straight losses. Buffalo will go on to face the Boston Pride in a best-of-3 championship series beginning Friday in Newark, N.J.

It was a tough finish for Connecticut, which began the season with eight straight victories and was 11-1 after 12 games. The Whale lost four of its final six regular season games – all to Boston.

The game was tied 1-1 in the second period when Connecticut relaxed just before the final horn. Babstock was rushing up ice with the puck but stopped, perhaps thinking she had heard a whistle. Buffalo’s Emily Pfalzer pounced on the loose puck and passed it to Devon Skeats for a 2-on-1 breakaway. Connecticut goalie Nicole Stock stopped Skeat’s first shot but Hailey Brown’s shot of the rebound off Stock’s pads got past her with one second left in the period and a 2-1 lead.

Stock was making her NWHL playoff debut Sunday and her first appearance since February 14. Jaimie Leonoff played the first two games of the series for Connecticut in net.

Connecticut was able to tie the game at 2-2 with 14:09 remaining when Babstock scored off assists from Micaela Long and Kate Busser. Babstock poked the puck away from a Buffalo defender near mid-ice and raced down the far sideline toward the goal.

Buffalo took the lead again with 5:27 remaining on a power play goal from Devon Skeats after Long was sent off the ice for cross checking. Skeats deflected a shot into the back of the net to give Buffalo a 3-2 advantage. Skeats told writer Kate Cimini of Today’s Slapshot that the puck deflected off her head and into the goal.

Down by one, the Whale got a power play opportunity with 2:41 remaining in the game when Buffalo’s Paige Harrington was called for interference. With less than a minute gone in the power play, Whale coach Heather Linstad pulled Stock to give Connecticut a 6-on-4 opportunity.

But seconds after the sixth attacker got on the ice, Connecticut’s Sue Faber couldn’t control a pass along the board. Buffalo’s Megan Bozek grabbed it and flicked the puck toward the empty net goal and scored with 1:14 remaining to give Buffalo a 4-2 lead.

Babstock scored with 43 seconds left in regulation taking a nice feed through the crease from Molly Engstrom to pull Connecticut within one but the Beauts were able to run out the clock to complete the series-clinching victory.

Bozek gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead with 13:17 gone in the first period but the Whale tied it up on an outstanding play by Kelli Stack with 8:31 left in the first period, who stole the puck from a Buffalo defender and went 1-on-1 with Buffalo goalie Brianne McLaughlin and scored.

Stock made 22 saves in net for the Whale while Buffalo goalie Brianne McLaughlin made 24 saves to earn her second win of the series. Babstock scored four goals in the three-game series for Connecticut.

Buffalo 4, Connecticut 3
At Stamford
Buffalo                     1  1  2  — 4
Connecticut             1  0  2  — 3
First period
Buffalo 1, Megan Bozek (Meghan Duggan), 8:33; Connecticut 1,Kelli Stack, 13:29; Penalties: Meghan Duggan (Buffalo) hooking 3:12; Kaleigh Fratkin (CT) cross checking, 9:25
Second period
Buffalo 2, Hailey Browne (Devon Skeats, Emily Pfalzer), 19:59; Penalties: Kate Busser (CT) holding, 4:34; Kelly McDonald (Buffalo) 7:36; Alyssa Wohlfeiler (CT) tripping, 7:54; Kelley Steadman (Buffalo) roughing, 10:36; Sam Faber (CT) body checking, 12:56; Steadman (Buffalo) interference, 13:59; McDonald (Buffalo) hooking, 17:22
Third period
Connecticut 2, Kelly Babstock (Micaela Long, Kate Buesser), 5:51; Buffalo 3, Skeats (Kourtney Kunichika, Kelly McDonald), 14:33 (pp); Buffalo 4, Megan Bozek (sh) (en), 18:46; Connecticut 3, Babstock (Shiann Darkangelo, Molly Engstrom), 19:17 (pp); Penalties: Micaela Long (CT) cross checking, 12:42; Paige Harrington (Buffalo) interference, 17:19
Shots on goal: Buffalo 26 (12-11-3), Connecticut 27 (8-10-9)
Goalies: Buffalo: Brianne McLaughlin (W, 2-1) 27 shots, 24 saves; Connecticut: Nicole Stock (L, 0-1) 26 shots, 22 saves