The National Women’s Hockey League has announced event details for its 2016-17 season opening weekend October 7-9 at HarborCenter.
“We’re kicking off our second season with a weekend-long event to celebrate our players, fans and the future stars of this sport,” said Commissioner Dani Rylan. “We had a very successful inaugural season and All-Star Game at HarborCenter.”
The hometown Buffalo Beauts, co-coached by General Manager Ric Seiling and retired three-time Stanley Cup champ Craig Muni, face off against the Isobel Cup champs Boston Pride on October 7 for the first game of the season. The New York Riveters will follow with a game against Boston on October 8. October 9 will feature a match between the Beauts and Connecticut Whale.
Opening weekend also will include the first NWHL Futures Tournament, featuring sixteen youth teams. The tournament will be open to the public. The complete 2016-17 NWHL schedule will be announced this summer.
The NWHL is the first professional women’s hockey league in North America to pay its players. The inaugural season began in October 2015 with the Founding Four: Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale and New York Riveters.
