BUFFALO â The Buffalo Beauts continued to shape their roster by re-signing center Cassidy MacPherson. Entering into her third season with the team, the 5-foot-6 forward is one of Buffaloâs most dependable face-off takers. MacPhersonâs contract was completed with the team during the leagueâs restricted free agency period. NWHL teams had the exclusive right to re-sign any of their 2020-21 rostered players up until May 15 at 5:00 p.m.Â
âI love the community here in Buffalo and the amazing fans that we have,â said MacPherson. âWe truly have the very best fans, and we have the best people within our organization in the entire league.â
In 30 regular season games, MacPherson has gone 5-7-12 for scoring in her NWHL career. Known for her ability to perform in all situations, she routinely sees centering duties on Buffaloâs power play and penalty-killing units. MacPherson is also one of the Beauts most heavily utilized face-off takers. In 2019-20, she had the best faceoff winning percentage (.494) of all Beauts skaters that took at least 50 draws.MacPherson repeated the feat in Lake Placid in 2020-21 with a .489, and took the second most amount of face-offs on the team (88). She tied teammate Jordan Juron for most shots on goal as well with 20 in Buffaloâs six games.Â
âI feel that Cass is the most underrated player in the NWHL,â said Beauts General Manager Nate Oliver. âShe does all of the little things right, and she is one of the most dependable players around. I love that she flies under the radar for us. Cassâ situational play is just so steady, and her versatility is a real gem for the Beauts to capitalize upon.â
MacPherson played her collegiate career at Providence College (25-53-78 in 146 GP) where she reached double digits in points during all four seasons with the Friars. MacPhersonâs finest season offensively came during her sophomore campaign of 2016-17 when she established career highs in goals (10) and points (23) through 37 games. Her biggest offensive output came on Nov. 26, 2016, against Brown University when she earned four assists in a 7-3 Friars win.Â
MacPhersonâs junior hockey was played for the Oakville Hornets in the Provincial Womenâs Hockey League (PWHL). She co-captained the team in 2014-15 and guided them to a PWHL bronze medal and an Intermediate AA Provincial Championship.
âWe are very glad to have Cass back with the Beauts,â said assistant coach Mark Zarbo. âShe is a versatile player that we will be looking to have a big season in 2021-22. She is the type of player that we want to build around for the future.â