On September 19, the Buffalo Beauts began the trek to return to a fourth consecutive Isobel Cup championship, in pursuit of being the first team in the league to win the trophy for a second time.
The sounds of training camp rang through the rafters of HarborCenter as the 2018-19 Beauts took the ice as a team for the first time. The practice had a different feel to it than the previous three opening days of camp. There was a different energy in the air - things were moving faster than usual.
Head coach Ric Seiling recognized the shift.