Former Austin Prep star Flagg signs NWHL deal

Caty Flagg isn’t one to rest on her laurels.

Even after signing a professional contract with the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League, the former Austin Prep star goaltender can found early mornings honing her skills with Amy Zappen as part of Stop It Goaltending.

“I’ve been working out with them since the eighth grade,” Flagg said. “We’ve skated with the same group for most of that time. Amy has been a big reason for my success.”

Flagg wasn’t sure she would garner much pro hockey attention after wrapping up her career at UMass-Boston, but she isn’t one to give up easily. After a series of calls, Buffalo reached out and expressed an interest.

“I spoke with their general manager Nate Oliver and it was awesome,” Flagg said. “He told me their assistant coach (Matt Bak) would get back to me by e-mail and they did that. It was pretty awesome to get a contract.”

Flagg played her high school hockey at Austin Prep and emerged as a premier goalie in her final three seasons between the pipes. She posted a 1.01 goals against average as a sophomore with 10 shutouts, adding six more shutouts as a junior in leading the Cougars to the Div. 1 state semifinals.

Austin Prep finally broke through in Flagg’s senior season. The co-Most Valuable Player of the Catholic Conference, Flagg went 22-2 and posted 10 shutouts, including a 1-0 win over Arlington Catholic in the state final.

“It was incredible. Being part of the first team to win a state title was so special,” said Flagg, who stopped all 25 shots in the win. “One of my best friends, Kylie Currier, scored the only goal and it’s something we still talk about to this day.”

Austin Prep coach Stephanie Wood gives Flagg a great deal of credit for taking the program to the next level. She isn’t stunned that Buffalo took a chance on signing Flagg to compete for the starting job.

“Caty deserved everything she’s got, she had an outstanding high school career and I’m super happy for her,” Wood said. “Her play continued to progress in her time here and I had no doubt that she would go and have really successful college career.”

Flagg spent her first two years at the University of New England before transferring to UMass-Boston. After sharing the goaltending duties as a junior (3-6-1 with a 1.99 GAA), Flagg blossomed as a senior. She went 12-11-3 with a superb 1.84 goals against average and a .942 save percentage.

“We really relied on her so much,” said UMass-Boston coach Dom Lozzi. “She’s someone who really does a lot of work behind the scenes to become a better goalie. She’s always pushing herself to become better and do whatever is best for the team.

“She was given an opportunity here and rose to the challenge.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2ZsOqlN