Paving the Way: Colonials Compete in NWHL Debut - Robert Morris University Athletics

Moon Township, Pa. – The inaugural National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) season officially kicked off this past Sunday, and two Colonials competed for the Buffalo Beauts in the team's season opener. Robert Morris University women's hockey alumna Brianne McLaughlin made her first start in goal in the female professional league, while current Director of Operations Kelley Steadman played at forward for the Beauts.

 While McLaughlin officially signed with the Beauts as their first player in franchise history and was officially added to the 18-player roster in July, Steadman took a much different path to the professional league.

 It all started with a phone call.

 "I called [the Buffalo Beauts] and told them that I wanted to play," Steadman recalled. "I told them I could only play in home games because I couldn't travel with them, obviously. They wanted players that could be there all the time, but then I basically signed as a practice player so that whenever there are roster players that can't make the games, I get to go."

 And then, another phone call. One Steadman was almost certainly not expecting.

 "They had maybe four players get stuck at the border, so I literally found out Saturday night that I was going to play [on Sunday].  That was an awesome day."

So with one day's notice, Steadman made the trek to Buffalo, New York, following a two-game home stand at 84 Lumber Arena where she fulfilled her game day duties with the Colonials. RMU earned its first two victories of the season that weekend. Unfortunately, Steadman and the Beauts wouldn't see the same result, as they dropped their season opener to the Boston Pride, 4-1.

 But Steadman won't soon forget her first NWHL outing, as her name will forever be emblazoned in the Buffalo Beauts history books as the player to score the first goal in Beauts history.  Steadman had a number of scoring chances early in the game, but refused to be denied on a power play late in the third and went top shelf on Pride goalie Brittany Ott. Despite the loss, both McLaughlin and Steadman were selected by vote as two stars of the game.

 "It was pretty cool," described Steadman. "We were down 4-0. Bri [McLaughlin] actually played really well. She kept us closer than we should've been. But we knew we wanted to get a goal for the fans. There were probably 1,500 people or so. It was unbelievable. The building was so loud. The fans were cheering the whole game. It was pretty cool."

 As a full-time staff member of the RMU women's hockey team, Steadman has the opportunity to share her experiences with the Colonials on a daily basis and hopes to show by example that their hockey careers at the collegiate level are just the beginning.

 "I like to be able to share playing with whoever I'm around and I think they respond really well to me training over the last two years, last year with the national team and this year now with the Beauts," Steadman said. "I think it's awesome for them to see what you can do after you graduate college and this league is going to be awesome if it continues the way that it's going. Hopefully some of them can play in it in the next few years."

 Steadman's perseverance, dedication and work ethic are certainly something to be admired by the young Robert Morris squad and females everywhere who aspire to play hockey at the professional level. Despite Steadman's demanding schedule in her role with RMU, as a graduate student and as a professional hockey player, one thing is for sure. She'll always be ready for that next phone call.

 "I have a lot going on," Steadman admitted, "but obviously Robert Morris is my top priority. I don't like to sit around, so it's kind of nice that I can play again and obviously to play in that league and around those great players. It's a balancing act, but it's not too crazy so far."

  Follow RMU Women's Hockey:
@RMUWHockey
Robert Morris University Athletics