Local talent Summer-Rae Dobson has signed a 2-year contract with the Buffalo Beauts as a forward for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons in the Premier Hockey Federation. Announced in July 2022, the contract marks the beginning of Dobson’s professional career in the National Women’s Ice Hockey League.
Due to the massive snowstorms that engulfed the Buffalo area this past December, several games for the season had to be postponed, but the Beauts will be catching up on the season throughout early January.
As a teenager, Summer-Rae Dobson began playing boys’ ice hockey in Huntsville. At that time, there was no girls’ ice hockey activity in the area. “I had a lot of great guys that I played with,” Summer- Rae explains. “The Huntsville boys, they kind of treated me like their sister, so they protected me a lot. I would always start stuff and they made sure they protected me. I actually, one year, got to play with my brother, which was pretty cool. So I had a great group of guys to play with. The transition is a lot different because I’ve played with body checking and all that stuff, and then with women’s hockey, we don’t have the full body contact – we have body contact but it’s not full ice hits. Other than that, playing with the guys made me better. I’d have to prove myself.”
She made the transition to play girls’ hockey initially in Aurora but then chose to go to Ridley College preparatory school in St. Catherines to continue her hockey training. From there, she began her collegiate career with a full-ride scholarship to play divisional and college hockey for five years, primarily with the Lakers at Mercyhurst University, in Erie Pennsylvania.
From the 2017-18 season through 2020-21, Dobson played 162 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) games. She scored 51 goals, 57 assists, and 108 points. In her fifth and final year of collegiate hockey, Summer-Rae transferred to the University of Connecticut finishing her college games with the UCONN Huskies.
Known for her energetic and competitive hockey, especially in clutch situations, the Buffalo Beauts wanted her approach for special teams and her ability to score or set up scoring around the net.
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) is made up of seven teams located in the United States and Canada. Over a 28-game season, teams compete for the Isobel Cup, the league’s championship trophy. Currently, the Buffalo Beauts stand at 1 win and 9 losses over ten games. Dobson describes Women’s Hockey as a different kind of game, “ It’s fast and skilled”.
Dobson was a right-wing in college but is positioned more at centre for the Beauts. This season she has scored two goals and is confident the team will turn their standing around before the season ends. Four teams contend for the cup during the playoffs.
Signing with Buffalo is a major step for Summer-Rae Dobson. “It’s huge,” she states. “Our salary cap just got doubled…. so every year it’s been getting progressively better.” This means that woman athletes can make a living playing hockey without resorting to secondary employment. It also portends to league growth in teams, crowd attendance, and enthusiasm for women’s hockey as a popular spectator sport.
Dobson, who really loves living in Buffalo, looks forward to many years on the team and in particular achieving success in the sport she thrives at.
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