March 19 – Prior to marching in the annual Buffalo St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Mayor Byron W. Brown today honored Emily Pfalzer, United States Olympian and champion hockey player, for her gold medal achievement by declaring March 18, 2018 as Emily Pfalzer Day in the City of Buffalo. Pfalzer represented Team USA on the Women’s Ice Hockey Team at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
“Emily Pfalzer is a great athlete, Olympic champion and proud native of Buffalo,” said Mayor Brown. “We were thrilled when Emily and her teammates achieved their exciting gold medal victory in PyeongChang, South Korea and equally thrilled that she’s so eager to share her victory with the residents of Buffalo and Western New York. We’re very proud of her remarkable achievement and are very happy to welcome her back home.”
Emily Pfalzer #8, a defenseman, was part of the gold medal 3-2 win against Canada, marking the first time in 20 years that the United States took home a gold medal in women's hockey. As a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Emily Pfalzer has played in one Olympic Winter Games, three International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championships and four Four Nations Cups.
Pfalzer stated, “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I have received from the great people of Buffalo. This community was heavily on my mind when we captured the gold medal, and I’m proud to have done it in part for Buffalo. This is a tremendous, unexpected honor from Mayor Brown that I will cherish for a long time.”
The daughter of David and Jill Pfalzer and sister to Matthew and Thomas, Emily was named captain of the Buffalo Beauts in the inaugural season of the National Women’s Hockey League in 2015-16 and helped her hometown team win the Isobel Cup championship last season.
A native of Getzville, Emily Pfalzer graduated from Nichols High School in 2011 and Boston College in 2015.