BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Julianna Iafallo is living out a dream.
"It's in my hometown," she said. "I couldn't ask for a better place."
A dream that became possible a few years ago when the National Women's Hockey League was established. After four years playing at Ohio State University, Julianna is back in her hometown, playing in her first ever season with the Buffalo Beauts.
On October 13th, Julianna scored her first career goal. Her family was there to witness it.
"I couldn't thank them enough for all coming out to my first game," Julianna said about her family.
But it was a special phone call afterward that meant just as much. On the other end was Julianna's brother, Alex, who's currently playing for the Los Angeles Kings. Brother and sister both in the pro hockey world.
"Now whenever we play it's hey good game last night, it was pretty late but good game and stuff like that," she said about her conversations with her brother.
Julianna and Alex have always had a special relationship. She even credits Alex's success on the ice as a big reason why she stuck with hockey.
"When I saw him and how he reacted to hockey and how much it was an influence in his life, I wanted to do the same thing," she said. "With our parents help, it was the easiest transition we could've ever made."
From playing hockey on the pond as children to now both playing the sport professionally, it's that unbreakable bond and friendly sibling rivalry that has helped Julianna become the person and player she is today.
"I couldn't ask for anything better," she said. "He's been my role model my whole life so it's finally great to get to a point where we give each other tips and it's great to have an amazing influence within each other."
The Beauts are currently 8-4 overall. Iafallo has four of their goals this season.
