a new era for girls hockey in Bismarck

BISMARCK, ND (KFYR) – The Bismarck Blizzard was the first girls hockey team to have continued success in North Dakota.

A program that dates back to the sport’s inception in 2002, they have been to 12 of 20 state title appearances. As the sport began to grow, the four-school cooperative had talked about splitting it in two.

I think this has been a debate for the last 10 years. We have brought Bismarck hockey effects; we got the parents to join us. We’ve brought in people from all over to help decide what’s best to do for the kids in our community, said Ben Lervick, Century’s director of activities.

We pretty much found out at the end of the season that we were going to give it a good, tough look, and pretty soon after that we knew we were going to split into two teams and we had all summer to prepare for that, said. Tim Meyer, Century head coach and former Blizzard head coach.

And two new teams were born. Century and St. Marys do one, and Legacy and Bismarck do the other.

I think it was a good opportunity to start new cultures on these teams and build a new identity for two different teams in Bismarck, which is going to be exciting, said Brenna Curl, Century Hockey Junior.

I think it adds a very competitive dynamic. As a student at BHS, I know the competitive dynamic between Legacy and Century has given us so much morale, and to have that in girls hockey is so special, said Ella Gabel, Legacy-Bismarck hockey senior.

Tim Meyer took the team of the century while coaching the Blizzard for the last decade. Another familiar face from Bismarck youth hockey earned a Legacy-Bismarck job.

It’s about our players making history and letting our players make history. That has been our motto. It’s your team, do what you want. That’s up to your team. Your team to make history. What kind of culture do you want to grow? said Nick Johnson, head hockey coach at Legacy-Bismarck.

As one of the newest varsity sports in North Dakota, the growth of the sport is always positive.

I think it’s great for hockey, girls’ hockey. The sport is growing by including more teams. In the future, as a state, we will hopefully have an eastern and a western region. Get regional tournaments and stuff like that. I think it’s always great to expand the sport, said Johnson.

I think it’s really unique to have the opportunity to go into a first-year program and have a lot of say in how this team goes. So one of the biggest things I’m looking forward to is seeing where this team is in 10 years, said Meyer.

For athletes, this year is about creating a foundation for the future.

I think this first season is something we want to prove to ourselves and everybody in this city that this is something we can do, this is great for us and this is great for the future of the program, Gabel said.

Just good culture. A hard working team. That we develop a family and leave behind a good example for many years to come, Curl said.

The first meeting between the newest teams in the states is Thursday night.

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