Bemidji Girls’ Hockey Gains Experience for Young Team with Tough Schedule

A team’s win-loss record can be used as a measure to tell us how “good” a team is, but it doesn’t always tell the whole story. That seems to be the case for Bemidji girls’ hockey, who – with just six games left this season – are currently sitting at a deceiving 10-8-and-1.

That’s because the Lumberjacks have bulked up their schedule, filling it with some of the best teams the state has to offer. Seven of their eight losses came at the hands of teams ranked in the top 10, with the other coming to 15th-ranked Grand Rapids-Greenway. And while the losses are frustrating, the coaches and players recognize the silver lining.

“I think we’re getting a lot better by playing the good teams,” said senior goaltender Ava Myhre. “It’s fun to go out and blow teams out, but the competition is more fun. Lately, they haven’t been showing out on our side, but if anything, we’re learning where we need to be and how we need to play.”

“We play good teams, you play fast pace,” said sophomore forward Bailey Rupp, the team’s leading scorer. “We have to move the puck, we have to back check, just work hard, and it just is a good experience. Even if you win or lose, either way, it’s just good playing fast teams.”

The Jacks are also very young, with just four seniors and three juniors on the roster. The top two-point scorers on the team are captains Bailey Rupp and Millie Knott, both sophomores who played up on varsity as 8th graders. They’re followed by junior captain Megan Berg and then freshman Naomi Johnson, who played up as a 7th grader.

Knott explained how they are now using their knowledge and experience to show the younger skaters how it’s done.

“Being a good role model, doing things you’re supposed to, and working hard in practice and kind of guiding them to where they need to be,” the defenseman said. “If they make a mistake, say, ‘Go with the next one’ and help them with that kind of stuff.”

“We are a young group and that sometimes gets overlooked,” added head coach Mike Johnson. “We’ve had some success the last couple of years and we had these kids come in as eighth graders. So we do have a lot of experience, but it’s still kind of hard to compete with those really high end D1 seniors and juniors that a lot of these teams have.”

He continued, “We have some time left in the season to keep developing and that’s what we’re going to shoot for. All of a sudden next year, we kind of flip the switch. We have a lot of juniors that are kind of our leaders and a couple of seniors playing really key positions, and we are aging quickly, I would say, even though it’s been a long process.”

Bemidji will continue that process for another six games before the girls’ hockey section tournaments begin the first week of February.