curl on contact

Brenna Curl, an alumni of Saint Mary’s Central High School and past Century girls player, currently plays Division 1 hockey for the Maine Black Bears. 

She played her first two years of high school hockey for the Bismarck Blizzard before the teams split into Century-Saint Mary’s and Bismarck-Legacy in 2022. 

As a sophomore at the University of Maine, she is a defensemen for the team and studies exercise science.

As a lifetime player and even spending some time in male hockey, Curl was asked some questions regarding the controversy of the absence of checking in Women's hockey. She shares her opinion in the following questions. 

What are your views on checking not being involved in the girls game? 

I think that there is a place for hitting/body contact in girls hockey. I think that in higher level hockey such as Division 1 and pro leagues, there should be checking allowed along the walls. I do not necessarily think that there should be a ton of open ice hits because that would not be beneficial. Over the past five years or so, the physicality has greatly increased, especially in the PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League), which is super good to see. 

Do you think the exclusion of body checking changes the way female athletes are perceived in hockey?

Yes. I think especially people that do not know a lot about women’s hockey automatically are not intrigued because it is not as physical as the men’s side. I think that physicality is a huge reason people are drawn to the sport and the lack of that on the women’s side does hurt the fans. 

How did playing boys hockey before your high school career shape your understanding of physicality in the sport? 

I think that starting out playing with boys gave me a lot of experience and bias towards physicality. I think I started to develop as a much more physical player starting out my hockey career on the boy’s side. 

Has there ever been a moment in your girls hockey career where the lack of body checking impacted the flow or strategy of the game?

I have definitely received my fair share of checking penalties because of the style of game that I play, but I also think that it has helped to establish me as a solid college hockey player. Physicality is a skill that a lot of coaches and teams value very highly. 

How has your first year as a college athlete changed your perspective on the physicality within the game? Has it changed? 

I struggled in high school with penalties, but since I have been in college, it has been much easier. I have learned how to properly use my body without taking penalties. Another factor is the girls here are much bigger, stronger, and know how to take a hit. 

If there were a potential of checking being implemented into women's hockey, would you support it? Are there aspects of the game you feel would improve if body checking were allowed?

I do believe that there is a place for hitting in girls hockey. I do, however, think that it would be hard to implement it, and it would have to be a slow and gradual process. 

I think that if hitting were allowed in high school hockey, there is too big of a difference in size and skill. For this reason, I think college is when this hitting should start. I also think that it should just be along the wall and not open ice. I think that hitting would encourage girls to make quicker decisions and force them to keep their head up and have a higher awareness.

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