The Bismarck Capitols were a semi-professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team playing in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Capitols were members of the

Southwest Hockey League The Southwest Hockey League was a senior ice hockey league that operated in the Southwestern United States from 1975 to 1977. The Southwest Hockey League (SWHL) was established in 1975 to train players for professional leagues. Ralph Engelstad, ...

but played just 20 games before suspending operations due to financial difficulty.

History

For the second season of the Southwest Hockey League, the El Paso Raiders moved to Minot in part as way to help with the travel costs of the Billings Blazers. As a way to aid the move, a second team was placed in North Dakota when the Bismarck Capitols were created, taking the place of the Reno Broncos who had disbanded during their first season. Though the state had a long history of ice hockey, mostly with the University of North Dakota, the Capitols were not successful at drawing a crowd. Just 20 games into the season, Bismarck had a decent record at 8–12 but they were no longer able to continue and ceased operations on November 23. The Capitols were a microcosm of the league and the SWHL wasn't able to finish out the year, imploding on January 24 with all remaining teams dissolving the following day.

Season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

References

{{Reflist

External links

Bismarck Capitols profile at The Internet Hockey Database
Defunct ice hockey teams in North Dakota 1976 establishments in North Dakota 1976 disestablishments in North Dakota Ice hockey clubs established in 1976 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1976