 | |
| Sport | Ice Hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| Ceased | 2016 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Country |  United States |
| Last champion(s) | Wenatchee Wolves (2015–16) |
| Most titles | Helena Bighorns/Queen City Cutthroats (6) |
| Official website | NPHLonline.com |
The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup.
Established in 2000 as the NorPac Junior Hockey League, the league was sanctioned as Junior B by USA Hockey. Six teams from Alaska, Oregon, Washington and the Yukon Territory competed in the inaugural season of 2000–01.
In 2007, the NorPac was promoted to Tier III Junior A by USA Hockey. In 2011, USA Hockey dropped the letter designation in Tier III and had all Tier III compete in the same national tournament.
In 2013, NorPac changed its abbreviated moniker to NPHL. [1]
The league announced three new members to start the 2014–15 season: Cheney Ice Hawks, Tacoma Knights and Wenatchee Wolves. [2] Organizational problems resulted in the Tacoma Knights being unable to field a team for 2014–15. [3]
May 25, 2015, the league announced that the Seattle Ravens would be a 2015–16 expansion franchise. [4]
On April 25, 2016, the NPHL announced that at the annual governor's meeting the league had decided to look into merging with a larger junior league for more stability. Also in the press release, it was announced that the Bellingham Blazers had left the league. [5] While it was not clarified in the official NPHL press release, the most recent league champions, Wenatchee Wolves, had also removed references to the NPHL from their website and appeared to focus their efforts on their youth programs instead. [6] On May 20, 2016, it was announced that the four remaining teams would join the United States Premier Hockey League's USP3 platform as a new Pacific Division. [7] Three of the four teams folded after one season in the USPHL and the Eugene Generals went independent after two seasons.
| Team | Location | Arena | Joined | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham Blazers | Bellingham, WA | Bellingham Sportsplex | 2012–13 | 2 |
| Eugene Generals | Eugene, OR | Lane Events Center | 2005–06 | 0 |
| Seattle Ravens | Kent, WA | Kent Valley Ice Centre | 2015–16 | 0 |
| Tri-City Outlaws | Kennewick, WA | Toyota Center | 2012–13 | 0 |
| Wenatchee Wolves | Wenatchee, WA | Town Toyota Center | 2014–15 | 1 |
| West Sound Warriors | Bremerton, WA | Bremerton Ice Arena | 2000–01 | 1 |
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | ||
| 2001–02 | Kootenai Colts | ||
| 2002–03 | Eugene Thunder | ||
| 2003–04 | Portland Pioneers | ||
| 2004–05 | Queen City Cutthroats | ||
| 2005–06 | Queen City Cutthroats | Eugene Generals | 3-2 (best-of 5) |
| 2006–07 | Fort Vancouver Pioneers | Helena Bighorns | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2007–08 | Helena Bighorns | Seattle Totems | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2008–09 | Helena Bighorns | Seattle Totems | 3-1 (best-of 5) |
| 2009–10 | Helena Bighorns | Seattle Totems | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2010–11 | Helena Bighorns [17] | Seattle Totems | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2011–12 | Southern Oregon Spartans [18] | Seattle Totems | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2012–13 | Bellingham Blazers [19] | West Sound Warriors | 3-2 (best-of 5) |
| 2013–14 | Bellingham Blazers [20] | West Sound Warriors | 3-2 (best-of 5) |
| 2014–15 | West Sound Warriors | Bellingham Blazers | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2015–16 | Wenatchee Wolves | Bellingham Blazers | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 47th season of operation in 2021–22. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternative to the Tier I United States Hockey League (USHL). The NAHL is one of the oldest junior hockey leagues in the United States and is headquartered in Addison, Texas.
The British Columbia Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams.
Selland Arena is a multi-purpose arena built in 1966 that makes up part of a four-venue complex of the Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center in Fresno, California. It is named after former Fresno mayor Arthur L. Selland and has had over 10 million people walk through its doors in its over 50-year history. The arena originally had a 6,582 seating capacity, but a US$10 million expansion project in 1981 increased the seating to its current capacity of 10,132. Before the 1997-1998 Fresno State basketball season, capacity was increased to 10,220. The Selland Arena underwent an additional $15 million renovation in November 2006, that included the installation of new seats, a new video replay scoreboard, message boards and a new ice-cooling system for hockey games.
The Bozeman Icedogs are a Tier III Junior ice hockey team located in Bozeman, Montana. The team is a member of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The Icedogs play home games at the Haynes Pavilion located at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.
The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) is an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)-sanctioned, junior ice hockey league. Established in 1993, the WSHL was previously sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1994 to 2011. Teams play approximately 50 games in the regular season schedule, mimicking what players would experience at the collegiate level.
The America West Hockey League (AWHL) was a Tier II Junior A ice hockey league. The AWHL was formed in 1992 to offer junior ice hockey to the Rocky Mountain region of USA Hockey. It originally was called the American Frontier Hockey League (AFHL), and the name change to AWHL came in 1998. The AWHL merged with the North American Hockey League in 2003 and after the merger, the NAHL name was kept.
The Billings Bulls were a junior ice hockey organization based in Billings, Montana. They most recently played home games at the 550-seat Centennial Ice Arena and due to the arena's small size, the Bulls frequently sold out games. They previously played their home games in the Metrapark which had a max capacity of 9,000 for hockey games. However, a negotiating dispute with arena officials and local county commissioners resulted in the team losing its lease.
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Sanctioned by USA Hockey, for most of the league's existence, the winner of the NA3HL playoffs would advance to play for the Tier III National Championship, however, this has not been held since 2015.
The Southern Oregon Spartans were a junior ice hockey team that played their home games at The RRRink in Medford, Oregon.
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The Fresno Monsters are a junior ice hockey team based in Fresno, California. The team is a member of the United States Premier Hockey League and plays in the Premier Division. The Monsters' home venue is Selland Arena, previously the home facility to the now defunct Fresno Falcons of the West Coast Hockey League and ECHL.
The Helena Bighorns are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) based in Helena, Montana United States. The team plays their home games at the 1,600-seat Helena Ice Arena.
The Eugene Generals are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey team. The team plays their home games at 2,700-seat the Rink Exchange in the Lane Events Center in Eugene, Oregon. The team announced it is on hiatus for the 2019–20 season.
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The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), Premier, Elite, EHF, 18U, 16U, 15U, and High Performance youth divisions.
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