 | |
| 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) |
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