Northern Pacific Hockey League
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Northern Pacific Hockey League
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| 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.
Contents
History
Established in 2000 as the NorPac Junior Hockey League, the league was sanctioned as Junior B by USA Hockey. Six teams from Alaska, Oregon and Washington 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]
Final teams
| 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 (Kennewick) | 2012–13 | 0 |
| Wenatchee Wolves | Wenatchee, WA | Town Toyota Center | 2014–15 | 1 |
| West Sound Warriors | Bremerton, WA | Bremerton Ice Arena | 2000–01 | 1 |
Former teams
- Billings Bulls (joined American West Hockey League in 2011)
- Bellingham Blazers[8] (joined in 2012, left for the Western States Hockey League in 2016)
- Bozeman Blackhawks / Bozeman Icedogs (joined American West Hockey League in 2011)[9]
- Butte Roughriders (folded in 2011)
- Cheney Icehawks (joined as an expansion team in 2014, ceased operations August 25, 2015 after one season due to lack of players)[10][11]
- Eugene Thunder (folded in 2003)
- Fairbanks Ice Dogs (joined America West Hockey League in 2001)
- Glacier Nationals (joined American West Hockey League in 2013)[12]
- Kent Crusaders / Seattle Totems (joined Western States Hockey League in 2012) [13]
- Kootenai Colts / Coeur d'Alene Colts / Yellowstone Quake (joined American West Hockey League in 2012)
- Missoula Maulers (joined American West Hockey League in 2011)[9]
- Portland Pioneers / Fort Vancouver Pioneers (joined WHA Jr. Hockey League; folded in 2007)
- Queen City Cutthroats / Helena Bighorns (joined American West Hockey League in 2011)
- River City Jaguars / Vancouver Victory / Vancouver Vipers / Fort Vancouver Vipers (ceased operations in 2014)[14]
- Southern Oregon Spartans (joined Western States Hockey League in 2012)[15]
- Spokane Flyers / Coeur d'Alene Lakers (folded in 2009)
- Tacoma Knights (2014–15 expansion team - did not materialize)
- Tri-City Titans (folded in 2010)
- Wenatchee Wolves (joined in 2014 and left league in 2016 to focus on youth hockey in the North American Prospects Hockey League)
Cascade Cup champions
| 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[16] | Seattle Totems | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2011–12 | Southern Oregon Spartans[17] | Seattle Totems | 3-0 (best-of 5) |
| 2012–13 | Bellingham Blazers[18] | West Sound Warriors | 3-2 (best-of 5) |
| 2013–14 | Bellingham Blazers[19] | 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) |
National champions
- 2010–11: Helena Bighorns[20][21]
External links
References
- ↑ http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=271
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