Northern Pacific Hockey League
 | |
| 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.
History
[edit]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.
Final teams
[edit]| 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 |
Former teams
[edit]- Alaska Arctic Ice (2000–01; played inaugural season only)
- Billings Bulls (2006–11; joined as an expansion team after dropping down from the Tier II North American Hockey League, left for the American West Hockey League)
- Bellingham Blazers[8] (2012–16; left for the Western States Hockey League)
- Bozeman Blackhawks / Bozeman Icedogs (2005–11; expansion team in 2005 as Blackhawks, renamed Icedogs when the Icedogs' organization left the Tier II North American Hockey League in 2006, left for the American West Hockey League)[9]
- Cheney Icehawks (2014–15; joined as an expansion team and ceased operations August 25, 2015 after one season due to lack of players)[10][11]
- Eugene Thunder / Butte Roughriders (2000–11; franchise rights moved to Butte in 2003; folded in 2011)
- Fairbanks Ice Dogs (2000–01; played inaugural season and left for the America West Hockey League)
- Glacier Nationals (2011–13; left for the American West Hockey League)[12]
- Kent Crusaders / Seattle Totems (2005–12; joined as the Crusaders, sold in 2006 and renamed Totems; left for the Western States Hockey League) [13]
- Kootenai Colts / Coeur d'Alene Colts / Yellowstone Quake (2001–12; Colts from 2001 to 2006, then relocated and named Quake; left for the American West Hockey League)
- Liberty Lake Lumberjacks / Spokane Flyers / Coeur d'Alene Lakers (2000–09; Lumberjacks from 2000 to 2002, Flyers from 2002 to 2006, then the Lakers until folding)
- Missoula Maulers (2007–11; joined as an expansion team and left for the American West Hockey League)[9]
- Portland Pioneers / Fort Vancouver Pioneers (2000–07; left for the WHA Jr. Hockey League; folded after eight games in 2007)
- Queen City Cutthroats / Helena Bighorns (2004–11; joined as Cutthroats until the Bighorns' organization dropped their Tier II team in 2006, left for the American West Hockey League)
- River City Jaguars / Vancouver Victory / Vancouver Vipers / Fort Vancouver Vipers (2004–14; ceased operations)[14]
- Rogue Valley Wranglers / Southern Oregon Spartans (2007–12; left for the Western States Hockey League)[15]
- Tacoma Knights (proposed 2014–15 expansion team that never played)[16]
- Tri-City Titans (2001–10; team folded)
- Wenatchee Wolves (2014–16; left league to focus on youth hockey in the North American Prospects Hockey League)
- Yukon Claimjumpers (2000–01; played inaugural season out of Whitehorse, Yukon)
Cascade Cup champions
[edit]| 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) |
National champions
[edit]- 2010–11: Helena Bighorns[21][22]
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Northern Pacific Hockey League - scoreboard | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".
- ^ "NPHL expands with three new teams". Eugene Generals. 30 May 2014.
- ^ "Cedar Rapids, Dubuque Streak to the top of the USHL East". USA Hockey. 6 November 2014.
- ^ "Seattle Ravens NPHL Expansion Announced for 2015-2016".
- ^ "PRESS RELEASE: April 25, 2016". NPHL. April 25, 2016.
- ^ "DAILY DISH: NPHL Done?". Junior Hockey News. April 25, 2016.
- ^ "West Coast Teams Join Nation's Top College Development League (USPHL)". USPHL. May 20, 2016.
- ^ "Bellingham's new junior hockey team joins Northern Pacific Hockey League". The Bellingham Business Journal. 13 August 2012.
- ^ a b "American West Hockey League Accepted As Newest Addition To USA Hockey Juniors". NBC Montana. 4 June 2011. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Down, but Not Out: Cheney Icehawks Unable to Gather Enough Players for its Roster". NPHL. August 25, 2015.
- ^ "THE DEATH POOL – SPECIAL REPORT – NPHL'S CHENEY ICEHAWKS APPEAR TO NOW BE EXTINCT". The Junior Hockey News. August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Nationals to join AWHL for 2013-14 season". JuniorHockey.com. February 18, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
- ^ "WSHL Totems press release" (PDF). Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ "Vipers hockey team ends operations". The Columbian. 15 October 2014.
- ^ "WSHL Spartans press release" (PDF). Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". OurSportsCentral. September 29, 2014.
- ^ "Bighorns win NorPac Championship". Independent Record. 19 March 2011.
- ^ "Sparts capture the crown". Mail Tribune. 12 March 2012.
- ^ "Bellingham Blazers 2012-2013 NORPAC Cascade Cup Champions". Junior Hockey News. 18 March 2013.
- ^ "Blazers with something to prove at National Championships". The Bellingham Herald. 30 March 2014.
- ^ "Helena Bighorns capture hockey national championship". Independent Record. 5 April 2011.
- ^ "Helena lifts trophy for the first time at Tier III Jr. A Nationals". USA Junior Hockey Magazine. April 2011.