The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

league sanctioned by

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup.

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, 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. The league announced three new members to start the 2014–15 season: Cheney Ice Hawks, Tacoma Knights and Wenatchee Wolves. Organizational problems resulted in the Tacoma Knights being unable to field a team for 2014–15. May 25, 2015, the league announced that the Seattle Ravens would be a 2015–16 expansion franchise. 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 The Bellingham Blazers were an American junior ice hockey team from Bellingham, Washington, during the regular season and Langley, British Columbia, during their 1970s playoff runs. They were members of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League. ...

had left the league. 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. On May 20, 2016, it was announced that the four remaining teams would join the

United States Premier Hockey League 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), ...

's USP3 platform as a new Pacific Division. Three of the four teams folded after one season in the USPHL and the

Eugene Generals 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 sea ...

went independent after two seasons.

Final teams

Former teams

* Alaska Arctic Ice (2000–01; played inaugural season only) *

Billings Bulls 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 ...

(2006–11; joined as an expansion team after dropping down from the Tier II

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

, left for the

American West Hockey League The American West Hockey League (AWHL) was an American Tier III Junior ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It be ...

) *

(2012–16; left for the

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 199 ...

) * Bozeman Blackhawks /

Bozeman Icedogs 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 Fairgr ...

(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

) * Cheney Icehawks (2014–15; joined as an expansion team and ceased operations August 25, 2015 after one season due to lack of players) * Eugene Thunder /

Butte Roughriders The Butte Roughriders were a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team located in Butte, Montana. The team joined the Northern Pacific Hockey League's America West Division in 2003 when the league competed at the Tier III Jr. B level. In 2007 The NorPac ...

(2000–11; franchise rights moved to Butte in 2003; folded in 2011) *

Fairbanks Ice Dogs The Fairbanks Ice Dogs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. The Ice Dogs play home games at the 2,200-seat Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, Alaska. History Originally started in 1997 ...

(2000–01; played inaugural season and left for the

America West Hockey League 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), ...

) * Glacier Nationals (2011–13; left for the

) * Kent Crusaders /

Seattle Totems The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League in 1952) between 1944 and 19 ...

(2005–12; joined as the Crusaders, sold in 2006 and renamed Totems; left for the

) * Kootenai Colts / Coeur d'Alene Colts /

Yellowstone Quake The Yellowstone Quake is a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at Victor Riley Arena in Cody, Wyoming. The franchise is a non-profit corpor ...

(2001–12; Colts from 2001 to 2006, then relocated and named Quake; left for the

) * 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 The Missoula Maulers were a junior ice hockey#AAU, junior ice hockey team from Missoula, Montana. The team played in the Northern Pacific Hockey League, the American West Hockey League, and the Western States Hockey League. out of Missoula's Glac ...

(2007–11; joined as an expansion team and left for the

) * 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 The Helena Bighorns are a 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 Bighorns were members of the NorPa ...

(2004–11; joined as Cutthroats until the Bighorns' organization dropped their Tier II team in 2006, left for the

) * River City Jaguars / Vancouver Victory / Vancouver Vipers / Fort Vancouver Vipers (2004–14; ceased operations) * Rogue Valley Wranglers /

Southern Oregon Spartans The Southern Oregon Spartans were a junior ice hockey team that played their home games at The RRRink in Medford, Oregon. History On May 25, 2007, it was announced by the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NorPac) that two expansion teams would begi ...

(2007–12; left for the

) * Tacoma Knights (proposed 2014–15 expansion team that never played) * Tri-City Titans (2001–10; team folded) * Wenatchee Wolves (2014–16; left league to focus on youth hockey in th
North American Prospects Hockey League
* Yukon Claimjumpers (2000–01; played inaugural season out of

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale area ...

)

Cascade Cup champions

National champions

*2010–11:

External links

Official NPHL website

References

{{Junior Hockey 3