Northwest Hockey Conference
The Northwest Hockey Conference (NHC), is an OHSAA high school ice hockey conference. It was formed in 1977 by Bowling Green, Centerville, Findlay, Northview, Southview, St. Francis and St. John's. It peaked in size with 18 members in the 2002-03 season after absorbing schools from the Greater Toledo High School Hockey League. The league adopted a three division format for ther 2002-03 season with the top teams in the Red division, middle caliber teams in the White division and lower caliber teams in the Blue Division. Due to declining membership the conference moved to a two division format (Red and White) in the 2012-13 season. The conference currently consists of 12 schools (ten OHSAA varsity teams and two club teams) in the Northwest, Ohio area.
Current members
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Type | Status | Division | Joined League | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Wayne | Generals | Whitehouse | Blue, White |
Public | Varsity | Red | 2002 | |||
| Bowling Green | Bobcats | Bowling Green | Red, Gray |
Public | Varsity | Red | 1977 | |||
| Clay | Eagles | Oregon | Green, Yellow |
Public | Varsity | White | 2002 | |||
| Findlay | Trojans | Findlay | Blue, Gold |
Public | Varsity | Red | 1977 | |||
| Lake | Flyers | Millbury | Navy Blue, White, Columbia |
Public | Club | White | 2002 | |||
| Northview | Wildcats | Sylvania | Black, Yellow, |
Public | Varsity | Red | 1977 | |||
| Perrysburg | Yellow Jackets | Perrysburg | Black, Gold |
Public | Varsity | Red | 2001 | |||
| Southview | Cougars | Sylvania | Orange, Brown |
Public | Varsity | White | 1977 | |||
| Springfield | Blue Devils | Holland | Blue, White |
Public | Club | White | 2002 | |||
| St. Francis | Knights | Toledo | Red, Blue |
Private | Varsity | Red | 1977 | |||
| St. John's | Titans | Toledo | Blue, Vegas Gold |
Private | Varsity | Red | 1977 | |||
| Whitmer | Panthers | Toledo | Maize, Blue |
Public | Varsity | White | 2001 | |||
Former members
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Type | Membership Tenure | Current League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | Kicking Mules | Temperance, Michigan | Red, Grey |
Public | 2004–2015 | Southeastern Conference (MHSAA) |
| Bowsher | Blue Racers | Toledo | Red, Columbia |
Public | 2002-2003 | Program dropped |
| Centerville | Elks | Centerville | Black, Gold |
Public | 1977–1985 | Left for the SWOHSHL, program dropped in 2020 |
| Central Catholic | Fighting Irish | Toledo | Scarlet, Gray |
Private | 2002-2011 | Program dropped |
| Fremont Ross | Little Giants | Fremont | Purple, White |
Public | 2005-2021 | Dropped to club status in 2016, program suspended in 2022 |
| Maumee | Panthers | Maumee | Purple, Gold |
Public | 2002-2021 | Program dropped |
| Ottawa Hills | Green Bear | Ottawa Hills | Kelly Green, White |
Public | 1982-2000, 2002-2015 | Program dropped |
| Start | Spartans | Toledo | Green, Gold |
Public | 2002-2010 | Program dropped |
| Waite | Indians | Toledo | Purple, Gold |
Public | 2002-2003 | Program dropped |
League Timeline
<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:1977 till:2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
id:darkred value:rgb(0.5,0,0)
id:NHCWhite value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) # Use this color to denote a school in the NHC White
PlotData=
width:20 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:green from:1977 till:2002 text:Bowling Green (1977-2018, 2019-) bar:1 color:red from:2002 till:2018 bar:1 color:red from:2019 till:end bar:2 color:green from:1977 till:1985 text:Centerville (1977-1985) bar:3 color:green from:1977 till:2002 text:Findlay (1977-) bar:3 color:red from:2002 till:end bar:4 color:green from:1977 till:2002 text:Northview (1977-) bar:4 color:red from:2002 till:end bar:5 color:green from:1977 till:2002 text:Southview (1977-) bar:5 color:red from:2002 till:2010 bar:5 color:NHCWhite from:2010 till:end bar:6 color:green from:1977 till:2002 text:St. Francis (1977-) bar:6 color:red from:2002 till:end bar:7 color:green from:1977 till:2002 text:St. John's (1977-) bar:7 color:red from:2002 till:end bar:8 color:green from:1982 till:2000 text:Ottawa Hills (1982-2000, 2002-2015) bar:8 color:NHCWhite from:2002 till:2003 bar:8 color:blue from:2003 till:2012 bar:8 color:NHCWhite from:2012 till:2015 bar:9 color:green from:2001 till:2002 text:Perrysburg (2001-) bar:9 color:NHCWhite from:2002 till:2019 bar:9 color:red from:2019 till:end bar:10 color:green from:2001 till:2002 text:Whitmer (2001-) bar:10 color:NHCWhite from:2002 till:end bar:11 color:blue from:2002 till:2009 text:Anthony Wayne (2002-) bar:11 color:NHCWhite from:2009 till:2019 bar:11 color:red from:2019 till:end bar:12 color:blue from:2002 till:2003 text:Bowsher (2002-2003) bar:13 color:NHCWhite from:2002 till:2011 text:Central Catholic (2002-2011) bar:14 color:NHCWhite from:2002 till:end text:Clay (2002-) bar:15 color:blue from:2002 till:2012 text:Lake (2002-) bar:15 color:NHCWhite from:2012 till:end bar:16 color:NHCWhite from:2002 till:2021 text:Maumee (2002-2021) bar:17 color:blue from:2002 till:2012 text:Springfield (2002-) bar:17 color:NHCWhite from:2012 till:end bar:18 color:blue from:2002 till:2010 text:Start (2002-2010) bar:19 color:blue from:2002 till:2003 text:Waite (2002-2003) bar:20 color:NHCWhite from:2004 till:2012 text:Bedford (2004-2015) bar:20 color:red from:2012 till:2013 bar:20 color:NHCWhite from:2013 till:2015 bar:21 color:blue from:2005 till:2012 text:Fremont Ross (2002-2022) bar:21 color:NHCWhite from:2012 till:2022
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1977
TextData =
fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(370,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Northwest Hockey Conference Membership History"
</timeline>
State Tournament Success
The conference has been one of the most formidable in Ohio since its inception. Member schools have won a total of 15 state championships, including the first three ever contested from 1978-80. Bowling Green leads the way with 6 championships and 19 semi-final appearances. St. Francis has had the most recent success with a state title in 2021 and semi-final appearances in 7 of the last 8 seasons.
| School | State Championship(s) | Years | State Runner-up(s) | Years | State Semifinal Appearances | Years | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | 6 | 1980, 1984, 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999* | 6 | 1978, 1980, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 | 19 | 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 | ||||
| St. Francis | 3 | 2011, 2015, 2021 | 3 | 1988, 2017, 2018 | 14 | 1985, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 | ||||
| Northview | 2 | 2012, 2014 | 5 | 1982, 1990, 1996, 2010, 2013 | 12 | 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019 | ||||
| Findlay | 2 | 1978, 1983 | 1 | 1994 | 5 | 1978, 1979, 1983, 1994, 2002 | ||||
| St. John's | 1 | 2007 | 1 | 2009 | 13 | 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999*, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009 | ||||
| Centerville | 1 | 1979 | 0 | N/A | 1* | 1979 | ||||
| Southview | 0 | N/A | 0 | N/A | 1 | 1982 | ||||
- The 1999 State Championship was won by St. John's. After discovering that they had used an ineligible player they forfeited the title to runner-up Bowling Green.
- Centerville has three additional semi-final appearances since leaving the NHC.
- Central Catholic (1980) and Whitmer (1984) each have a state runner-up that predates their conference membership.
This article "Northwest Hockey Conference" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Northwest Hockey Conference. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
