Current season, competition or edition: 2017–18 |
|
Sport | Ice hockey |
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Founded | 1970s |
No. of teams | 44 |
Country | United States |
Most recent champion(s) |
Granite City Lumberjacks (2016–17) |
Official website | www.na3hl.com |
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Sanctioned by USA Hockey, the winner of the NA3HL playoffs advance to play for the Tier III National Championship.
Originally formed in the early 1970s as a Junior B-level league known as the Central States Hockey League (CSHL), the league evolved into the Metro Detroit Junior Hockey League in the early 1980s. The CSHL name was used again from 1994 until 2010. The league was reclassified from Tier III Junior B to Tier III Junior A in the summer of 2007 by USA Hockey.
During the 2008–09 season, it was announced that the Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins would join the CSHL for the 2009–10 season, bringing the number of teams to 13. The league returned to 12 teams for 2010–11, as the Dubuque Thunderbirds franchise folded to make way for the return of the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League.