Seattle Totems Prepare For USA Hockey National Championships

The Seattle Totems Junior A Hockey Team is headed to Boston, MA at the end of March to compete in the USA Hockey Junior A, Tier III National Championships. The Totems are a member of the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL), which consists of thirteen teams in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The Seattle Totems finished the regular season at the top of the NPHL with a 41-7-0 record.

Seattle beat the Puget Sound Tomahawks, of Bremerton, 3 - 1 games in the first round of the Pacific Division playoffs and swept the River City Jaguars from Beaverton, Oregon 3 - 0 games to earn a berth to the National Championships for the second consecutive year. The Totems home is Olympic View Arena in Mountlake Terrace.

Before the trip to Boston, Seattle will face the Helena Bighorns in the Cascade Cup, a best of five game series to determine the NPHL Champion and the League's top seed at Nationals. The Cascade Cup runner-up will be the League's second seed at Nationals.

Unlike the Seattle Thunderbirds or Everett Silvertips of the Major Junior WHL, the Totems roster is filled with local athletes, including eighteen players from Western Washington, two players from Oregon and four others from Alaska, Arizona, California and Montana. While the Seattle Totems are the same age (16 - 20) as the Major Junior players in the WHL, the Totems are not expecting to see any NHL draft picks.

During the past two seasons, the Seattle Totems have won two Pacific Division Regular Season titles, two Pacific Division Playoff Championships and two trips to USA Hockey National Championships. Seattle has a record of 84-12-0 over the past two seasons.

Game One of the Cascade Cup NPHL Championship is Tuesday, March 10th at Olympic View Arena in Mountlake Terrace. Warmups start at 6:45 p.m. and the puck drops at 7:15 p.m. Game Two is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11th at Olympic View Arena with warmups and game time at 6:45 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. respectively. Tickets for games are $10.00 and are available for purchase at the door prior to each game.