Official Website of Northern Lakes Hockey League

About the NLHL

The Northern Lakes Hockey League (NLHL) was started during the summer of 2008 with four full-time teams; the Green Bay Jr. Gamblers, Soo Indians, Marquette Electricians, and Ojibwa Eagles. The four teams came together to put their knowledge and experience into a league that would satisfy the needs of top-notch competition, heated rivalries and manageable travel schedules.

By bringing those three attributes to the NLHL they knew it would provide a great opportunity for the players to be seen by top-notch scouts, and have the opportunity to move on to the next level of hockey.

During the summer of 2009 the Thunder Bay Kings, Shattuck St. Mary's Sabres, and Capital Center Pride all joined the NLHL, while one original member, the Gamblers, receded. The three new teams bring additional rivalries to the NLHL while keeping a managable travel schedule for involved teams.

Expansion continued in the summer of 2009 as a new Midget AAA team, the West Michigan Hounds, joined the NLHL, adding more regional rivalries in the southern portions of the NLHL, well adding another NCAA Division 1 university and a minor league professional team to the list of potential site scouts.

As mentioned above, each team is located in a prime site to give players visibility, with each host city having at least a team playing at the next level of hockey. Below is a table highlighting the upper-level hockey in each city:

City	Juniors	NCAA Division III	NCAA Division I
Lansing	-	-	Michigan State
Marquette	-	-	Northern Michigan
Houghton	-	Finlandia University	Michigan Tech
Faribault	SSM Varsity	-	-
Sault Ste. Marie	Soo Greyhounds Soo Eagles	-	Lake Superior State
Thunder Bay	-	-	Lakehead*
Kalamazoo	-	-	Western Michigan

The third benefit for teams in the NLHL is the shorter travel schedule, which makes it so that no team has to travel over 750 miles to get to any two-game series. This unique opportunity in Midget AAA hockey allows for players to be fresh for all games, and it will give them a better opportunity to perform in their academic career, since they will miss less school.

Each team participating in the NLHL has been very successful at moving players on to the next level. Looking from the NHL down to juniors, throughout the U.S. and Canada, you’ll find players representing the six organizations involved in this league. These teams will keep that legacy going for years to come, and a list of NLHL alumni will be formed that will be equally as impressive as the lists already established by these teams.

The Board
The NLHL is run by a board of volunteers represented by a person from each team as well as other hockey enthusiasts. The board meets regularly and all meetings are open to the public. If you’d like to contact someone from the board, please e-mail the league commissioner, Greg Mingay by e-mail at gmingay@yahoo.com.

NLHL League By-Laws and Rules

*Canadien Division I College Hockey