Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League

The Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League (NVSHL) is a non-affiliated high school ice hockey league composed of teams from the Northern Virginia Area including Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loudoun County, Arlington County, Stafford County, and the Cities of Manassas and Alexandria. The NVSHL staff and Board of Directors includes a combination of coaches, parents, team representatives, referee, and rink supervisors. There are also many members who are not affiliated with and particular team or organization. The current league Executive Director is Grey Bullen. Assistant Executive Director is Jeff Nygaard. Bullen joined the league after Bud Sterling served the same capacity for the previous two seasons. Prior to that, the league was headed by Nygaard who brought the league from being a part of the MSHL to its very own distinction, the NVSHL. Teams play a ten game regular season followed by a multi-round single elimination playoff tournament to determine the league champion. In the end, the league winner will have played either 13 or 14 games, depending on whether they got a bye in the first round or not.

History

The NVSHL was created in response to a growing number of varsity-level teams in Northern Virginia. Until the inaugural 2001-2002 season, teams from Northern Virginia competed in the similar Maryland Scholastic Hockey League (MSHL).

The inaugural season consisted of two conferences of twelve varsity and provisional varsity (Tier-I) teams each, as well as a junior varsity (Tier-II) league. Since that season, the league has expanded to include twenty-two Varsity, five Provisional Varsity, and nine Junior Varsity teams in the 2005-2006 season. The 2005-2006 season saw the change of Tier-II to Junior Varsity to more closely reflect the standard of traditional high school sports. Additionally, the league attempts to structure the divisions within the Varsity classification to closely reflect the "Districts" used by the Virginia High School League.

NVSHL teams are not officially recognized as varsity school sports by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Only one team, Osbourn High School, has been officially recognized by its local school board, Manassas City Public Schools.

Teams

Teams are divided into three levels: Varsity, Provisional Varsity, and Junior Varsity. Varsity teams are further divided into five divisions. Four of these divisions include only varsity teams composed of players from a single school, and are divided by geographical area. These divisions are the Concorde (North) Division, Liberty (East) Division, Cardinal (South) Division, and the Dulles (West) Division. In addition, the fifth division is reserved for all provisional varsity teams (those consisting of players from more than one school). The Provisional Division includes teams from all geographical areas. Provisional teams may not qualify for season-ending playoffs, but do compete in regular season games versus other varsity teams. The games count towards each team's record equally with that of a game played between two varsity teams or two provisional teams. This is a matter of controversy, however, because a talented provisional team may spoil a varsity team's chance to qualify for the league playoffs by defeating them or putting the varsity team at a statistical disadvantage for the purposes of tiebreakers.

Junior Varsity teams play in the Junior Varsity Division, a separate division from varsity and do not compete in regular games versus varsity or provisional varsity teams. There is no distinction between Junior Varsity teams composed of players from single or multiple schools. There currently aren't playoffs for junior varsity teams. The last time playoffs were held came in 2003-2004 when Forest Park defeated Paul VI. The champion is determined by season record. In years past, there have been playoffs for the Junior Varsity Division. This division was formerly known as the Nygaard Division, named after the first Executive Director of the NVSHL, Jeff Nygaard.

The teams are realigned each season through promotion and relegation.

The teams participating are (note that the 2006-07 season has a significant realignment of teams and is divided among the North Conference, South Conference, West Conference, and Junior Varsity - some of these revisions are reflected below):

North Conference

• Herndon/Annandale High School Hornets
• Langley Saxons
• McLean Highlanders
• Oakton Cougars
• Paul VI Panthers
• WT Woodson Cavaliers
• West Springfield / Centerville Spartans
• Yorktown Patriots

Concorde Division

Centreville High School Wildcats
Chantilly High School Chargers
Oakton High School Cougars
Robinson High School Rams
Westfield High School Ice Dogs
W. T. Woodson High School Cavaliers

Liberty Division

Hayfield Secondary School Hawks
Lake Braddock Secondary School Bruins
Langley High School Saxons
McLean High School Highlanders
Stone Bridge High School Bulldogs
West Springfield High School Spartans
James Madison High School Warhawks

Cardinal Division

Forest Park High School Bruins
C. D. Hylton High School Bulldogs
Woodbridge High School Vikings
Osbourn High School Eagles
Osbourn Park High School Yellow Jackets
Mountain View High School Wildcats

Dulles Division

Broad Run High School Spartans
Heritage High School Pride
Loudoun County High School Raiders
Potomac Falls High School Panthers

Junior Varsity

Osbourn Park High School JV Yellow Jackets
Bishop Ireton High School Cardinals
Freedom/South Lakes High School Patriots
Forest Park/Potomac High School Bruins
Langley High School JV Saxons
Stonewall Jackson/Battlefield High School Raiders
T. C. Williams High School Titans
Paul VI High School JV Panthers
Fairfax High School Rebels
Loudoun Vally High School/ Heritage High School Vikings/Pride, respectively

Past champions

NVSHL Varsity (Tier-I) Champions

2010-2011 - Stone Bridge High School
2009-2010 - Woodbridge High School - Vikings
2008-2009 - Bishop O'Connell High School
2007-2008 - Stone Bridge High School
2006-2007 - Osbourn Park High School
2005-2006 - Woodbridge High School
2004-2005 - North Stafford High School/Robinson High School (Co-Champions)
2003-2004 - North Stafford High School
2002-2003 - Stone Bridge High School
2001-2002 - Stone Bridge High School

Records

Career

Goals: (73) Bill Day - 2004-06 - Madison/Marshall
Assists: (61) Jeremy Schliebaum - 2002-05 - Robinson
Points: (121) Bill Day - 2004-06 - Madison/Marshall
Hat Tricks: (15) Bill Day - 2004-06 - Madison/Marshall
Penalty Minutes: (178) Kyle Ward-Dahl - 2002-05 - Oakton

Goals Against Average: (1.50) Robbie Kunka - 2002-05 - Langley
Saves: (713) Nick Botoroff - 2002-05 - Centreville
Save Percentage: (.937) Chris Felinski - 2003 - Loudoun County
Shutouts: (3) Robert Kunka - 2002-05 - Langley
Wins: (15) Daryl Anthony - 2002-04 - Robinson
Record: (14-2) Bryan Lynch - 2002-04 - Stone Bridge

Single Season

Goals:
Assists: (27) Jeremy Schliebaum - 2004-05 - Robinson
Points: (49) Ryan Dove - 2005-06 - Hylton
Penalty Minutes: (60) Kelsey Cloutier - 2002-03 - Centreville

Goals Against Average: (.80) Chris Wingo - 2006-07 - Langley
Saves: (438) Nick Botoroff - 2004-05 - Centreville
Save Pct.: (.952) Chris Wingo - 2006-07 - Langley
Shutouts: (5) Chris Wingo - 2006-07 - Langley
Wins: (10) Dominic Mezappesa - 2001-02 - Broad Run

Single Game

Goals: (8) Brad Surdham - vs. Oakton - West Springfield - Jan 18, 2006
Assists: (7) Steven Csutoros - vs. Osbourn - Osbourn Park
Points: (11) Brad Surdham - vs. Oakton - West Springfield - Jan 18, 2006

External links

• The Northern Virginia Hockey League
• The Maryland Scholastic Hockey League
• United States High School Hockey Online