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24 // MARCH 2019 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM he growth of hockey in the United States can be charted in a small way by the num- ber of USA Hockey national champions hailing from new states as the years progress. Between 1949 and 1972, all of the national champions hailed from either Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan or Minnesota. The 1970s saw Illinois, New York, California and Washington join the list (the 1977 Los Angeles Junior Kings won the AHAUS Junior B title, becoming the first team west of the Rocky Mountains to win a non-adult national champion- ship). Teams from New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island and Wisconsin won their first titles in the 1980s. From 1990 to 2008, 10 new states joined the champions list. Alaska, California, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Pennsylvania had teams win titles in the 1990s and then Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Texas and Vermont have won championships since 2000. The 2010 tournament was a boom year for states winning their first national championships as Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and Oklahoma brought home titles. In 2011, Maine won its first and second ever national titles and was joined by Virginia as states breaking through on the national stage. In 2012, Idaho, Tennessee and South Dakota brought home the first national championship in state history. North Carolina burst on to the scene in 2013 with its first two national titles. In 2015, Oregon was added to the list, and Wyoming joined the club the following year with a pair of national champions. While the longtime hockey hotbeds continue to shine on the national stage, the surge of hockey's populari- ty in emerging markets is producing new champions. National Titles Tied To Growth Of The Game Nationals History In A Nutshell A look back at some of the top moments in USA Hockey National Championship history. 1938 Hershey (Pennsylvania) claimed USA Hockey's first- ever national championship, topping Detroit for the Senior title at the Olympia in Detroit. 1943–44 Future Hall of Famer John Mariucci, the Godfather of American hockey, led his Coast Guard Cutters to con- secutive USA Hockey National Championships. 1949 New Haven (Connecticut) won USA Hockey's first-ever youth national championship at Madison Square Garden. 1952 As defending national champion, Duluth (Minnesota) hosted the first-ever USA Hockey Youth national tournament "in the west." 1956 East Houghton (Michigan) became Michigan's first youth team to win a USA Hockey National Championship, topping Boston 5-3. PHOTO FROM USA Hockey Magazine Archives National Champions By State (The following list of top 10 states includes all non-adult national championships through 2018) State/Titles First Title Last Title 161 1940 2018 121 1940 2018 58 1949 2018 54 1939 2018 40 1962 2018 29 1949 2018 27 1977 2018 20 2004 2014 14 1938 2018 13 1982 2015 Michigan Massachusetts Minnesota New York Illinois Connecticut California Missouri Pennsylvania Colorado 2 0 1 9 N AT I O N A L C H A M P I O N S H I P S P R I M E R