Most High School Hockey State Championships

High school hockey dynasties have been crafted all over the U.S., and the end result is always a state championship.

If you venture into the places in the U.S. with colder climates — mainly the north and the northeast — you’ll find a high school hockey culture unlike anything you’ve ever experienced regarding prep sports.

There is a certain pageantry that comes with big-time high school hockey you won’t find in any other sport, and in this country, we’ve produced our fair share of high school phenoms who ended up becoming NHL superstars as well.

Here’s a look at the high school hockey programs with the most state championships ever and the people who lifted them to glory along the way.

15. St. Edward High School — 11 State Championships

Eagles Hockey / Facebook

Location: Lakewood, Ohio

State championships: 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994-96, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008

Notable coaches: Bob Whidden, Rob Whidden

Notable players: Todd Harkins, Brett Harkins, Mike Rupp

Bottom line: St. Edward high school’s 11 state championships are the most in Ohio history and all came under the leadership of two head coaches, former pro hockey goalie Bob Whidden and his son, Rob Whidden.

Bob Whidden coached the team from 1984 to 2005 and won 10 state championships — including in his first and last seasons — before handing the reins to his son, who won a state title in 2008 before being unceremoniously fired in 2010. St. Edward hasn’t won a state title since.

Brothers Todd Harkins and Brett Harkins helped lead St. Edward to their first two state titles in 1985 and 1986, and both went on to play in the NHL, as did Mike Rupp, who won back-to-back state titles at St. Edward in 1995 and 1996. Rupp was the No. 9 overall pick in the 1998 NHL Draft and won a Stanley Cup championship with the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

12. Edina High School — 13 State Championships (Tie)

edinahornets / Twitter

Location: Edina, Minnesota

State championships: 1969, 1971, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1997, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019

Notable coaches: Willard Ikola

Notable players: Bill Nyrop, Brian Burke, Paul Ranheim, Anders Lee, Kieffer Bellows

Bottom line: Legendary Edina High head coach Willard Ikola led the U.S. to a silver medal at the 1956 Olympics as the team’s star goaltender before moving on to a coaching career.

Ikola coached at Edina for 33 years, from 1958 to 1991, winning eight state championships with only one losing season and one of the greatest quotes you’ll ever hear from a high school coach. “I never scored a goal or prevented one,” Ikola once said. “All the credit for our success belongs to the kids.

Edina has kept a steady stream of players going to the the NHL for decades, most notably Bill Nyrop, who was also a star quarterback and made the team at Notre Dame before turning his attention to hockey, where he won three consecutive Stanley Cup championships with the Montreal Canadiens from 1976 to 1979.

12. Catholic Memorial High School — 13 State Championships (Tie)

CM_Hockey / Twitter

Location: West Roxbury, Massachusetts

State championships: 1991-95, 1998-2001, 2003-05, 2009

Notable coaches: Bill Hanson

Notable players: Jim Carey, Ted Donato, Jim Fahey, John Marino, Chris Nilan

Bottom line: Catholic Memorial’s run of dominance in the 1990s was so notable that it gained the attention of Sports Illustrated, which featured the team in a 1995 article entitled “Hockey High: Against Boston’s Catholic Memorial the Other Team Rarely Has A Chance” after the team won three national championships in four years.

Catholic Memorial has produced a bevy of top NCAA and NHL players over the years, most notably goaltender Jim Carey, who won the 1996 Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender.

12. Superior High School — 13 State Championships (Tie)

SpartanPuckPHT / Twitter

Location: Superior, Wisconsin

State championships: 1971, 1972, 1974, 1981,1982, 1990, 1992, 1994-96, 2003, 2005 2015

Notable coaches: Gary Harper, Mas Fukushima, Richard Torrence, David Kukowski, Jason Kalin

Notable players: Mike Sislo, Tim Nelson, Bob Berg, Randy Hansen, Jamin Durfee

Bottom line: Superior’s high school hockey domination in Wisconsin has extended over the last full five decades, winning at least one state title in each since winning for the first time in 1971.

In a testament to the talent on the ice at Superior, their 13 state titles have been spread across five different head coaches, and Superior is the only school in state history to win three consecutive state titles, which it did from 1994 to 1996.

Mike Sislo is the only player from Superior to make it to the NHL so far. After leading his school to the 2005 state championship, he played for the University of New Hampshire and then 10 seasons of pro hockey, including three seasons with the New Jersey Devils.

11. Trenton High School — 14 State Championships

Trenton High School hockey 2003 state championship team

Shawn Parker / Facebook

Location: Trenton, Michigan

State championships: 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2008-10 2014

Notable coaches: Mike Turner

Notable players: Andy Greene, Larry DePalma, Jason Durbin, Josh Miller, Camden Wojtala

Bottom line: Former Trenton head coach Mike Turner had two stints at the school, from 1974 to 1981, then from 1995 to 2014, winning 11 state championships in that stretch. He finished his career as the winningest high school hockey coach in Michigan history with a 629-125-52 record.

Trenton has had four players named Mr. Michigan — the state’s top individual award for high school hockey — with Jason Durbin (1996), Andy Greene (2000), Josh Miller (2008) and Camden Wojtala (2009). Only Greene failed to win a state championship but went on to play 16 seasons in the NHL.

10. Cheyenne Mountain High School — 15 State Championships

CHSAA / Twitter

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

State championships: 1982-86, 1988-91, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2022

Notable coaches: Erik Austin, Jim Austin, Don Hansen, Kevin Kodalen, Trevor Pochipinski

Notable players: Noah Bonnett, Denton Demgaard, Nick Hallee, Jeremy Renholm

Bottom line: Unfortunately, there isn’t a good single resource for the history of high school hockey in Colorado, but we know Cheyenne Mountain High is the best of the best, with a record 15 state championships.

The Red-Tailed Hawks grabbed headlines in 2022 when they won their first state championship in 18 years, going 20-2 and capping the year with a 4-0 win over Colorado Academy in the state title game. Cheyenne Mountain’s greatest era of dominance came in the 1980s when they won nine state championships from 1982 to 1991.

9. Detroit Catholic Central High School — 16 State Championships

dcchockey / Twitter

Location: Novi, Michigan

State championships: 1994, 1997, 1999-2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014-16, 2019, 2021, 2022

Notable coaches: Gordon St. John, Todd Johnson, Brandon Kaleniecki

Notable players: Scott Curtin, Keith Rowe, Jared Ross, Andrew Eggert, David Moss

Bottom line: One of three schools from Michigan to make the list, Detroit Catholic Central didn’t even win its first official state championship until 1994, reeling off seven state titles over the next decade, including five consecutive titles from 1999 to 2003. Detroit Catholic Central actually counts four state titles won before the first sanctioned state tournament in 1975 toward its overall total.

Several former Detroit Catholic Central players have made it to the NHL, including 2001 Mr. Michigan Jared Ross and David Moss, who played nine seasons for the Calgary Flames and Phoenix Coyotes. In total, four Catholic Central players have been named Mr. Michigan.

8. Hamden High School — 17 State Championships

hamden_hockey / Twitter

Location: Hamden, Connecticut

State championships: 1948, 1950, 1952, 1965-68, 1970, 1971, 1973-76, 1986, 1989, 2009, 2010

Notable coaches: Lou Astorino, Bill Veniris

Notable players: Jonathan Quick

Bottom line: Hamden ended a 20-year title drought with back-to-back state championships in 2009 and 2010 but hasn’t won a title since.

Hamden has had some great players, but few match up with NHL goaltender Jonathan Quick. Quick won a pair of Stanley Cup championships with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014 and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2012 as the NHL postseason MVP. His 2012 postseason is considered by many to be the greatest in NHL history.

7. Cranbrook Kingswood School — 18 State Championships

CK_Hockey / Twitter

Location: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

State championships: 1979, 1983, 1985-88, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2021

Notable coaches: Andy Weidenbach, Ted Kelley

Notable players: Casey Wellman, Andrew Miller, Patrick Brown, Jim Johnson, Johnny Kim, Will Wallace, Chase Langlais, Austin Alger

Bottom line: Cranbrook won its first four state championships before becoming Cranbrook Kingswood, and the school owns the Michigan state record with 18 state titles.

Head coach Andy Weidenbach won 10 state championships in 25 years and finished his career at Cranbrook Kingswood with a 504-187-47 record. While former right wing Jim Johnson never won a state championship, his state records for career goals (249) and career hat tricks (45) have stood since 1974, and he’s still No. 2 on the Michigan career-scoring list with 346 points.

5. Burrillville High School — 19 State Championships (Tie)

Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame

Location: Harrisville, Rhode Island

State championships: 1944, 1948, 1949, 1951-53, 1955, 1957-59, 1961, 1963, 1971, 1973

Notable coaches: Babe Mousseau

Notable players: Jerry Zifcak

Bottom line: Burrillville High has a legendary player named Jerry Zifcak who can hold his legacy up to any player in any prep sport in the history of the U.S., and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone as beloved by their community.

Zifcak was a do-everything star who began playing high school hockey when he was just 13 years in old in 1959. He won two state titles in 1961 and 1963 before going on to star for Providence. He was wonderfully memorialized by Bill Eccleston for the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame. Zifcak died in 2001.

5. Notre Dame High School — 19 State Championships (Tie)

Berlin Maroons / Facebook

Location: Berlin, New Hampshire

State championships: 1947-62, 1965, 1971, 1972

Notable coaches: Barney Laroche

Notable players: Bob Fisette, Robert Gosselin, Louis Parent

Bottom line: Berlin is known as “Hockeytown, USA,” and Notre Dame High won the first New Hampshire high school state hockey championship at Dartmouth College in 1947 — the first of 16 consecutive state championships for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s legacy turned out to have an end — the school played its final hockey game on March 11, 1972, defeating Manchester Memorial, 3-2, in the state championship game. Notre Dame closed its doors at the end of that school year — after winning a whopping 19 state championships in 26 years.

4. Waterville Senior High School — 22 State Championships

Waterville Senior High School / Facebook

Location: Waterville, Maine

State championships: 1938-41, 1969-73, 1979-81, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2009

Notable coaches: Dennis Martin, Spat Roy, Troy Gagne

Notable players: Shawn Lee, Josh Hart, Nate Hart, Kyle McMorrow, Chad Hart

Bottom line: One of two teams from Maine to make the list, Waterville High won its first state title in 1938 and won five consecutive titles from 1969 to 1973. Waterville won its last state championship game in 2009 and played in the state championship game for the final time in 2010.

In 2017, the communities of Waterville and Winslow combined their teams to form the Kennebec RiverHawks, although they are yet to play in the state championship game.

3. Saint Dominic Academy — 24 State Championships

Saint Dominic Academy Alumni / Facebook

Location: Auburn, Maine

State championships: 1946-57, 1959-61, 1964-67, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2019

Notable coaches: Bob Parker

Notable players: Brad Berube, Grant Carrier, Alex Parker, Richard Paradis, Jon Rutt, Joey Dumais, Brian Andrews, Derek Damon, Tim Desmarais, Brian Toussaint

Bottom line: Saint Dominic Academy can trace its entire existence back to hockey, as Rev. Herve Drouin founded the school in 1941 specifically to serve as a school for adolescent hockey players.

Saint Dominic has won at least one state championship in each of the last eight full decades dating back to the 1940s and ended a 19-year drought with its last state title in 2019.

2. Grand Forks Central High School— 29 State Championships

GFChockey / Twitter

Location: Grand Forks, North Dakota

State championships: 1967-73, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2017-19, 2021

Notable coaches: Grant Paranica

Notable players: Dennis Johnson, Will Howard

Bottom line: Grand Forks Central won the first seven state championships in North Dakota history and 10 of the first 11 titles. Grant Paranica was hired as head coach in 2014 and ended a seven-year title drought in 2017, going 27-0 and winning the first of three consecutive state titles.

Paranica was named USA Today National Coach of the Year in 2018 after Grand Forks Central went 24-1-2. Paranica has won four state championships in his first nine seasons, including four in the last six years.

1. Mount Saint Charles Academy — 46 State Championships

Mount Saint Charles Academy head coach Bill Belisle

Robert E. Klein / AP Photo

Location: Woonsocket, Rhode Island

State championships: 1933-35, 1938-40, 1942, 1945-47, 1968-72, 1978-2003, 2008-11, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2021

Notable coaches: Bill Belisle, Matt Merten

Notable players: Bryan Berard, Brian Boucher, Keith Carney, Paul Guay, Jeff Jillson, Brian Lawton, Mathieu Schneider, Garth Snow

Bottom line: You can put the Mount Saint Charles Academy hockey program up against any great high school sports dynasty in the country, regardless of sport.

Mount Saint Charles won 26 consecutive state championships from 1978 to 2003 and has seen 20 of its former players drafted into the NHL, including a pair of No. 1 overall picks in Brian Lawton and Bryan Berard, with Lawton becoming the first American-born No. 1 pick in NHL history. The program was also the subject of a book, “Pride on the Mount,” by John Gilooly and the critically acclaimed 2006 documentary, “Ice Kings,” by filmmaker Craig Shapiro.

Former head coach Bill Belisle coached the team from 1975 to 2019, won 32 state championships and oversaw the prep careers of all 20 draft picks. Belisle, a 1948 Mount Saint Charles graduate, died in January 2022 at 92 years old.