The St. Francis de Sales hockey program has become a model of consistency over the last decade, and the Knights look like they are the team to beat once again in northwest Ohio.

St. Francis has won five of the last 10 district titles and then reached the state title game three times. The Knights won it all in 2011 and then again in 2015.

St. Francis also has won three straight Northwest Hockey Conference Red Division titles and has been tabbed as the favorite to claim a fourth in a row.

The Knights received four of the five first-place votes in a preseason coaches poll. Northview earned the other first-place vote and is picked to finish second in the NHC's upper-tier division. The Wildcats last won the NHC title in 2012.

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