SYLVANIA — A few years back, there was a debate in the Northwest Hockey Conference about letting Perrysburg and Anthony Wayne into the Red Division.

Both programs have since proven they belong, and the Yellow Jackets upped their game even further Friday, defeating perennial state powerhouse Northview, 2-1, for the first time in school history.

Northview, which was tied with Bowling Green for the 10th spot in the latest state coaches’ rankings, has been to the state final four 12 times, including two state championships and five state runners-up finishes.

“Northview has a long and storied history as a premiere program in Ohio, so beating them for the first time in school history is huge,” Perrysburg coach Kevin Fisher said.

“We got contributions from every single player tonight. Very proud of the boys,” Fisher continued. “We were hard to play against and when you do that, you put yourself in a position to win.”

In the seven-team NHC Red Division, Perrysburg moves into fourth place at 4-3. The Yellow Jackets are 15-10-2 overall.

The Wildcats, which have wins over the top two ranked teams in the state, Cleveland St. Ignatius and defending state champion Toledo St. Francis this season, fall to 10-15-3 overall and 3-5-1 in the NHC Red.

At Tam-O-Shanter’s Durocher Rink, the Yellow Jackets and Wildcats fought a scoreless battle through two periods.

Perrysburg broke through first as Gunnar Daler scored on an assist from Ryan Butler early in the third period.

Less than five minutes later, Mackeane Hanley scored in a scrum off a Cody Schneider assist, putting the Jackets up 2-0.

With less than five minutes remaining, Northview’s Tryston Harrell scored, so it was up to the Yellow Jackets defense and goaltender Sam Yonker at that point.

“Sam Yonker stood tall in net, fending off wave after wave of Northview pressure to make the Hanley goal stand up as the game winner,” Fisher said.