Hall-Dale, Maranacook and Winthrop high schools will field a cooperative hockey team that will compete in Class A this season.

The Maine Principals Association recently approved the merger, which will shake up Class A and B hockey.

Hall-Dale and Winthrop were a co-op team last year, as were Maranacook and Monmouth Academy. Both teams competed in Western Class B.

"I don't know if our program would've survived if the MPA didn't approve this," Hall-Dale athletic director Tim Johnson said. "For us, it was the survival of the program."