Western Women's Hockey League
| Sport | Ice Hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Official website | WWHL |
The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) is one of two major women's hockey leagues in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former National Women's Hockey League teams) and one from the United States. The league office was in Vancouver, British Columbia and managed by Recreation Sports Management.
History
On July 13, 2006, the National Women's Hockey League announced it would absorb the WWHL's teams into its new West division. However, scheduling conflicts between the 2007 Women's World Championships and the WWHL championship game saw the Merger collapse.
In 2007, Hockey Canada announced it would revamp the Esso Women's Nationals, with the WWHL champion and finalist meeting the Canadian Women's Hockey League champion and finalist.[1] Since 2009, teams from the two leagues instead compete for the Clarkson Cup at the end of the season.
In 2010, the WWHL champion Minnesota Whitecaps won the Clarkson Cup tournament, defeating three rivals from the Canadian Women's Hockey League.
The Canadian Women's Hockey League announced on April 19, 2011, that it would merge with the Western Women's Hockey League for the 2011-12 season. The merger would feature one team based in Edmonton and Calgary and would be combination of the former WWHL franchises the Edmonton Chimos and Strathmore Rockies. The team would play their games in various locations around Alberta.[2]
However, the WWHL was never folded properly, or at all. The WWHL Executive committee promptly accepted the resignations of the owners of the Strathmore Rockies and Edmonton Chimos at their AGM meeting in Minneapolis MN on August 19, 2011. The former president of the WWHL also stepped down at that time. New board members were elected and the league began a series of monthly board meetings to develop their 2011-12 season and their strategic plan as sanctioned by Hockey Alberta. The Minnesota Whitecaps and the Manitoba Maple Leafs continue to be active teams and are playing a number of exhibition games as the league expands to include several new teams.
In 2012, the relations between the LCHF and the WWHL are tightened: The Director-manager of the Minnesota Whitecaps accusing the Canadian Women's Hockey League of closing deliberately a possible participation of Whitecaps in the tournament of the next Clarkson Cup.[3] The WWHL, as for her, plans an expansion towards Toronto for the season 2012-13.[4]
WWHL Franchises
| Team | City | Home Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Manitoba Maple Leafs | Winnipeg, Manitoba | MTS Iceplex |
| Minnesota Whitecaps | Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area | No regular arena, home games played throughout Minnesota as their marketing effort to bring the game to the girls |
During the 2011-12 season, Manitoba Maple Leafs and Minnesota Whitecaps shall play friendly matches against differents teams of the NCAA.
Championship
The champion of the WWHL is given the WWHL Champions cup.
A list of WWHL winners (winner is in bold):
- 2010-11 - Minnesota Whitecaps
- 2009-10 - Minnesota Whitecaps vs. Strathmore Rockies
- 2008-09 - Minnesota Whitecaps vs. Calgary Oval X-Treme
- 2007-08 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Minnesota Whitecaps
- 2006-07 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Minnesota Whitecaps
- 2005-06 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Minnesota Whitecaps in Lumsden, Saskatchewan
- 2004-05 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Edmonton Chimos in Calgary, Alberta
Former teams
| Team | City | Home Arena | Existed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia Breakers | Langley, British Columbia | 2004-09 | Stopped its activities at the height of the season 2008-2009. After the difficult season of rebuilding in 2007-2008 the new owners of the team were not capable of correcting the financial situation of the team.[5] | |
| Calgary Oval X-Treme | Calgary, Alberta | Olympic Oval | 2003-09 | |
| Edmonton Chimos | Edmonton, Alberta | River Cree Twin Arenas | 2003-11 | |
| Saskatchewan Prairie Ice | Lumsden, Saskatchewan | Lumsden Arena | 2003-07 | |
| Strathmore Rockies | Strathmore, Alberta | Strathmore Family Center Arena | 2006-11 |
The Chinese national women's team also played an exhibition schedule against WWHL teams in the 2007-08 season with points counting in league standings.
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.thestar.com/article/261338
- ↑ Chimos Part of Merger With CWHL
- ↑ (English) Minnesota Whitecaps cry foul on exclusion from Canadian Women's Hockey League
- ↑ Minnesota Whitecaps cry foul on exclusion from Canadian Women's Hockey League
- ↑ Kristi Patton,BC Breakers suspended Strathmore to Host WWHL Final Instead,http://www.albertahockey.com/story/15/Female%20Hockey/3118/BC_Breakers_suspended;_Strathmore_to_Host_WWHL_Final_Instead.aspx
External links
WWHL teams websites
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