Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League

The Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League (WWCHL) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association Women's Division 1 club level hockey-only college athletic conference for women's hockey teams. It is one of three ACHA Women's Division 1 conferences, along with the Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association and the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League. The league has a large footprint spreading across the western and midwestern United States, featuring members in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Among the nine current members, both Minnesota (2013) and Wisconsin (2002 and 2004) won ACHA national championships prior to joining the WWCHL, while Colorado and Colorado State also have lengthy histories pre-dating the conference's creation. The rest of the league roster, however, consists of newer programs, largely in emerging hockey locales. Denver, Lindenwood–Belleville and Midland all began play, as the WWCHL itself did, for the 2014–15 season. Arizona State started its program in 2016–17 while Grand Canyon, the newest WWCHL team, did so in 2017–18.
==Current membership==
Institution 	Location 	Nickname 	Founded	Type 	Enrollment	Colors 	Primary Facility
Arizona State University 	Tempe, Arizona 	Sun Devils 	1885 	Public 	51,869 	Maroon and Gold  	Oceanside Ice Arena
University of Colorado 	Boulder, Colorado 	Buffaloes 	1876 	Public 	32,201 	Silver, Black and Gold 	CU Recreation Center
Colorado State University	Fort Collins, Colorado	Rams 	1870 	Public 	33,198 	Green and Gold  	Edora Pool Ice Center
University of Denver 	Denver, Colorado 	Pioneers 	1864 	Private 	11,614 	Crimson and Gold  	Joy Burns Ice Arena
Grand Canyon University 	Phoenix, Arizona 	Antelopes 	1949 	Private/Christian	19,500 	Purple, Black and White  	AZ Ice Peoria
Midland University 	Fremont, Nebraska 	Warriors 	1883 	Private/Lutheran 	1,300 	Navy Blue and Orange  	Sidner Ice Arena
University of Minnesota 	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Golden Gophers	1851 	Public 	48,231 	Maroon and Gold  	Mariucci Arena
== Playoff championship game results ==
Year	Champion 	Score 	Runner-Up 	Location
2015	Minnesota 	3–2 (OT)	Colorado State	Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
2016	Lindenwood–Belleville	2–1 	Colorado 	Boulder, Colorado
2017	Minnesota 	2–1 	Colorado 	Tempe, Arizona
2018	Colorado 	5–2 	Minnesota 	Fremont, Nebraska
===Regular season champions===
*2014–15 Colorado State
*2015–16 Lindenwood–Belleville
*2016–17 Lindenwood–Belleville
*2017–18 Colorado
*2018–19 Colorado
==ACHA National Tournament appearances==
Appearances made while a WWCHL member.
School 	Appearances	Years 	Championships
Lindenwood–Belleville	3 	2016, 2017, 2018	None
Minnesota 	3 	2015, 2017, 2018	None
Colorado 	1 	2018 	None
==World University Games selections==
Since 2011, the American Collegiate Hockey Association has supplied players for the United States team at the World University Games women's hockey tournament, held biennially and as part of the multi-sport event for college and university student-athletes.
Year	Location 	Player 	School 	Result
2015	Granada, Spain 	Molly O'Neil 	Colorado State 	Fifth Place
2015	Granada, Spain 	Whitney Thomas 	Colorado 	Fifth Place
2017	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Jordan Anderson	Minnesota 	Bronze Medal
2017	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Kathleen Ash 	Colorado 	Bronze Medal
2017	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Alexandra Brown	Lindenwood–Belleville	Bronze Medal
2017	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Leah MacArthur 	Colorado 	Bronze Medal
2017	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Lyndsay Oden 	Minnesota 	Bronze Medal
2017	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Becca Senden 	Minnesota 	Bronze Medal
2017	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Livia Twohig 	Minnesota 	Bronze Medal
==Notable ACHA award winners==
Year 	Winner 	School 	Award
2014–15	Kelsey Brown 	Colorado 	Community Playmaker
2014–15	Emera Danos 	Colorado 	Off-Ice Most Valuable Player
2015–16	Katherine Hannah	Lindenwood–Belleville	Coach of the Year
==See also==
*American Collegiate Hockey Association
*Lindenwood–Belleville Lynx women's ice hockey
*List of ice hockey leagues
==External links==
*Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League
*Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League Facebook page
*Arizona State Women's Hockey
*Colorado Women's Hockey
*Colorado State Women's Hockey
*Denver Women's Hockey
*Grand Canyon Women's Hockey
*Lindenwood–Belleville Women's Hockey
*Midland Women's Hockey
*Minnesota Women's Club Hockey Facebook page
==References==
Category:ACHA Division 1 conferences
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