2018-19 WSHL season

This is the 2018-19 Western States Hockey League season.  This is the league's 25th season.
==Membership Changes==
*During the 2018 off season the Casper Coyotes sold and renamed while staying in the same arena.  The would be renamed the Casper Bobcats.
*The West Sound Warriors folded and were replaced by the West Sound Admirals.
*The Superior Roughriders and the Springfield Express both folded quietly during the off-season.
*The Idaho IceCats suspended operations on June 14th due to declining attendance,the resignation of head coach John Olver stepping down to pursue other interests in hockey, and ownership burn-out after nine years.
*The Colorado Jr. Eagles announced on June 6, 2018 that they would be moving to  Greeley, Colorado and would be renamed the Northern Colorado Eagles.  The team would end up in the Midwest Division when the divisions were made but ended up back in the Mountain Division when the schedule was made
*The Steamboat Wranglers of the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League joined the WSHL in May of 2018 as rumors of that league's demise get louder.  teh RMJHL would finally fold on May 22, 2018.
*The Phoenix Knights withdrew from the league in July of 2018 after their head coach left to become an assistant coach for the Maine Black Bears of NCAA Division I Hockey East. The team was unable to find a new head coach in time to recruit for the 2018-19 season and subsequently withdrew.https://www.phoenixknightshockey.com/news_article/show/936903
*After originally being announced as a stand alone league, the teams that had joined the  Western Provinces Hockey Association formed the Provincial Division of the WSHL (Cold Lake Wings, Edson Aeros, Hinton Wildcats, and Meadow Lake Mustangs)  That league had also announced two additional teams, the Maskwacis Attack and the Slave Lake Dragons, both of which appeared to have folded prior to the schedule being released in mid-August.
*The Tahoe Icemen filed for domancy on September 10, 2018 reportedly due to issues with the ice making plant at their arena.http://www.wshl.org/news/tahoe-ice-men-applied-for-dormancy-for-the-2018-20
==Teams==
Division 	Team 	City 	Arena 	Joined
Midwest 	 	 	 	
Midwest 	Dallas Snipers 	Plano, Texas 	Plano Star Center 	2011
Midwest 	El Paso Rhinos 	El Paso, Texas 	Sierra Providence Event Center 	2006
Midwest 	Northern Colorado Eagles	Greeley, Colorado 	Greeley Ice Haus 	2013
Midwest 	Oklahoma City Blazers 	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 	Arctic Edge Ice Arena 	2014
Midwest 	Wichita Jr. Thunder 	Wichita, Kansas 	Wichita Ice Center 	2012
Mountain 	 	 	 	
Mountain 	Casper Bobcats 	Casper, Wyoming 	Casper Ice Arena 	2014
Mountain 	Cheyenne Stampede 	Cheyenne, Wyoming 	Cheyenne Ice and Events Center 	2004
Mountain 	Ogden Mustangs 	Ogden, Utah 	The Ice Sheet 	2002
Mountain 	Steamboat Wranglers 	Steamboat Springs, Colorado 	Howelsen Arena 	2015
Mountain 	Utah Outliers 	West Valley City, Utah 	Acord Ice Center 	2011
Western 	 	 	 	
Western 	Fresno Monsters 	Fresno, California 	Gateway Ice Center 	2009
Western 	Long Beach Bombers 	Lakewood, California 	Lakewood Ice 	1994
Western 	Ontario Avalanche 	Ontario, California 	The Center Ice Arena 	2012
Western 	San Diego Sabers 	Escondido, California 	Iceoplex Escondido 	2001
Western 	Valencia Flyers 	Valencia, California 	Ice Station Valencia 	2001
Northwest	Bellingham Blazers 	Bellingham, Washington 	Bellingham Sportsplex 	2016
Northwest	Seattle Totems 	Mountlake Terrace, Washington	Olympic View Arena 	2012
Northwest	Southern Oregon Spartans	Medford, Oregon 	The RRRink 	2012
Northwest	West Sound Admirals 	Bremerton, Washington 	Bremerton Ice Center 	2018
Provinces	 	 	 	
Provinces	Cold Lake Wings 	Cold Lake, Alberta 	Imperial Oil Place at Cold Lake Energy Centre	2018
Provinces	Edson Aeros 	Edson, Alberta 	Repsol Place 	2018
Provinces	Hinton Wildcats 	Hinton, Alberta 	Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre 	2018
Provinces	Meadow Lake Mustangs 	Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan 	Meadow Lake & District Arena 	2018
===Withdrew after schedule written===
Team 	City 	Arena 	Joined
Tahoe Icemen	South Lake Tahoe, California	South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena	2012
==Standings==
===Midwest Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OW	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
El Paso Rhinos 	51	37	8 	3 	3 	284	101	120
Oklahoma City Blazers 	50	37	10	2 	1 	256	112	116
Northern Colorado Eagles	50	28	19	1 	2 	209	149	88
Dallas Snipers 	51	22	26	1 	2 	202	228	70
Wichita Jr. Thunder 	51	13	35	1 	2 	144	335	43
===Mountain Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OW	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Ogden Mustangs 	51	47	2 	0 	2 	341	86 	143
Utah Outliers 	51	33	15	2 	1 	275	112	104
Casper Bobcats 	51	16	34	1 	0 	145	111	50
Steamboat Wranglers	51	8 	40	1 	2 	147	176	28
Cheyenne Stampede 	51	7 	40	2 	2 	110	209	27
===Western Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OW	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Long Beach Bombers	51	35	8 	6 	2 	262	137	119
Fresno Monsters 	51	31	16	3 	1 	227	172	100
San Diego Sabers 	51	17	27	4 	3 	187	228	62
Ontario Avalanche 	51	17	28	3 	3 	183	227	60
Valencia Flyers 	51	13	30	2 	6 	194	259	49
===Northwest Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OW	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Seattle Totems 	51	34	14	1 	2 	285	194	106
Bellingham Blazers 	51	34	14	0 	3 	281	153	105
Southern Oregon Spartans	51	18	29	2 	2 	214	216	60
West Sound Admirals 	51	7 	42	2 	0 	159	390	25
===Provinces Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OW	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Edson Aeros 	45	37	6 	1 	1 	316	117	114
Hinton Wildcats 	45	23	19	1 	2 	196	177	73
Meadow Lake Mustangs	45	14	30	1 	0 	166	318	44
Cold Lake Wings 	45	4 	37	2 	2 	136	305	18
==Thorne Cup Playoffs==
Due to the change in size of a couple of divisions and the addition of a new division, the format is yet to be determined
The 2019 Thorne Cup Finals will be held in Ogden, Utah hosted by the Ogden Mustangs.
===Division Quarterfinals===
====Midwest Division====
*Dallas Snipers defeated Wichita Jr. Thunder 2 games to none
====Western Division====
*Ontario Avalanche defeated Valencia Flyers 2 games to none
===Division Semifinals===
====Midwest Division====
*El Paso Rhinos defeated Dallas Snipers 2 games to none
*Oklahoma City Blazers defeated Northern Colorado Eagles 2 games to 1
====Mountain Division====
*Utah Outliers defeated Casper Bobcats 2 games to none
*Ogden Mustangs defeated Steamboat Wranglers 2 games to none
====Western Division====
*Long Beach Bombers defeated Ontario Avalanche 2 games to none
*Fresno Monsters defeated San Diego Sabers 2 games to none
====Northwest Division====
*Bellingham Blazers defeated Southern Oregon Spartans 2 games to none
====Provinces Division====
*Edson Aeros defeated Cold Lake Wings 2 games to none
*Hinton Wildcats defeated Meadow Lake Mustangs 2 games to 1
===Division Finals===
====Midwest Division====
*El Paso Rhinos defeated Oklahoma City Blazers 2 games to none
====Mountain Division====
*Ogden Mustangs defeated Utah Outliers 2 games to 1
====Western Division====
*Long Beach Bombers defeated Fresno Monsters 2 games to 1
====Northwest Division====
*Bellingham Blazers defeated Seattle Totems 2 games to 1
====Provinces Division====
*Edson Aeros defeated Hinton Wildcats 2 games to none
==Thorne Cup==
The five division champions and the host team (Ogden Mustangs) (or the highest remaining seed in the division finals if the host team wins their division) qualify for the Thorne Cup.
===Qualifying Teams===
seed in parenthesis
*Host/Mountain Division Champions: Ogden Mustangs (#1)
*Midwest Divison Champions: El Paso Rhinos (#4)
*Western Divsion Champions: Long Beach Bombers (#3)
*Northwest Division Champions: Bellingham Blazers (#5)
*Provinces Division Champions: Edson Aeros (#2)
*Highest seeded Division Final loser (since Ogden won division): Oklahoma City Blazers (#6)
===Format===
The teams are put into two tiers. Tier I is made up of seeds 1,3, and 5 while Tier II is made up of seeds 2,4, and 6. The teams from one tier plays the three teams from the other tier. They are put in one overall standings table with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals.
===Schedule/Results===
April 9
*El Paso Rhinos defeated Bellingham Blazers 6-0
*Edson Aeros defeated Long Beach Bombers 6-1
*Ogden Mustangs defeated Oklahoma City Blazers 4-2
April 10
*Oklahoma City Blazers defeated Bellingham Blazers 6-4
*El Paso Rhinos defeated Long Beach Bombers 4-2
*Ogden Mustangs defeated Edson Aeros 4-1
April 11
*Oklahoma City Blazers defeated Long Beach Bombers 6-1
*Edson Aeros defeated Bellingham Blazers 6-1
*El Paso Rhinos defeated Ogden Mustangs 3-2 (ot)
===Round Robin Standings===
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts	Rank
El Paso Rhinos 	3 	3	0	0 	13	4 	6 	1st
Ogden Mustangs 	3 	2	0	1 	10	6 	5 	2nd
Edson Aeros 	3 	2	1	0 	13	6 	4 	3rd
Oklahoma City Blazers	3 	2	1	0 	14	9 	4 	4th
Long Beach Bombers 	3 	0	3	0 	4 	16	0 	5th
Bellingham Blazers 	3 	0	3	0 	5 	18	0 	6th
===Semifinals===
April 12
*El Paso Rhinos defeated Oklahoma City Blazers 7-2
*Ogden Mustangs defeated Edson Aeros 7-0
===Final===
April 13
*El Paso Rhinos defeated Ogden Mustangs 2-0
==References==
Category:2019 in hockey
Category:WSHL seasons