The America West Hockey League (AWHL) was a Tier II Junior A ice hockey league. The AWHL was formed in 1992 to offer junior ice hockey to the Rocky Mountain region of

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

. It originally was called the American Frontier Hockey League (AFHL), and the name change to AWHL came in 1998. The AWHL merged with the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

in 2003 and after the merger, the NAHL name was kept. In the Summer of 2011, a new league called the

American West Hockey League The American West Hockey League (AWHL) was an American Tier III Junior ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It be ...

was formed in the same region as the former AWHL operating as a Tier III league. The new AWHL featured 6 teams, including the former AWHL teams

Billings Bulls The Billings Bulls were a junior ice hockey organization based in Billings, Montana. They most recently played home games at the 550-seat Centennial Ice Arena and due to the arena's small size, the Bulls frequently sold out games. They previously ...

Bozeman Icedogs The Bozeman Icedogs are a Tier III Junior ice hockey team located in Bozeman, Montana. The team is a member of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The Icedogs play home games at the Haynes Pavilion located at the Gallatin County Fairgr ...

Great Falls Americans The Great Falls Americans are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey team from Great Falls, Montana, playing at the Great Falls IcePlex in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status u ...

, and

Helena Bighorns The Helena Bighorns are a Junior A ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) based in Helena, Montana United States. The team plays their home games at the 1,600-seat Helena Ice Arena. The Bighorns were members of the NorPa ...

. The new AWHL would later be merged into the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Junior ice hockey#Tier III, Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, M ...

as the Frontier Division.

Teams

– (

Billings, MT Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

) 1993–2003; merged into NAHL

Bismarck Bullets Bismarck most often refers to: * Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), Prussian statesman and first Chancellor of Germany * Bismarck, North Dakota, the capital of North Dakota, U.S. * German battleship ''Bismarck'', a 1939 German World War II battle ...

– (

Bismarck, ND Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

) 1993–94

Bismarck Bobcats The Bismarck Bobcats are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's (NAHL) Central Division, and play out of Bismarck, North Dakota, in the V.F.W. Sports Center. Originally a part of the American Frontier Hockey Leag ...

– (Bismarck, ND) 1997–2003; merged into NAHL

– (

Bozeman, MT Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

) 1996–2003; merged into NAHL

Butte Irish The Wichita Falls Wildcats were a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The Wildcats played out of the 7,380-seat Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. After failing to find a buyer, the Wild ...

– (

Butte, MT Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

) 1996–2002; relocated to Wichita Falls as the Rustlers
Central Texas Blackhawks – (

Belton, TX Belton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas on the Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and Waco. Belton is the county seat of Bell County and is the fifth largest city in the Killeen-Temple metropolitan area. In 2020, the population of Belton ...

) 2002–03; merged into NAHL

Central Wyoming Outlaws Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

– (

Casper, WY Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

) 1993–98; known as Casper Outlaws from 1993–95

Fairbanks Ice Dogs The Fairbanks Ice Dogs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. The Ice Dogs play home games at the 2,200-seat Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, Alaska. History Originally started in 1997 ...

– (

Fairbanks, AK Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...

) 2000–03; joined from NorPac; merged into NAHL

Fernie Ghostriders The Fernie Ghostriders are a junior 'B' ice hockey team based in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). The Ghostri ...

– ( Fernie, BC) 1999–2003; joined from

KIJHL The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior "B" Ice Hockey league in British Columbia, Canada sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of the Teck Resources, Teck Cup competes with the champions of the ...

; merged into NAHL

– (

Great Falls, MT Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers ...

) 1994–2003; known as Kings Americans 1994–95

– (

Helena, MT Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...

) 2001–03; merged into NAHL

Helena Gold Rush Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

– (Helena, MT) 1994–2000; known as Helena Ice Pirates from 1994–99

Jackson Hole Grizzlies Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

– (

Jackson, WY Jackson is a town in Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 10,760 at the 2020 census, up from 9,577 in 2010. It is the largest town in Teton County and its county seat. Jackson is the principal town of the Jackson, WY-ID Micro ...

) 1993–97
Kimberley Dynamiters – ( Kimberley, BC) 1999–2001; joined from and later returned to KIJHL
Minot Muskies – (

Minot, ND Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

) 2000–01

Phoenix Polar Bears The Phoenix Polar Bears were a USA Hockey-sanctioned Junior A Tier III ice hockey team based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Their host facility was the Desert Schools Coyotes Center in Chandler, Arizona. The Polar Bears were a member of the Western Stat ...

– (

Chandler, AZ Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

) 2002–03; a member of the

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 199 ...

used for 12 interleague games to fill out the South Division schedule

Pikes Peak Miners Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

– (

Colorado Springs, CO Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

) 1993–94
Pueblo Venom – (

Pueblo, CO Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most populo ...

) 1993–95; known as Pueblo Flames in 1993–94

Tupelo T-Rex The Tupelo T-Rex was a professional ice hockey team in the Western Professional Hockey League and played their home games at BancorpSouth Center from 1998 to 2001. The owners of the T-Rex also fielded a junior team in the America West Hockey Leag ...

– (

Tupelo, MS Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North M ...

) 2001–03
Vail Avalanche – (

Vail, CO Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numero ...

) 1993–96; relocated to Butte as the Irish
Wichita Falls Rustlers – (

Wichita Falls, TX Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. According ...

) 2002–03; merged into NAHL

Expansion

References

External links

Info on the AWHL
Defunct junior ice hockey leagues in the United States 1992 establishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1992 Sports leagues disestablished in 2003 2003 disestablishments in the United States {{US-sport-stub