The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) was a women's hockey league in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The league was established in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former

National Women's Hockey League The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and ha ...

teams) and one from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The league office was in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and managed by Recreation Sports Management.

History

On July 13,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, the

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 Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

announced it would revamp the

Esso Women's Nationals The Esso Women's Nationals was the Canadian women's senior ice hockey championship from 1982 to 2008. The winners of the event received the Abby Hoffman Cup. The second place team was awarded the Fran Rider Cup, while the third place was given t ...

, with the WWHL champion and finalist meeting the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...

(CWHL) champion and finalist. Since 2009, teams from the two leagues instead compete for the

Clarkson Cup The Clarkson Cup (french: La Coupe Clarkson) is a women's ice hockey trophy, which from 2009 to 2019 was awarded to the winner of the Canadian Women's Hockey Championship (CWHL champion). With the folding of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CW ...

at the end of the season. In 2010, the WWHL champion Minnesota Whitecaps won the Clarkson Cup tournament, defeating three rivals from the CWHL. The CWHL 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 Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

and would be combination of the former WWHL franchises the

Edmonton Chimos The Edmonton Chimos were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL). The team played its home games at River Cree Twin Arenas in Edmonton, Canada. The Owner was Arlan Maschmayer. History The Chimos ...

and

Strathmore Rockies The Strathmore Rockies were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL). The team played its home games in Strathmore Family Center Arena, in Strathmore, Alberta, Canada. History Their first season in the WWH ...

. The team would play their games in various locations around Alberta. However, the WWHL was never folded properly. The WWHL executive committee accepted the resignations of the owners of the Strathmore Rockies and Edmonton Chimos at their meeting in Minneapolis on August 19, 2011. The 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. In 2012, the relations between the LCHF and the WWHL tightened: the director-manager of the

Minnesota Whitecaps The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...

accused the CWHL of deliberately sabotaging possible participation of Whitecaps in the next

tournament.Minnesota Whitecaps cry foul on exclusion from Canadian Women's Hockey League
/ref> As of 2015, the league website is defunct. The

continue to be an active team as part of the

, and the

Manitoba Maple Leafs The Manitoba Maple Leafs were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL). The team played its home games at the MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg, Canada. History The team joined the WWHL on June 5, 2010. Its team ...

were active as late as 2014.

Championship

The champion of the WWHL is given the WWHL Champions cup. A list of WWHL winners (winner is in bold): * 2004–05 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Edmonton Chimos in Calgary, Alberta * 2005–06 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Minnesota Whitecaps in

Lumsden, Saskatchewan Lumsden is a town in the Qu'Appelle Valley in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, 31 km northwest of the city of Regina. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Lumsden No. 189. The town functions as both a farming community and an un ...

* 2006–07 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Minnesota Whitecaps * 2007–08 - Calgary Oval X-Treme vs. Minnesota Whitecaps * 2008–09 - Minnesota Whitecaps vs. Calgary Oval X-Treme * 2009–10 - Minnesota Whitecaps vs. Strathmore Rockies * 2010–11 - Minnesota Whitecaps

Former teams

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.

References

External links

WWHL website

WWHL teams websites