The Ontario Women's Hockey League U22 Elite (OWHL), formerly the Provincial Women's Hockey League, is a women's

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

league in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. Founded in 2004, it is considered to be the highest level of amateur women's ice hockey in Ontario, and is sanctioned by

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 ...

and the Ontario Women's Hockey Association. OWHL alumni have gone on to play in the

Professional Women's Hockey League The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL; , LPHF) is a women's professional ice hockey league in North America. The league comprises eight teams, four each from the United States and Canada. The teams play a Season (sports), regular season ...

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

, and

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

, and for the Canadian national team.

History

The league was founded in 2004 as the Provincial Women's Hockey League by the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA). It is the women's equivalent to men's

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

, but is officially classified by the OWHA as "Intermediate AA," as the OWHA does not have an official "junior" classification system. Despite this, its teams market themselves as women's junior hockey. In the early years of the league, when PWHL teams had to compete for OWHA provincials they would do so with representatives of the

Ottawa District The Ottawa District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was created in 1816 by splitting the counties of Prescott and Russell from the Eastern District. The district town was L'Orignal. In 1838 Gloucester ...

. The PWHL franchises proved much more competitive than their Ottawa counterparts and after two seasons Ottawa applied to and joined the PWHL. By the 2009 league playoffs, the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

beat the league powerhouse Toronto Jr. Aeros to win its first league championship. In the 2019–20 season, the playoffs were cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The following season was not played due to coronavirus-related restrictions. At some point following the pandemic, the league was renamed to the Ontario Women's Hockey League (OWHL).

Teams

Defunct franchises

* Chatham Outlaws (2004–2006) * Hamilton Hawks (2004–2011) * Markham-Stouffville Stars (2004–2009)

Champions

Championships by year

Championships by team

"Triple Crown" winners

Two teams have won the regular season, league championship, and provincial championship in the same season. The first to do it was the Toronto Jr. Aeros, accomplishing the feat back-to-back in the league's first two seasons. * 2005 Toronto Jr. Aeros * 2006 Toronto Jr. Aeros * 2017 Oakville Jr. Hornets * 2018 Toronto Jr. Aeros

Awards

Regular Season champions

Scoring champion

Goaltending Award

Coach of the Year

Christie Rose Scholarship

For ten years, the PWHL awarded a scholarship in memory of former PWHL player Christie Rose. She was an 18-year-old young woman who died on June 24, 2008, as a result of her injuries suffered in a car accident. The scholarship is awarded on an annual basis to recognize a young woman who shares the same qualities and characteristics as Christie. The scholarship program was ended after it awarded its tenth recipient.

Recipients

References

External links

Provincial Women's Hockey League Website

Ontario Womens Hockey Association Website
{{Women's ice hockey leagues in North America 4 Ice hockey leagues in Ontario Amateur ice hockey 2004 establishments in Ontario