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 a 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 governing body for organized ice hockey in the United S ...

. 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 50th season of operation in 2024–25. 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 league based in Montana and Wyoming. The league was a member of USA Hockey and was founded in 2011. The AWHL merged into the NA3HL in March 2014. History The AW ...

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 previousl ...

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 run by Gallatin Ice Foundation located ...

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 ...

, 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 Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, ...

as the Frontier Division.

Teams

– (

Billings, MT Billings is the most populous 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 ...

) 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 battlesh ...

– (

Bismarck, ND Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The population was 73,622 at the 2020 census, and was ...

) 1993–94

Bismarck Bobcats The Bismarck Bobcats are a junior ice hockey#Tier II, 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 Amer ...

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

– (

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

) 1996–2003; merged into NAHL
Butte Irish – (

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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), 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 ...

– ( Belton, TX) 2002–03; merged into NAHL
Central Wyoming Outlaws – (

Casper, WY Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

) 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, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 census put the popu ...

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

Fernie Ghostriders The Fernie Ghostriders are a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Fernie, British Columbia, Fernie, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay Internationa ...

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

KIJHL The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) is a junior ice hockey league in British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of the Teck Cup competes with the champions of the Pacific Junior Hock ...

; merged into NAHL

– (

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

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

– ( Helena, MT) 2001–03; merged into NAHL
Helena Gold Rush – (Helena, MT) 1994–2000; known as Helena Ice Pirates from 1994–99
Jackson Hole Grizzlies – (

Jackson, WY Jackson is a resort town in Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 10,760 at the 2020 census, up from 9,577 in 2010. It is Teton County's only incorporated municipality and county seat, and it is the largest incorporated town i ...

) 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 – (

Chandler, AZ Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the fourth-most populous city in Arizona, after Mesa, Tucson, and Phoenix. Chandler is considered t ...

) 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 ...

used for 12 interleague games to fill out the South Division schedule
Pikes Peak Miners – (

Colorado Springs, CO Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

) 1993–94
Pueblo Venom – (

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

) 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 Le ...

– (

Tupelo, MS Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the 2020 census. It is the 7th-most populous city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, a ...

) 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 numer ...

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

Wichita Falls, TX Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat 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 to ...

) 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