The American West Hockey League (AWHL) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Tier III junior ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 league based in Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 and Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

. The league is a member of USA Hockey

USA Hockey

USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...

 and was founded in 2011.

History

The AWHL was formed in the Summer of 2011 by teams breaking away from the Northern Pacific Hockey League

Northern Pacific Hockey League

The Northern Pacific Hockey League is an American Tier III Junior A ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy is the Cascade Cup.-Current teams:-Suspended teams:...

. The league shares a similar area as the America West Hockey League that merged into the North American Hockey League

North American Hockey League

The North American Hockey League is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is enterting its 36th season in 2011-12. It is currently the only Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NAHL currently acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League...

 in 2003. Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, and Helena all originated in the old AWHL and now appear in the current AWHL.

Current teams

Team	Joined	City	Arena
Billings Bulls Billings Bulls The Billings Bulls are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team currently playing in the American West Hockey League. The Bulls are based in Billings, Montana and play home games at the 550-seat Centennial Ice Arena, due to the size, the Bulls frequently sell out games and broadcast their games on...	2011	Billings, MT	Centennial Ice Arena
Bozeman Icedogs Bozeman Icedogs The Bozeman Icedogs are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team located in Bozeman, Montana. The team is a member of the American West Hockey League . The Icedogs play home games at the Haynes Pavilion located at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds....	2011	Bozeman, MT	Haynes Pavilion
Gillette Wild	2011	Gillette, WY	Campbell County Ice Arena
Great Falls Americans Great Falls Americans The Great Falls Americans were a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League who played in the 1979–80 WHL season. The team was originally the Edmonton Oil Kings. They played at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Montana. The team only lasted 28 games and won two games...	2011	Great Falls, MT	Great Falls IcePlex
Helena Bighorns Helena Bighorns The Helena Bighorns is a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team in the American West Hockey League based in Helena, Montana USA. The team plays their home games at the 1,600-seat Helena Ice Arena...	2011	Helena, MT	Helena Ice Arena
Missoula Maulers Missoula Maulers The Missoula Maulers are an USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Jr. A ice hockey team from Missoula, Montana. The 2007-08 season is their inaugural as an expansion team. They play out of Missoula's Glacier Ice Rink. Michael Burks, President and Cory J. Miller, General Manager are the club's principal...	2011	Missoula, MT	Glacier Ice Rink Glacier Ice Rink The Glacier Ice Rink is located in Missoula, Montana and is home to the Missoula Maulers. It is open from August 1st to May 31st. It can hold more than 2,000 spectators during the games for the Missoula Maulers, and its top seating is around 2,500. It hosts the Missoula Maulers, the Missoula Figure...