Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association
| Association | ACHA |
|---|---|
| Commissioner | Ryan Donovan (04-Present) |
| Sports fielded | |
| Division | Division II |
| Region | Upper Midwest |
| Official website | WCCHA website |
| Locations | |
 | |
The Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association (WCCHA) is a conference of men's club ice hockey teams from the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) competing at the Division II level. The participating teams come from colleges and universities in the Upper Midwest, including Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Each season, teams in the conference play two games against every other team that count towards the conference standings. The overall standings are used to seed the teams for the conference tournament, which is held each year in mid-February to determine the WCCHA champion.
Teams
| Institution | Location | Joined league | WCCHA titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 2003 | 4 |
| Minnesota State | Mankato, Minnesota | 2003, 2015 | 2 |
| North Dakota State University | Fargo, North Dakota | 2014 | 0 |
| University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, North Dakota | 2015 | 0 |
| St. Cloud State University | St. Cloud, Minnesota | 2003 | 3 |
| St. Thomas | St. Paul, Minnesota | 2006 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | Madison, Wisconsin | 2009 | 0 |
| Wisconsin-Eau Claire | Eau Claire, Wisconsin | 2013 | 1 |
Past member teams
- Michigan Technological University (2003-11)
- Northern Michigan University (2011–14)
- St. Olaf College (2007-10)
- University of Minnesota-Duluth (2003-05; 2010–14)^
- Waldorf College (2012–14)
^ = 2012-13 WCCHA champions
History
The Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association was formed in March 2003 at the initial league meeting at Coffman Memorial Union on the campus of the Minnesota-Minneapolis. The five original members were Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State.
Past Champions
| Season | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2003-04 | Minnesota |
| 2004-05 | Minnesota State, Mankato |
| 2005-06 | Minnesota |
| 2006-07 | St. Cloud State |
| 2007-08 | Minnesota |
| 2008-09 | Minnesota State, Mankato |
| 2009-10 | St. Cloud State |
| 2010-11 | Minnesota |
| 2011-12 | St. Cloud State |
| 2012-13 | Minnesota-Duluth |
| 2013-14 | St. Thomas |
| 2014-15 | UW-Eau Claire |
WCCHA at Regionals
Since regional play began, the WCCHA has been represented at the Central Regional Tournament six times. Regional winners move on to play in the ACHA National Tournament. In 2006-07 Minnesota State became the first conference team to qualify.
St. Thomas qualified for three straight seasons from 2008-10. In 2008-09 the Tommies advanced to the Regional final, but lost.
In 2010-11 and 2011-12 St. Cloud State qualified.
Northern Michigan qualified in 2012-13, falling in overtime 1-0 to eventual Division II National Champion Michigan State.[1]
In 2013-14, Waldorf College qualified for regionals, losing 8-1 to Illinois State.
References
- ^ "2013 Men's Division 2 National Champions". ACHA. 19 March 2013.