This is the 2016-17 Western States Hockey League season . This is the league's 23rd season.
Membership Changes On April 28, 2016; the league added the Bellingham Blazers who had previously played in the Northern Pacific Hockey League .
The Missoula Maulers folded in May of 2016 after a dispute with the arena management at the Glacier Ice Rink . Apparently, the North American 3 Hockey League added a team to be based in Missoula that will be called the Missoula Bruins shortly after the team decided to end operations.
On May 31, 2016 the league announced the addition of the Breckenridge Bucks formerly of the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League . The Bucks would later relocate to Vail, Colorado and be renamed the Vail Powder Hounds .
On June 18, 2016 it was announced for the 2016-17 season the Salt Lake City Moose would be renamed the Utah Outliers . The team would continue to play out of the Accord Ice Center in West Valley City . The unusual renaming is apparently from an affiliation with a hockey school in Utah.
In late September, the league shut down the operations of the Whitefish Wolverines . The league did state that they were already working with a new ownership group to bring the team back to the league for the 2017-18 season.
The Colorado Evolution folded in early October 2016.
Teams
Division
Team
City
Arena
Joined
Midwest
Dallas Snipers Euless, Texas Dr. Pepper StarCenter 2011
El Paso Rhinos El Paso, Texas Sierra Providence Event Center 2006
Oklahoma City Blazers Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Blazers Ice Centre 2014
Springfield Express Springfield, Missouri Mediacom Ice Park 2005
Tulsa Jr. Oilers Tulsa, Oklahoma Oilers Ice Center 2012
Wichita Jr. Thunder Wichita, Kansas Wichita Ice Center 2012
Mountain
Casper Coyotes Casper, Wyoming Casper Ice Arena 2014
Cheyenne Stampede Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne Ice and Events Center 2004
Colorado Jr. Eagles Fort Collins, Colorado NoCo Ice Center 2013
Ogden Mustangs Ogden, Utah The Ice Sheet 2002
Superior RoughRiders Superior, Colorado Bouler Valley Ice at Superior 2007
Utah Outliers West Valley City, Utah Acord Ice Center 2011
Vail Powder Hounds Vail, Colorado Dobson Ice Arena 2015
Western
Arizona Hawks Peoria, Arizona AZ Ice Peoria 2009
Fresno Monsters Fresno, California Gateway Ice Center 2009
Las Vegas Storm Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas Ice Center 2014
Long Beach Bombers Lakewood, California Glacial Garden Skating Arena 1994
Ontario Avalanche Ontario, California The Center Ice Arena 2012
Phoenix Knights Gilbert, Arizona AZ Ice Gilbert 1999
San Diego Sabers Escondido, California Iceoplex Escondido 2001
Valencia Flyers Valencia, California Ice Station Valencia 2001
Northwest
Bellingham Blazers Bellingham, Washington Bellingham Sportsplex 2016
Butte Cobras Butte, Montana Butte Community Ice Center 2014
Idaho Jr. Steelheads McCall, Idaho Manchester Ice & Event Centre 2009
Seattle Totems Mountlake Terrace, Washington Olympic View Arena 2012
Southern Oregon Spartans Medford, Oregon The RRRink 2012
Tahoe Icemen South Lake Tahoe, California South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena 2012
Vancouver Rangers Vancouver, Washington Mountain View Ice Arena 2015
Standings To be added upon completion of the regular season
Link to league standings
Playoffs 