The women’s division of the WCHA is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Each team plays 28 league games, but with only eight teams, each team plays four games against every other, in the form of two home games and two road games.
The women's WCHA seeds all 8 teams, and conducts an standard 8 team tournament at a single site over 4 days. The winner receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the NCAA establishing a women's ice hockey championship (2000–01 season), the American Women's College Hockey Alliance held a national championship from the 1997–98 season to the 1999–2000 season. Minnesota won the AWCHA championship in 2000.
Championships[]
Regular season[]
| Year | School |
| 1999-00 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 2000-01 | Minnesota |
| 2001-02 | Minnesota |
| 2002-03 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 2003-04 | Minnesota |
| 2004-05 | Minnesota |
| 2005-06 | Wisconsin |
| 2006-07 | Wisconsin |
| 2007-08 | Minnesota Duluth* |
| 2008-09 | Minnesota |
| 2009-10 | Minnesota |
| 2010-11 | Wisconsin |
Playoff Champions[]
| Year | School |
| 1999-00 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 2000-01 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 2001-02 | Minnesota |
| 2002-03 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 2003-04 | Minnesota |
| 2004-05 | Minnesota |
| 2005-06 | Wisconsin |
| 2006-07 | Wisconsin |
| 2007-08 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 2008-09 | Wisconsin |
| 2009-10 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 2010-11 | Wisconsin |
Awards and honors[]
WCHA player of the year[]
| Year | Player | Position | School |
| 1999-00 | Jenny Schmidgall-Potter | F | UMD |
| 2000-01 | Courtney Kennedy | D | UM |
| 2001-02 | Ronda Curtin | D | UM |
| 2002-03 | Jenny Schmidgall-Potter | F | UMD |
| 2003-04 | Krissy Wendell | F | UM |
| 2004-05 | Krissy Wendell | F | UM |
| 2005-06 | Sara Bauer | F | UW |
| 2006-07 | Sara Bauer | F | UW |
| 2007-08 | Tessa Bonhomme | D | OSU |
| 2008-09 | Hilary Knight | F | UW |
| 2009-10 | Tie: Felicia Nelson Zuzana Tomcikova |
F (Nelson) G (Tomcikova) |
SCSU BSU |
| [[2010–11 Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's ice hockey season|2010–11 | Meghan Duggan[1] | F | Wisconsin |
Student-Athlete of the Year[]
| Year | Player | Position | School |
| 1999-00 | Katie Beaudy Shannon Kennedy |
G(Beaudy) F(Kennedy) |
MSU UM |
| 2000-01 | Bre Dedrickson | G | BSU |
| 2001-02 | Guylaine Hache | F | BSU |
| 2002-03 | Anik Cote | G | BSU |
| 2003-04 | Emma Laaksonen | D | OSU |
| 2004-05 | Caroline Ouellette | F | UMD |
| 2005-06 | Riitta Schaublin | G | UMD |
| 2006-07 | Riitta Schaublin | G | UMD |
| 2007-08 | Casie Hanson | F | UND |
| 2008-09 | Gigi Marvin | F | UM |
| 2009-10 | Caitlin Hogan | F | SCSU |
Defensive Player of the Year[]
| Year | Player | Position | School |
| 1999-00 | Winny Brodt | D | UM |
| 2000-01 | Courtney Kennedy | D | UM |
| 2001-02 | Ronda Curtin | D | UM |
| 2002-03 | Ronda Curtin | D | UM |
| 2003-04 | Molly Engstrom | D | UW |
| 2004-05 | Molly Engstrom | D | UW |
| 2005-06 | Bobbi-Jo Slusar | D | UM |
| 2006-07 | Meaghan Mikkelson | D | UW |
| 2007-08 | Tessa Bonhomme | D | OSU |
| 2008-09 | Melanie Gagnon | D | UM |
| 2009-10 | Anne Schleper | D | UM |
Rookie of the Year[]
| Year | Player | Position | School |
| 1999-00 | Maria Rooth | F | UMD |
| 2000-01 | Meghan Hunter | F | UW |
| 2001-02 | Jeni Creary | F | OSU |
| 2002-03 | Natalie Darwitz | F | UM |
| 2003-04 | Sara Bauer | F | UW |
| 2004-05 | Bobbi Ross | F | UM |
| 2005-06 | Gigi Marvin | F | UM |
| 2006-07 | Meghan Duggan | F | UW |
| 2007-08 | Haley Irwin | F | UMD |
| 2008-09 | Monique Lamoureux | F | UM |
| 2009-10 | Hokey Langan | F | OSU |
| 2010-11 | Amanda Kessel[2] | F | Minnesota |
Coach of the Year[]
| Year | Player | School |
| 1999-00 | Shannon Miller | UMD |
| 2000-01 | Tie: Laura Halldorson Kerry Wethington |
UM St. Cloud |
| 2001-02 | Laura Halldorson | UM |
| 2002-03 | Tie: Mark Johnson Shannon Miller |
Wisconsin UMD |
| 2003-04 | Jeff Vizenor | MSU |
| 2004-05 | Laura Halldorson | UM |
| 2005-06 | Mark Johnson | Wisconsin |
| 2006-07 | Mark Johnson | Wisconsin |
| 2007-08 | Brad Frost | UM |
| 2008-09 | Tie: Brad Frost Mark Johnson |
UM Wisconsin |
| 2009-10 | Steve Sertich | BSU |
| 2010-11 | Mark Johnson | Wisconsin |
Patty Kazmaier Award[]
Krissy Wendell was the first player from the WCHA to win the Patty Kazmaier Award
| Year | Winner | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Krissy Wendell | Forward | Minnesota |
| 2006 | Sara Bauer | Forward | Wisconsin |
| 2009 | Jessie Vetter | Goaltender | Wisconsin |
| 2011 | Meghan Duggan | Forward | Wisconsin |
Player accomplishments[]
Scoring champion[]
| Year | Player | Position | School |
| 2003-04 | Jenny Potter | F | UMD |
| 2004-05 | Natalie Darwitz | F | UM |
| 2005-06 | Erica McKenzie | F | UM |
| 2006-07 | Sara Bauer | F | Wisconsin |
| 2007-08 | Haley Irwin | F | UMD |
| 2008-09 | Monique Lamoureux | F | UM |
| 2009-10 | Hokey Langan | F | OSU |
| 2010-11 | Meghan Duggan | F | Wisconsin |
Goaltending champion[]
| Year | Player | School |
| 2003-04 | Meghan Horras | UW |
| 2004-05 | Jody Horak | UM |
| 2005-06 | Kim Hanlon | UM |
| 2006-07 | Christine Dufour | UW |
| 2007-08 | Jessie Vetter | UW |
| 2008-09 | Alyssa Grogan | UM |
| 2009-10 | Noora Raty | UM |
Events[]
- Feb 6, 2010: The No. 9 Wisconsin women's hockey team (16-10-3, 13-9-1 WCHA) defeated the Bemidji State Beavers (8-14-7, 7-9-7 WCHA), 6-1, in the first ever Culver’s Camp Randall Hockey Classic at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers played in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 8,263 fans in the second-ever women’s hockey outdoor showdown. Sophomore Carolyne Prevost scored the first goal in Camp Randall history at the 16:53 mark and backhanded it in to put the Badgers up 1-0. The Badgers dominated offensively, outshooting the Beavers 42-13. Freshman Becca Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) finished with 13 saves in net for Wisconsin,[3]
- January 28-29, 2011: Alex Rigsby made a combined 50 saves and allowed three goals as the top-ranked Badgers earned a tie and victory against Minnesota. She 23 saves on January 28 in a 2-2 overtime tie. The following day, she made 27 saves while earning her 17th victory of the season. The match was played before a women’s college hockey record crowd of 10,668. Over the two game period, she had a .943 saves percentage and had four shutout periods, including the one 5:00 overtime segment. She is now unbeaten in her last 11 games and her .900 winning percentage leads the WCHA. Her 1.95 GAA is first in the WCHA.
Team of the Decade[]
| Player | Position | School | Nationality |
| Sara Bauer | Forward | Wisconsin |  Canada
|
| Tessa Bonhomme | Defense | Ohio State | Canada
|
| Ronda Curtin | Defense | Minnesota |  United States
|
| Natalie Darwitz | Forward | Minnesota | United States
|
| Molly Engstrom | Defense | Wisconsin | United States
|
| Caroline Ouellette | Forward | Minnesota-Duluth | Canada
|
| Jenny Schmidgall-Potter | Forward | Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth | United States
|
| Maria Rooth | Forward | Minnesota-Duluth |  Sweden
|
| Jessie Vetter | Goaltender | Wisconsin | United States
|
| Krissy Wendell | Forward | Minnesota | United States
|
Olympians[]
2010 Olympics[]
Active players[]
The following active WCHA players will represent their respective countries in Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
| Player | NCAA school | Nationality | Position | Goals | Assists | Points | Medal |
| Elin Holmlöv | Minnesota-Duluth | Sweden |
Forward | 4th Place | |||
| Haley Irwin | Minnesota-Duluth | Canada |
Forward | Gold | |||
| Jocelyne Lamoureux | North Dakota | United States |
Forward | Silver | |||
| Monique Lamoureux | North Dakota | United States |
Forward | Silver | |||
| Heidi Pelttari | Minnesota State |  Finland |
Forward | Bronze | |||
| Mariia Posa | Minnesota State | Finland |
Forward | Bronze | |||
| Noora Raty | Minnesota | Finland |
Goaltender | Bronze | |||
| Nina Tikkinen [5] | Minnesota State | Finland |
Forward | Bronze | |||
| Zuzana Tomčíková | Bemidji State |  Slovakia |
Goaltender | 8th | |||
| Saara Tuominen[6] | Minnesota Duluth | Finland |
Forward | Bronze |
Former players[]
The following former NCAA players will represent their respective countries in Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
| Player | NCAA school | Nationality | Position | Goals | Assists | Points | Medal |
| Natalie Darwitz | Minnesota | United States |
Forward | Silver | |||
| Meghan Duggan | Wisconsin | United States |
Forward | Silver | |||
| Molly Engstrom | Wisconsin | United States |
Defence | Silver | |||
| Hilary Knight | Wisconsin | United States |
Forward | Silver | |||
| Gigi Marvin | Minnesota | United States |
Forward | Silver | |||
| Meghan Mikkelson[7] | Wisconsin | Canada |
Forward | Gold | |||
| Caroline Ouellette | Minnesota Duluth | Canada |
Forward | Gold | |||
| Jessie Vetter | Wisconsin | United States |
Goaltender | Silver | |||
| Jinelle Zaugg | Wisconsin | United States |
Forward | Silver |
References[]
- ↑ http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205108360&DB_OEM_ID=8400
- ↑ http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205108360&DB_OEM_ID=8400
- ↑ http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-hockey/recaps/020610aaa.html
- ↑ http://www.wcha.com/about/wcha-about.html
- ↑ http://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011410aaa.html
- ↑ http://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/011310aac.html
- ↑ http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/122109aac.html