| 2012–13 AWHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | American West Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | September 28, 2012 – March 2, 2013 |
| Number of games | 178[1] |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Total attendance | 102,419[1] |
| Average attendance | 575[1] |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | Helena Bighorns (1st) |
| Lewis & Clark Cup | |
| Champions | Helena Bighorns (2nd) |
| Runners-up | Yellowstone Quake |
The 2012–13 AWHL season was the second season of the American West Hockey League. The regular season schedule ran from September 28, 2012,[2] to March 2, 2013.[3]
Team changes
The Yellowstone Quake joined the AWHL from the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NorPac) as the league's seventh member.[4]
The Glacier Nationals, a team in the Northern Pacific Hockey League, played 20 games (10 home, 10 away) against AWHL teams in order to alleviate the travel time Glacier had to make to play other teams in their league. Glacier was the farthest east of all of the NorPac teams at the time.[3]
Regular season
| Place | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helena Bighorns | 48 | 44 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 334 | 55 | 90 |
| 2 | Yellowstone Quake | 48 | 35 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 234 | 155 | 72 |
| 3 | Gillette Wild | 48 | 30 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 224 | 165 | 64 |
| 4 | Missoula Maulers | 48 | 28 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 219 | 152 | 58 |
| 5 | Billings Bulls | 48 | 20 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 142 | 176 | 45 |
| 6 | Great Falls Americans | 48 | 16 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 129 | 194 | 34 |
| 7 | Bozeman Icedogs | 48 | 1 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 376 | 2 |
Playoffs
AWHL Semifinals
The Helena Bighorns swept the Missoula Maulers in three games to advance to the finals.[5] The Yellowstone Quake also swept the Gillette Wild in three games to reach the finals.[6]
AWHL Finals
The Helena Bighorns swept the Yellowstone Quake in three games to win the 2012-2013 AWHL Championship.[7][8]
USA Hockey Tier III Junior National Championship
By winning the AWHL Championship, Helena earned a birth to the 2013 USA Hockey Tier III Junior National Championship in Rochester, Minnesota.[7] The Bighorns went 2–1 in pool play, with a 2–1 overtime win against the New Jersey Rockets of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League,[9] an 11–2 win over the Boch Blazers of the Eastern States Hockey League,[10] and a 5–3 loss to the Atlanta Jr. Knights of the EJHL South.[11] The Bighorns earned the second seed in their group and advanced to the semifinals, losing to the eventual national champion[12] North Iowa Bulls 3–2 in the second overtime period.[13]
References
- 1 2 3 "AWHL 2012-13 League Attendance". AWHL. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
- ↑ "AWHL Releases Schedule For 2012-13 Season". Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- 1 2 "AWHL League Schedule". Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Yellowstone Quake Join the AWHL". Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ↑ "Bighorns meet Yellowstone in championship hockey series". Independent Record. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Wild Swept From the Playoffs". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- 1 2 "Bighorns complete sweep of Quake for 8th league title". Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Bighorns win AWHL title". Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Bighorns skate by". Independent Record. April 5, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Helena secures semifinal berth after 11-2 blowout win over Boch". Independent Record. April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Bighorns fall to Atlanta at nationals, still move into semifinals". Independent Record. April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
- ↑ "North Iowa Bulls win championship". Radio Iowa. April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Bighorns lose to Bulls". Beartooth NBC. April 8, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.