Western Collegiate Hockey Association

With a noteworthy past that spans six decades and marks its 57th season overall in 2008-09, three characteristics that continue to define the Western Collegiate Hockey Association are history, tradition and success. From it's founding days as the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL) from 1951-53, to the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (WIHL) from 1953-58, then on to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 1959, this prestigious athletic conference has developed and maintained a tradition of excellence that truly is second to none.

In fact, no collegiate conference - in any sport - can top the impressive list of national scale accomplishments of the WCHA and its member teams. Since 1951, teams representing the men's WCHA have earned a record 36 NCAA (national) championships, finished as the national runner-up another 27 times, and qualified for a berth in collegiate hockey's national championship round - the NCAA Men's Frozen Four - in 53 of 56 seasons overall. And since it's founding in 1999-2000, teams representing the women's WCHA have captured nine consecutive national championships in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008!

In addition to its successes in national championship tournament play over the years, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association owns an enviable reputation for producing outstanding coaches and student-athletes, with hundreds upon hundreds of its alumni moving on to successful professional and Olympic playing careers. On top of the more than 200 men's and women's league alumni who have Olympic experience playing for the likes of the U.S., Canada, Italy, Norway, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Finland, and France, conference-member teams and players have also received additional international exposure on a regular basis since 1951. The WCHA has hosted touring teams from the USSR, Canada, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, England and France. The league has also sent men's WCHA All-Star Teams to Europe in both 1998 (Switzerland) and 2000 (Norway) and hopes to make another overseas trip in the future, while the women's WCHA has also regularly put together all-star teams, with the 2005-06 season bringing WCHA All-Star Team games against the U.S. National Team at both Xcel Energy Center and the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center. In 2006-07, the women's WCHA had nine current and seven former players compete at the 2007 IIHF Women's World Championship in Manitoba, with the likes of Carla MacLeod, Caroline Ouellette, and Tessa Bonhomme winning Gold as members of Team Canada. And in 2008, the women's WCHA had another strong presence in the IIHF Women's World Championship, held April 4-12 in Harbin, China. Ohio State coach Jackie Barto and six current players from the WCHA led Team USA to the gold medal while 12 current and former UMD players represented five different national teams. Barto's Team USA included two current Minnesota players - forward Gigi Marvin and defenseman Rachael Drazan - along with former Gopher Natalie Darwitz; four current Wisconsin players Jessie Vetter, a goaltender, plus forwards Hilary Knight, Erika Lawler and Meghan Duggan and ex-Badgers Molly Engstrom, a forward and Kerry Weiland, a defenseman, and two former Minnesota Duluth players, forwards Jenny Potter and Jessica Koizumi. UMD assistant coach Julie Chu was Team USA's captain. Five current Bulldogs also competed. Kim Martin, the 2008 NCAA Frozen Four's Most Outstanding Player, played in goal for Team Sweden, where she was joined by forward Elin Holmlov and former UMD stars Maria Rooth and Erika Holst. Two UMD players (forward Saara Tuominen and defenseman Heidi Pelttari) suited up for Team Finland with ex-Bulldog Nora Tallus while UMD forward Iya Gavrilova played for Team Russia. Assistant coach and former UMD standout Caroline Ouellette skated for Team Canada, along with former Wisconsin defensemen Carla MacLeod and Meaghan Mikkelson.

Just a few of the more than 400 past and present National Hockey Leaguer's who have roots in the men's WCHA include the likes of legendary goaltenders Tony Esposito, Eddio Mio and Glenn ‘Chico' Resch, defensemen Keith Magnuson, Lou Nanne and Curt Giles, and forwards Lou Angotti, Bill Masterton, Bill ‘Red' Hay, Red Berenson, Glenn Anderson, Mark Johnson, Mike Richter, Brett Hull. The current crop of WCHA stars playing in the NHL include the likes of Chris Chelios, Dany Heatley, Mark Parrish, Jordan Leopold, Curtis Joseph, Jason Blake, Tyler Arnason, Andy Sutton, Bret Hedican, Matt Carle, Joe Pavelski, Zach Parise, Jonathan Toews and Tom Gilbert. In the most recent season of 2007-08, there were 90 WCHA alums who earned playing time in the NHL, four former WCHA standouts - Chris Chelios, Dallas Drake, Brian Rafalski and Mark Hartigan earned Stanley Cups as members of the champion Detroit Red Wings, Jason Blake earned the NHL's prestigious Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, both Jonathan Toews and Tim Gilbert earned spots on the 2008 NHL All-Rookie Team, and former league standout Tony Granato was named head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, joining fellow WCHA alum and NHL head coach Dave Tippett of the Dallas Stars behind a pro bench.

The 2007-08 season saw both the WCHA men's and women's leagues continue their histories of success. At the conclusion of the season and in the final college hockey polls, the WCHA men's league had seven of it's 10 member teams ranked among the nation's best while the women's league had three teams among the top 10, including No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 5 Minnesota. The WCHA also claimed the Commissioners' Cup titles for inter-conference on-ice success in both the men's and women's leagues. The men's member teams went a combined 49-22-10 in non-conference play last winter for a .667 winning percentage while women's member teams posted a noteworthy 42-26-7 mark in non-conference action for a .607 winning percentage. The men's and women's leagues had a record-setting group of 79 players named WCHA Scholar-Athletes, with 24 of those being repeat honorees. The men's WCHA also had 82 student-athletes named to the 2007-08 All-WCHA Academic Team while the women's league had 83 WCHA All-Academic Team honorees last winter. The men's WCHA had six players earn All-American honors last winter as well as three players earn a position among the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top 10 Finalists. The women's WCHA had three players earn All-American acclaim in 2007-08 and one earn a position among the three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.

WCHA home attendance for men's games surpassed the 1.5 million mark for the sixth straight season in 2007-08 while the average per home game at member team arenas was 7,317. The WCHA has now surpassed the one million mark in home attendance 15 straight seasons. The WCHA also again led women's collegiate hockey in national attendance in the most recent completed season of 2007-08, attracting 108,067 fans. The league had four of the top 10 attendance leaders, led by Wisconsin who had an average attendance of 1,861 per game. Minnesota (1,279 per game) ranked second and Minnesota Duluth (996 per game) ranked third in both categories. North Dakota ranked 10th in average attendance at 384 per game. Wisconsin attracted 5,377 for its game with St. Cloud January 26, the second largest crowd to ever see an NCAA women's game.

In terms of exposure, more than 200 WCHA mens' games were televised in 2007-08, including all five games live from the 2008 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five by Fox Sports Net North. All four NCAA regionals, and all three games at the 2008 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Denver were televised live by ESPN and ESPN 2. In addition the league also webcast all three games live via wcha.cstv.com and wcha.tv from the women's 2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF Championship in Duluth. The title game of the championship was also televised on a tape delay basis by FSN North. This Week in the WCHA, the league's weekly men's radio show, marked it's 12th season in 2007-08.

The league's official web site - wcha.cstv.com - was re-designed and updated during the course of the 2007-08 season and reached a record 2.7 million page impressions last season. New to the site in 2007-08 were a full-line of automated statistics, including automated league standings, complete box scores in three different formats, automated team and individual statistics, and team and league schedules. All WCHA men's and women's statistics are completely updated as soon as each game is finalized and the statistical summaries are submitted - usually within 20-30 minutes after each game. IN addition, the WCHA took the lead in college hockey in 2007-08 with the addition of WCHA.TV, reachable via wcha.cstv.com. Each week throughout the season, there were new additions of men's and women's game highlights posted - each lasting approx. 5-6 minutes in length and featuring all member teams. In addition, WCHA.TV featured video highlights from the women's WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF championship in Duluth, including the pre- and post-game press conferences, the WCHA men's annual awards banquet, and numerous videos dealing with the history of the league. The league office also did a series of PSAs with each member men's and women's head coaches on the subject of sportsmanship and fan behavior at games. The league's on-line store - the WCHA shop - continues a productive partnership with SportDesigns.com and features a full range of product from all men's and women's member schools, as well as international merchandise, NHL merchandise and historical DVDs available.

Over the last decade, the WCHA has been able to showcase it's exciting brand of hockey to an ever-increasing number of fans, thanks in part to such impressive new facilities as Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, Colorado Springs World Arena, the Kohl Center in Madison, Magness Arena in Denver, Mariucci Arena and Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, and Alltel Center in Mankato. Renovations have also been implemented at both Michigan Tech and St. Cloud State for 2008-09.

The conference's two annual playoff championships, known as the Red Baron ™ WCHA Final Five (men's) and the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF (women's), continue to be among the most successful collegiate tournaments of their kind. Held at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, the WCHA Final Five has drawn nearly 1.2 million fans since it's inception in 1987 - including a record 88,900 in 2007 and the third highest total ever of 86,855 in 2008. The women's 2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF, set for next March 7-8 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, also continues to grow both in exposure and attendance.

In 2008-09, the WCHA women's league has adopted the exciting shootout for regular season play, with an NHL-style three-player shootout used to determine a winner for all regular season games still tied after regulation and the standard five-minute (5:00) overtime. Two points will be awarded to a team for a win in regulation or overtime, one point for each team will be awarded if the game is till tied at the conclusion of the 5:00 overtime, and one additional point will be awarded to the team who wins the shootout. Several WCHA member arenas will be showcased throughout the hockey world as they will host several noteworthy events while the. On the men's side, Alaska Anchorage will host the Kendall Hockey Classic on Oct. 10-11, Minnesota and Wisconsin will take turns hosting Michigan and Michigan State in the annual College Hockey Showcase over the Thanksgiving weekend, Michigan Tech will host the annual Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Dec. 27-28, Wisconsin will host the annual Badger Hockey Showdown at the Kohl Center on Dec. 27-28, Minnesota will host the annual Dodge Holiday Classic at Mariucci Arena on Jan. 2-3, and Denver will host the annual Wells Fargo Denver Cup at Magness Arena on Jan. 2-3. Then on March 27-28, Minnesota and Mariucci Arena will host the men's NCAA West Regional. On Nov. 1, a four-team WCHA doubleheader will be held at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul - home of the annual Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five. On the women's side, St. Cloud State and the National Hockey Center will host the Easton Holiday Showcase on Jan. 2-3 while Ridder Arena in Minneapolis will serve as host of the 2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF.

Under the leadership and guidance of Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod and Associate Commissioner Sara R. Martin, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association proudly celebrates it's 57th season of men's competition and 10th in women's competition in 2008-09 with prospects for another tremendously competitive campaign being extremely bright.

2009 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five Information: The men's 2009 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five will be held March 19-21 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The schedule is as follows: Thursday, March 19 - Semi-Final, #5 vs #4, 7:07 pm CT; Friday, March 20 - Semi-Finals, 2:07 pm CT and 7:07 pm CT; and Saturday, March 21 - Third Place Game, 2:07 pm CT; Broadmoor Trophy Championship, 7:07 pm CT. For ticket information, phone Ticketmaster at 651 989- 5151, or visit www.ticketmaster.com or wcha.cstv.com.

2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF: The women's 2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF will be held March 7-8 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. Two semifinal games will be played on Saturday, March 7 at 1:00 pm CT and 4:00 pm CT. The women's WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF championship game will be held Sunday, March 8 at 1:00 pm CT. For information on tickets for the 2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF, please visit wcha.cstv.com.

2007-08 WCHA Men's Season Highlights

The 2007-08 Western Collegiate Hockey Association campaign concluded just 10 days ago and a look back at the league's 56th season of on-ice competition finds another in a long line of successes.

Although the WCHA fell short of adding to its record total of 36 national team championships, conference-member clubs, student-athletes, coaches and alumni once again figured prominently in headlines throughout the course of the year.

For the fourth consecutive season, the University of North Dakota earned a berth in the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, which was played April 10-12 at Pepsi Center (18,007) in Denver, Colo., and hosted by league-member University of Denver. The Fighting Sioux fell to eventual champion Boston College in the first national semi-final as head coach Dave Hakstol became only the third coach ever to lead his first four teams to berths in the Frozen Four. For the UND program, it was their 23rd appearance overall in the national tournament and 18th in the Frozen Four.

The WCHA also placed a Division 1 conference record six teams into this season's NCAA tournament, with North Dakota earning the No. 2 seed for the Midwest Regional in Madison, regular season champion and MacNaughton Cup-winner Colorado College earning the No. 2 seed for the West Regional in Colorado Springs, Colo., 2008 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five and Broadmoor Trophy-champion University of Denver earning the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional, St. Cloud State University earning the No. 2 seed for the East Regional in Albany, N.Y., University of Minnesota earning the No. 3 seed for the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass., and University of Wisconsin earning the No. 3 seed for the Midwest Regional.

At the conclusion of the Frozen Four, the WCHA's non-conference record for 2007-08 stood at an impressive 49-22-10 for a .667 winning percentage. Over the past eight seasons, Western Collegiate Hockey Association-member teams are now a collective 397-175-64 vs teams from the five other Division 1 men's conferences over 636 games, for a winning percentage of .675.

In the two final 2007-08 Div. 1 men's college hockey polls, the WCHA was well represented, having seven teams ranked among the nation's top clubs, with two others earning votes. In the final USA Today poll, North Dakota was No. 4, Colorado College was No. 8, Denver was No. 9, Minnesota was No. 12, Wisconsin was No. 13, St. Cloud State was No. 14, and Minnesota State was No. 15.

And in the final Div. 1 Men's Pairwise Rankings, issued by USCHO.com, nine of the WCHA's 10-member teams were ranked among the top 25. North Dakota was No. 3, Colorado College was No. 5, Denver was tied at No. 6, St. Cloud State was No. 8, Minnesota was No. 11, Wisconsin was No. 12, Minnesota State was tied at No. 13, Minnesota Duluth was tied at No. 18, and Michigan Tech was at No. 24.

In home attendance numbers, the WCHA again led the nation after topping the 1.5 million mark for a record sixth straight season. The league and it's member teams drew 1,508,499 fans to 207 games, an average of 7,317 per game. 2007-08 also marked the 15th consecutive season the WCHA has drawn in excess of 1,000,000 fans.

The 2008 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five, held March 20-22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., and won by the Denver Pioneers for the third time in the past seven seasons - drew a total attendance of 85,855, the third highest total in the 16-year history of this tournament format. Included in the total was a record-setting Thursday night sellout crowd of 19,232. The Final Five was again telecast live across the country by Fox Sports Net North and audiocast live via WCHA.CSTV.com.

The WCHA also captured the 2007-08 Men's Commissioners's Cup, which represents the six NCAA Div. 1 men's ice hockey conferences. The WCHA went 8-1-1 in the Cup series for 17 points, with Minnesota Duluth's 4-1 road victory at UMass-Lowell on Jan. 26 clinching the title.

In terms of individual honors, the 2007-08 season was again productive for the WCHA and it's member teams. Witness the following achievements:

• Six conference players earned All-American honors as released by the American Hockey Coaches' Association on April 11. Named to the West All-American First Team were Colorado College goatlender Richard Bachman, Colorado College defenseman Jack Hillen, and North Dakota forward T.J. Oshie. Named to the West All-American Second Team from the WCHA were Denver defenseman Chris Butler, St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch, and Colorado College forward Chad Rau.Colorado College freshman goaltender Richard Bachman became the second straight WCHA player to earn the HCA (Hockey Commissioners' Association) National Rookie of the Year, joining inaugural season (2006-07) winner Andreas Nodl from SCSU.
• Three players from the WCHA were named among the Top 10 finalists for the annual Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Home to a record 13 Hobey winners overall, the WCHA was represented by North Dakota senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, St. Cloud State sophomore forward Ryan Lasch, and North Dakota junior forward T.J. Oshie.
• The 2007-08 season also saw a record-setting group of 79 men's and women's players named WCHA Scholar-Athletes, with 24 of those being repeat honorees. Repeat honorees among the men's players were Colorado College's Jake Gannon and Scott McCulloch, Denver's Zach Blom, Michigan Tech's Ryan Angelow and Mark Malekoff, Minnesota's Evan Kaufmann and Thomas Pohl, and Minnesota State's Joel Hanson. In the first year of the award, 2005-06, there were 47 honorees while in 2006-07 there were 49.
• Two WCHA-member head coaches - Minnesota State's Troy Jutting and North Dakota's Dave Hakstol - were finalists for the AHCA Men's Ice Hockey Division 1 Coach of the Year. Jutting was the WCHA Coach of the Year. The honor eventually went to Michigan coach Gordon ‘Red' Berenson, who played in the WCHA for Michigan from 1959-62 and is one of the WCHA's Top 50 Players in 50 Years.
• Two WCHA players - Denver goaltender Peter Mannino and St. Cloud State forward Marty Mjelleli - were finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for 2007-08 with both earning Lowe's All-Senior All-America Team honors.
• WCHA member-team student-athletes also earned six national player of the month honors in 2007-08, as awarded by the Hockey Commissioners' Association. North Dakota goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux was the National Player of the Month for Oct., 2007; Wisconsin forward Kyle Turris was the National Rookie of the Month for Oct., 2007; Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman was the National Rookie of the Month for both Nov., 2007 and Feb., 2008; and Denver forward Tyler Bozak was the National Rookie of the Month for Dec., 2007.
• A total of 82 student-athletes were named to the men's 2007-08 All-WCHA Academic Team, with 45 of those being repeat honorees.
• North Dakota senior captain and forward Rylan Kaip was the WCHA nominee for the second annual Derek Hines Award, issued by the Hockey Commissioners' Association.
• At the annual WCHA Awards Banquet, held in conjunction with the 2008 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five in Saint Paul, Colorado College freshman goaltender Richard Bachman was named both WCHA Player of the Year and WCHA Rookie of the Year, becoming the first league player since Curtis Joseph in 1989 to earn both of those honors in a single season. Minnesota State senior forward Joel Hanson earned the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year award, CC senior defenseman Jack Hillen was the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, St. Cloud State sophomore Ryan Lasch was the WCHA Scoring Champion, North Dakota senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux was the WCHA Goaltending Champion, and Troy Jutting of Minnesota State was the WCHA Coach of the Year.
• And as of April 15, a total of five former Western Collegiate Hockey Association players had been named to the United States Men's National Team, for the 2008 IIHF World Championship, to be held in Quebec City, Quebec, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 2-18.
• On defense, there are three WCHA alums in Keith Ballard (NHL - Phoenix Coyotes/Univ. of Minnesota), Tom Gilbert (NHL - Edmonton Oilers/Univ. of Wisconsin) and Matt Greene (NHL - Edmonton Oilers/Univ. of North Dakota). At forward, there are two WCHA alums so far named in David Backes (NHL - St. Louis Blues/Minnesota State Univ.) and Drew Stafford (NHL - Buffalo Sabres/Univ. of North Dakota).

2007-08 Women's Season Highlights:

The WCHA made it nine women's national championships in nine seasons of existence when Minnesota Duluth defeated Wisconsin, 4-0 before a crowd of 4,031 at the Duluth Entertainment and Conference Center on March 22. The Bulldogs (33-4-1) were perfect from the net out - but especially in the net, where sophomore Kim Martin, who was named the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player, stopped all 28 Badger shots to anchor a performance that secured the fourth NCAA title in eight years for UMD.

Only two weeks earlier on the same rink, UMD beat the Badgers, 5-4, in overtime to win the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF title. Since the inception of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four in 2001, Minnesota Duluth has won four national championships (in 2001, 2002, 2003 and now 2008), Minnesota took home the title in 2004 and 2005 and Wisconsin won in 2006 and 2007.

Wisconsin reached the national title game with a 4-1 victory over top-seeded Harvard while UMD used a 41-save performance by Martin to score a 3-2 victory over New Hampshire in the semifinals.

The WCHA led women's hockey in national attendance again this past season, attracting 108,067 fans. The league had four of the top 10 attendance leaders, led by Wisconsin who had an average attendance of 1,861 per game. Minnesota (1,279 per game) ranked second and Minnesota Duluth (996 per game) ranked third in both categories. North Dakota ranked 10th in average attendance at 384 per game. Wisconsin attracted 5,377 for its game with St. Cloud January 26, the second largest crowd to ever see an NCAA women's game.

The WCHA had three players named to the 2007-08 American Hockey Coaches Association's All-America team with two first team selections. UMD goalie Kim Martin and Ohio State defenseman Tessa Bonhomme were named to the first team and Minnesota forward Gigi Marvin was named to the second team. Minnesota's Brad Frost, Minnesota Duluth's Shannon Miller and Wisconsin's Mark Johnson, who won the award the last two seasons, were finalists for the AHCA coach of the year award.

Kim Martin, UMD's sophomore goalie, was one of three finalists for the 11th annual Patty Kazmaier Award, which goes to the top player in college hockey. Martin had a 28-4-1 record with a 1.39 goals against average and a .949 save percentage. Sarah Vaillancourt, a junior forward from Harvard University, won the award, which is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey by the The USA Hockey Foundation.

Ohio State defenseman Tessa Bonhomme was named both the WCHA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. She was the third player in the conference to earn both awards in the same season, joining Minnesota's Courtney Kennedy (2001) and Rhonda Curtin (2002). Haley Irwin of Minnesota Duluth was named Rookie of the Year and also won the league scoring championship. Wisconsin's Jessie Vetter was the WCHA Goaltending Champion. Casie Hanson of North Dakota received the Turfer WCHA Outstanding Student Athlete of the Year while Minnesota's Brad Frost was named the WCHA Coach of the Year.

For the second straight year, Jody Heywood, a senior defenseman from Ohio State, was one of five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award. Jody visits the local Children's Hospital once a quarter. She participated in the Hurricane Katrina Phone-a-thon, which raised money for victims, as well as the Schott-a-thon, a Wish for Kids event. She periodically reads at a local school and is a volunteer at Race for the Cure. She spoke at Westerville Girl Power Day and helped at the Franklin County Youth Penitentiary Center where she was a volunteer with Youth for Christ and led monthly chapel meetings. She is involved with the Athletes in Action leadership team and has served meals for at the YMCA for needy families. She also is involved with Habitat for Humanity and has spoken to youth groups for churches, as well as aiding in classrooms of inner city schools with homework and supervision as an Urban Concerns volunteer.

Haley Irwin scored at 6:32 of sudden-death overtime to give the Minnesota Duluth a 5-4 victory over Wisconsin in the championship game of the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF tournament on March 9. The triumph, before 1,274 fans at the DECC, gave UMD its fourth WCHA playoff title. The tournament was re-christened " the 'WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF' in December. In making the announcement of the name change Associate Commissioner Sara Martin thanked the University of Minnesota Sport Business Institute for its work in developing the concept and new logo for the championships. The tournament drew a total of 2,412 fans.

The WCHA was well represented at the 2008 IIHF Women's World Championship from April 4-12, in Harbin, China. Ohio State coach Jackie Barto and six current players from the WCHA led Team USA to the gold medal while 12 current and former UMD players represented five different national teams. Barto's Team USA included two current Minnesota players - forward Gigi Marvin and defenseman Rachael Drazan - along with former Gopher Natalie Darwitz; four current Wisconsin players Jessie Vetter, a goaltender, plus forwards Hilary Knight, Erika Lawler and Meghan Duggan and ex-Badgers Molly Engstrom, a forward and Kerry Weiland, a defenseman, and two former Minnesota Duluth players, forwards Jenny Potter and Jessica Koizumi. UMD assistant coach Julie Chu was Team USA's captain. Five current Bulldogs also competed. Kim Martin, the 2008 NCAA Frozen Four's Most Outstanding Player, played in goal for Team Sweden, where she was joined by forward Elin Holmlov and former UMD stars Maria Rooth and Erika Holst. Two UMD players (forward Saara Tuominen and defenseman Heidi Pelttari) suited up for Team Finland with ex-Bulldog Nora Tallus while UMD forward Iya Gavrilova played for Team Russia. Assistant coach and former UMD standout Caroline Ouellette skated for Team Canada, along with former Wisconsin defensemen Carla MacLeod and Meaghan Mikkelson.

A total of 83 female student-athletes earned recognition on to the 2007-08 All-WCHA Academic Team, with each member school having at least six honorees, while 44 were among the record total of 79 student-athletes who earned WCHA Scholar-Athlete recognition this past winter. The WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award was developed through Association member team Faculty Representatives and approved by the conference membership beginning with the 2005-06 season. To earn recognition as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete, conference-member student-athletes must have completed at least one year of residency at their present institution prior to the current academic year and must also have a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.0 scale for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or may qualify if his or her overall GPA is at least 3.50 for all terms at his or her present institution.

The women's WCHA also presented several noteworthy promotions in 2007-08, including the 'Skate for a Cure' between Minnesota State and St. Cloud State and the 'Fill the Bowl' promotion by Wisconsin, a game which drew in excess of 5300 fans.

WCHA Staff Directory

Commissioner: Bruce M. McLeod. Associate Commissioner: Sara R. Martin. Assistant Commissioner of Operations: Carol LaBelle-Ehrhardt. Supervisor of Officials: Greg Shepherd. Associate Commissioner for Public Relations: Doug Spencer. Special Assistant to the Commissioner: Jeff Sauer. Women's Public Relations: Bill Brophy. Administrative Office: Western Collegiate Hockey Association, MSC 8302, 2211 S. Josephine Street, Denver, CO 80208-8302. Phone: 303 871-4223. Fax: 303 871-4770. Women's Administrative & Public Relations Office: Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 559 D'Onofrio Drive, Suite 103, Madison, WI 53719-2096. Women's Administrative Phone: 608 829-0104. Public Relations Phone: 608 829-0100. Public Relations Fax: 608 829-0200.

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