2017-18 WCHA Women's Season

This is the 2017-18 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Women's season.  This is the league's 19th season.

Membership Changes

• On March 29, 2017; the University of North Dakota announced that the school is cutting the women's ice hockey program effective the end of the 2016-17 academic year.  The reason stated was a $1.3 million budget shortfall due to the school attempting to meet minimum standards of the Summit League which most of the school's athletic teams are moving to for 2017-18.  The men's and women's swimming and diving programs were also cut at the school.  The school announced UND will honor all athletic scholarships for the discontinued sports “at their present equivalencies for returning student-athletes."

Membership

Team	Location	Arena	Capacity
Bemidji State Beavers	Bemidji, Minnesota	Sanford Center	4,700
Minnesota Golden Gophers	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Ridder Arena	3,400
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs	Duluth, Minnesota	AMSOIL Arena	6,764
Minnesota State Mavericks	Mankato, Minnesota	All Seasons Arena	1,000
Ohio State Buckeyes	Columbus, Ohio	OSU Ice Rink	1,415
St. Cloud State Huskies	St. Cloud, Minnesota	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center	5,763
Wisconsin Badgers	Madison, Wisconsin	LaBahn Arena	2,273

Standings

Teams are awarded 3 points for a regulation or overtime win and 1 point for an overtime tie. If the game is tied after the five minute overtime period the game goes to a three round shootout. The shoot out winning team is awarded an extra point in the standings.  The NCAA considers games determined in a shootout as a tie.

Western Collegiate Hockey Association									Overall Record
Team	GP	W	SW	L	T	GF	GA	Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Wisconsin Badgers	24	20	2	2	2	81	29	64	38	31	5	2	126	48
Ohio State Buckeyes	24	14	3	6	4	63	51	49	39	24	11	4	112	77
Minnesota Golden Gophers	24	13	0	8	3	74	54	42	38	24	11	3	119	79
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs	24	10	2	11	3	49	62	35	35	15	16	4	71	82
Bemidji State Beavers	24	9	1	13	2	60	68	30	38	16	19	3	90	96
St. Cloud State Huskies	24	6	1	14	4	41	59	23	33	8	20	5	52	82
Minnesota State Mavericks	24	3	0	21	0	37	82	9	34	5	28	1	57	123

Conference Tournament

Format

All seven teams qualify for the conference tournament. The quarterfinal round is held February 23rd to 25th. The quarterfinals are best-of-three at the higher seeded team with the top seed receiving a bye to the semifinals. The semifinals and finals are single elimination known as the 2018 WCHA Final Face-Off held at the Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The tournament champion earns the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Quarterfinals

• Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Minnesota State Mavericks 4 points to none
• Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated St. Cloud State Huskies 4 points to none
• Bemidji State Beavers defeated Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 4 points to 2

Semifinals

• Wisconsin Badgers defeated Bemidji State Beavers 4-1
• Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated Ohio State Buckeyes 2-0

Final

• Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated Wisconsin Badgers 3-1

2018 WCHA Women's champions Minnesota Golden Gophers