The 2011–12 AWHL season was the 1st season for the newly formed America West Hockey League. The AWHL was formed in the summer of 2011 by teams breaking away from the Northern Pacific Hockey League. The league shares a similar area as the America West Hockey League that merged into the North American Hockey League in 2003. Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, and Helena all originated in the old AWHL and now appear in the current AWHL.