AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION-I HOCKEY RANKING CONCLUDES WITH OHIO UNIVERSITY CAPTURING ITS RECORD-TYING FIFTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Bobcats Defeated Adrian College 3-1 For First Title Since 2004
(Photo courtesy of Bad Cat Media)
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (March 25, 2026) – Ohio University (32-6-0) defeated Adrian College 3-1 in the 2026 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship Game to secure its fifth national title and first since 2004. With the win, the Bobcats now share the record with Penn State University for the most titles in Division I history at five. The Bobcats have now appeared in eight national championship games, winning the other three national titles consecutively in 1995, 1996, and 1997, with setbacks occurring in 1998, 2003, and 2017. The Bobcats have finished in the Top 10 in all 35 seasons of ACHA Men’s Division 1 hockey.
En route to the championship, the Bobcats battled their way through the six-day ACHA Men’s Division I National Tournament with a perfect 4-0-0 record, defeating University of Arizona (5-4 OT), quarterfinalist Maryville University (8-1), semifinalist Calvin University (4-0), and Adrian College (3-1). It was sweet revenge for the Bobcats as the Bulldogs had eliminated them in each of the four previous national tournaments.
Bobcats forward Luc Reeve, the tournament’s leading scorer with four goals and four assists for eight points in four games, had an assist on the championship game winning goal while fellow forwards Laker Aldridge, Nolan Abraham, and Will Cohen each scored a goal. For his efforts, Reeve was awarded the Joe Battista Men’s Division I National Championships Most Valuable Player. Goaltender Matt Zazon finished with 26 saves to earn the win for the Bobcats. In his two wins, Zazon allowed two goals on 48 shots, had a 95.8 save percentage, and a 1.00 goals against average.
Despite the loss, No. 2 Adrian College (30-7-2) played in its fourth consecutive and sixth overall ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship Game and have finished in the Top 5 each of the last 10 seasons, including four times in the No. 1 position. The Bulldogs were regular season and playoff champions of Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference (GL6) and defeated University of Nevada-Las Vegas 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals. No. 3 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (27-4-2), regular season champions of the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL), have finished in the Top 5 each of the last five seasons. No. 4 Calvin University (23-6-5) played in its first semifinal game and finished in the Top 5 for the first time in history at the Men’s Division I level. Rounding out the Top 5 is Minot State University (28-2-2), regular season and playoff champions of Midwest College Hockey (MCH). The Beavers have finished in the Top 5 in 11 of the last 12 seasons and no lower than ninth place in all 21 tournaments it has competed in since its first appearance in 2000.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 25 Northwood University while University of Kentucky drops out of the Top 25.
With the conclusion of the ACHA’s 35th season, there have been a total of 15 schools that have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship:
- Ohio University (5 times)
- Penn State University (5)
- Lindenwood University (4)
- Adrian College (3)
- Minot State University (3)
- North Dakota State University (2)
- University Central Oklahoma (2)
- University of Illinois (2)
- Arizona State University
- Davenport University
- Iowa State University
- Oakland University
- University of Delaware
- University of Nevada-Las Vegas
- University of Rhode Island
The GL6 leads the way with six (of 7) of its member teams ranked, while MCH has four (of 7) of its member teams ranked, WCHL has five (of 11) of its member teams ranked, College Hockey Mid-America has one (of 7) of its member teams ranked, Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League has one (of 7) of its member teams ranked, Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) has one (of 10) of its member teams ranked, and Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association has one (of 11) of its member teams ranked.
A total of 81 teams competed in Men’s Division I this season, while 82 teams will compete in Men’s Division I next season including Men’s Division II members Farmingdale State College and Sacred Heart University. The University at Buffalo program is dropping down to Men’s Division II.
The 2027 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 11-16 for the fifth time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the fourth year of the 24-team format.
| 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Final Ranking | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Ohio | 32-6-0 | 2 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 2 | Adrian | 30-7-2 | 9 | ↑7 | GL6 |
| 3 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 27-4-2 | 4 | ↑1 | WCHL |
| 4 | Calvin | 23-9-2 | 11 | ↑7 | GL6 |
| 5 | Minot State | 28-2-2 | 1 | ↓4 | MCH |
| 6 | Niagara | 25-5-0 | 3 | ↓3 | INDEP |
| 7 | Liberty | 19-11-2 | 5 | ↓2 | INDEP |
| 8 | Maryville | 14-11-1 | 7 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 9 | Drury | 23-4-1 | 6 | ↓3 | INDEP |
| 10 | Jamestown | 22-12-0 | 8 | ↓2 | MCH |
| 11 | Mary | 24-14-1 | 10 | ↓1 | MCH |
| 12 | Grand Canyon | 23-8-1 | 13 | ↑1 | WCHL |
| 13 | Utah | 16-10-1 | 12 | ↓1 | WCHL |
| 14 | Hope | 26-9-0 | 14 | ― | GL6 |
| 15 | Arizona | 14-10-4 | 15 | ― | WCHL |
| 16 | Missouri State | 16-9-5 | 17 | ↑1 | WCHL |
| 17 | Stony Brook | 17-14-3 | 18 | ↑1 | ACCHL |
| 18 | Purdue Northwest | 15-16-2 | 16 | ↓2 | GL6 |
| 19 | Grand Valley State | 17-14-2 | 20 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 20 | Midland | 7-19-6 | 19 | ↓1 | MCH |
| 21 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 27-4-4 | 22 | ↑1 | CHMA |
| 22 | West Chester | 25-9-1 | 21 | ↓1 | ECHA |
| 23 | Davenport | 18-17-5 | 24 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 24 | Illinois | 20-7-4 | 25 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 25 | Northwood | 25-9-2 | NR | ↑1 | GLCHL |
# # #
About American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) was founded in 1991 and is the national association for Non-NCAA Collegiate Hockey throughout the United States. Our organization of more than 560 colleges and university-affiliated teams representing 48 states provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the sport of Hockey nationwide. With approximately 16,000 players and coaches as well as countless volunteers and game officials, the ACHA has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade and continues to be a viable option for college-bound student-athletes to continue playing competitive hockey nationwide. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the ACHA’s primary mission is to support the growth of Collegiate Hockey while emphasizing academic performance, personal development, and opportunities for regional, national, and international competition. The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level and finished its 35th season in March 2026. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
