ADRIAN COLLEGE SWEEPS INDIANA TECH TO HOLD ONTO TOP SPOT IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #8
Bulldogs Remain #1 For Second Consecutive Week
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (December 6, 2023) – Adrian College (16-2-0) swept a pair of home-and-home non-conference games over Indiana Tech to remain in the top spot for the second consecutive week in 2023-2024 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #8. Thursday night at Arrington Ice Arena, Sam Spaedt (two goals, assist), Cameron Armstrong (goal, assist), and Caleb Minns (three assists) paced the Bulldog attack while Noah Decottignies turned aside 33 shots on goal in a 5-2 victory. On Friday night at SportONE/Parkview Ice House in Fort Wayne, Ind., Chad Noetzel and Dylan Gajewski scored 1:27 apart in the third period to erase a 1-0 deficit to the Warriors on the road and the Bulldogs held on for the 2-1 victory.
No. 2 Minot State University (14-4-0) started off its week by traveling to Wilson Arena in Jamestown, N.D., for a matinee contest against University of Jamestown, losing 4-1, the Beavers third consecutive loss. Brad Fortin had a pair of goals while Reid Wilson and Brenden Vulcano each had a pair of assists for the Jimmies. The Beavers got back to their winning ways in the friendly confines of Maysa Arena in Minot, N.D., by sweeping a pair of games against Grand Canyon University (4-1, 6-0) as Reid Arnold (two goals, two assists) and Carter Barley (three assists) paced the attack.
No. 3 University of Jamestown (14-4-0) followed up its Monday afternoon victory over the Beavers with another home victory on Friday night, this time over University of Mary 8-2. Wilson (two goals, assist), Fortin (goal, two assists), Kole Christensson (three assists), Jordan Baranesky (two goals), and Vulcano (goal, assist) led a Jimmie attack that pounded Marauder goaltending with 60 shots on goal. However, Marauders goaltender Kyle Hayden got his revenge in the friendly confines of Starion Sports Complex on Saturday by making 42 saves in goal while Isaiah Thomas, Andrew Huber, and Seth Cushing lit the lamp for the 3-2 upset win over the Jimmies.
No. 4 University of Central Oklahoma (15-3-0) got back on track with a home-and-home conference sweep over arch-rival University of Oklahoma (5-1, 4-2). The Bronchos shut down the Sooners attack by only allowed 35 shots on goal over the two games. Carter Eha and Ondrej Blaha each had a pair of goals while Sam Sykes, Vitalii Mikhailov, Cullen Hogan, Cash Regan, and Sebastien Doucet had single tallies. In a losing effort, goaltender Brendan Culbertson-Bond made 67 saves over the two games for the Sooners.
University of Nevada-Las Vegas (14-3-0) rounds out the Top 5 after sweeping a pair of conference road games at Tucson Arena against University of Arizona. Friday afternoon the Rebels raced out to a 5-0 lead after two periods during a 6-1 victory, while Saturday afternoon the Rebels overcame a 2-1 first period deficit by scoring the next three goals for a 4-2 win. Bradley Golant (three goals, three assists), Jaxsen Wyatt (two goals, three assists), Max Johnson (two goals, two assists), Mattias Dal Monte (goal, two assists), and Cole Wyatt (goal, two assists) paced the Rebels offense.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 21 University of Delaware while West Chester University drops out of the Top 25.
The Western Collegiate Hockey League leads the way with six (of 10) of its member teams ranked, while Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League has five (of 10) of its member teams ranked, Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League has four (of 8) of its member teams ranked, Midwest College Hockey has three (of 7) of its member teams ranked, and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference has two (of 7) of its member teams ranked.
The ACHA uses two computer rankings generated by USHSHO.com, Ranking A (Wins with Maximum Goal Differential of 7) and Ranking B (Wins with Maximum Goal Differential of 1), to come up with an average of the two rankings. The ACHA will then use the list generated from the average for its weekly ranking. Ties will be broken using the higher ranked team from Ranking B until the Top 25 teams are listed. All games that go to overtime will be scored as ties in the computer ranking.
Over the past 20 seasons, 12 different schools have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship: Lindenwood University (4), Minot State University (3), Adrian College (2), University of Central Oklahoma (2), University of Illinois (2), Arizona State University, Davenport University, University of Delaware, Oakland University, Ohio University, Penn State University, and University of Rhode Island.
Now in its 33rd season of action, there have been a total of 14 schools that have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship:
- Penn State University (5 times)
- Lindenwood University (4)
- Ohio University (4)
- Minot State University (3)
- Adrian College (2)
- 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 Rhode Island
A total of 72 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including University of Mary, which moves up from Men’s Division II after winning back-to-back National Championships in 2021 and 2022.
The computer ranking will for the tenth time determine the 24 teams that qualify for the 2024 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, which will include the following eight auto bids:
- (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America
- (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- (ESCHL) Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League
- (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League
- (MCH) Midwest College Hockey
- (NECHL) Northeast Collegiate Hockey League
- (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League
- (WHAC) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
The ninth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
The 2024 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 7-12 for the second time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the first year of the 24-team format.
| 2023-2024 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #8 | ||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Conference |
| 1 | Adrian | 16-2-0 | 1 | GLCHL |
| 2 | Minot State | 14-4-0 | 2 | INDEP |
| 3 | Jamestown | 14-4-0 | 4 | MCH |
| 4 | Central Oklahoma | 15-3-0 | 3 | WCHL |
| 5 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 14-3-0 | 6 | WCHL |
| 6 | Mary | 11-4-1 | 5 | MCH |
| 7 | Ohio | 12-5-2 | 7 | INDEP |
| 8 | Liberty | 11-6-1 | 9 | INDEP |
| 9 | Maryville | 11-7-1 | 10 | INDEP |
| 10 | Niagara | 11-6-1 | 8 | ESCHL |
| 11 | Purdue Northwest | 14-5-0 | 11 | GLCHL |
| 12 | Calvin | 15-3-2 | 12 | GLCHL |
| 13 | Pittsburgh | 13-7-1 | 13 | ESCHL |
| 14 | Indiana Tech | 13-5-1 | 14 | WHAC |
| 15 | Illinois State | 15-8-0 | 15 | MCH |
| 16 | Grand Valley State | 11-4-2 | 16 | GLCHL |
| 17 | Utah | 10-6-1 | 20 | WCHL |
| 18 | Arizona | 6-8-1 | 19 | WCHL |
| 19 | Arizona State | 8-7-1 | 21 | WCHL |
| 20 | Missouri State | 8-9-2 | 18 | WCHL |
| 21 | Delaware | 9-6-1 | NR | ESCHL |
| 22 | Michigan-Dearborn | 14-3-0 | 22 | WHAC |
| 23 | Davenport | 12-5-0 | 17 | GLCHL |
| 24 | Iowa State | 5-2-0 | 24 | INDEP |
| 25 | Stony Brook | 4-8-2 | 25 | ESCHL |
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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 460 colleges and university-affiliated teams representing 48 states provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the sport of Hockey nationwide. With approximately 13,000 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 entered its 33rd season in September 2023. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
