Troy, Mich. (February 9, 2023): The American Collegiate Hockey Association released its latest Men’s Division 2 Rankings today. These rankings are released on a weekly basis until Mid-December and then resume in early January, concluding with the Final Ranking the week of February 12th. The Top 20 for each region are listed below and full rankings can be found at M2 Ranking Page.
Northeast: Army Hits New Heights in Rankings
West Point rose to the highest ranking in program history, coming in at #4 in the latest NE rankings. Army, which has a 15-1 record this season, currently is head of a pack of three teams, including Boston University and Bentley University for the 2nd seed in the Regionals at the end of the month. The Cadets are the top seed in the SECHL playoffs this weekend and has a first round bye.
The Engineers of RPI hit the highest ranking of the season at #10, on the strength of weekend wins vs. #9 Sacred Heart and #5 Boston University. With matchups against #3 Keene State and #1(SE) Liberty, RPI has a chance to continue to move up in the final weekend of the regular season.
For information purposes, here are the Northeast Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Super East Collegiate Hockey League (SECHL)
Central: Concordia of Wisconsin Finds Itself One Week from Boston
The #2 seed in the Central has seen two teams jockeying for the position, Trine University and University of Saint Thomas. With one week left in the season, both teams find themselves looking up at CUW. The Falcons, which split with #3 UST, winning 4-1 and losing 1-0 in a shootout, moved into the coveted spot. Whichever of the three teams gets the #2 seed, will be the first national autobid for the programs. Concordia and St. Thomas will finish the regular season in their respective league tournaments, while Trine is idle this weekend.
With three potential spots in Regionals going to league autobids, safety is found at #11. Lake Superior State is holding onto the spot just .06 ahead of Michigan State. With the Lakers finished their regular season, the Spartans have a chance to move past them with a weekend series with #9 Adrian College.
For information purposes, here are the Central Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA)
Northern Collegiate Hockey League (NCHL)
Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association (WCCHA)
Southeast: League Tournaments Results Hold the Keys to Bids and Seedings.
With the Southeast having four league autobids, there is always a chance of a huge shakeup in what team gets to go to the Regionals. The current #11 to #14 are all “on the bubble”, but also have a chance to secure a spot in DC by winning their league.
The TSCHL tournament could be a preview of the final day of Regionals as top four Regional seeds currently are from the conference. Probably the hottest team in the Southeast, #9 University of Michigan, also has a chance to make a statement. UNC and NCSU will face each other on the outdoor ice in Raleigh on the 20th, but may face off in the ACCHL tournament with the winner most likely moving ahead of the other and possibly a guaranteed At-Large bid. #13 Maryland is the highest ranked team in the MACH, but will go to their tournament as the #3 seed, and UPenn will head into the CSCHC tournament as the #1 seed and holding down the last regional spot at #14.
For information purposes, here are the Southeast Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL)
Colonial States Collegiate Hockey Conference (CSCHC)
Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey (MACH)
Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League (TSCHL)
West: University of Denver Gets a Turn at #3
The #3 Seed continues to be difficult spot to secure for the top teams of the Region. After spending most of the year at #4 and teams jumping all around them, the Pioneers move up into the slot. Denver will look to make a run in the BMHC playoffs to try to secure the seed in the final rankings.
Williston State moves into the last possible Regional spot, sliding in front of Arizona State by .06. The Tetons finish up with a road game against #7 Dakota College, while ASU will be in the WCHC tournament. Both teams, along with current #13 Grand Canyon University, are looking to get to #13 as the last spot will most likely be filled by the winner of the TCHC playoffs.
For information purposes, here are the West Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League (MWCHL)
Pac Hockey (PAC)
Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference (TCHC)
Western Collegiate Hockey Conference (WCHC)
Men’s Division 2 postseason is broken into the two levels. The top two teams in each region receive an automatic bid to the National Tournament, making up half of the field. The other half of the field is determined in Regional Tournaments with 12 teams competing for the two remaining spots from each region. Those eight winners will then join the eight autobids in the ACHA National Championship Tournament presented by FloHockey, in Marlborough, MA on March 17-21, 2023.
* – Not currently ACHA Compliant
