MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY ENDS REGULAR SEASON NO. 1 IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION I RANKING
Beavers Will Enter National Championships as No. 1 Seed
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (March 1, 2023) – Minot State University (24-2-0) retains the top spot in the 2022-2023 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division 1 Ranking No. 17 for the eleventh consecutive ranking period. The Beavers hit the road to battle with Liberty University at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. and came away with a split, losing on Friday 5-1 but gutting out a 5-3 win on Saturday after battling back from a 3-1 deficit in the second period. The Beavers earned its 14th consecutive bid and 19th overall and will enter the 2023 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships as the top seed, looking to bring home their third national title.
Ohio University (28-5-2), regular season champions of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL), swept a pair of home games over Niagara University (6-1, 4-3) and will be the No. 2 seed, earning its 30th consecutive bid and 31st overall. No. 3 Adrian College (31-2-2) defeated Oakland University (15-0), Purdue University Northwest (4-2), and Calvin University (3-1) winning the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) Playoff Championship and earning its 13th consecutive bid. The University of Nevada-Las Vegas (24-4-1) Rebels will be the No. 4 seed after sweeping Grand Canyon University at home this past weekend (11-0, 4-2) to solidify second place in the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL), earning their fifth bid to Nationals in the last six seasons. Rounding out the top 5 is the aforementioned Liberty University (15-11-1), which earned its seventh consecutive bid to Nationals and 15th overall.
Four other conference playoff champions were crowned this past weekend in College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA), Midwest College Hockey (MCH), Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL), and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC), as Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of Jamestown, University at Buffalo, and University of Michigan-Dearborn won their respective titles. With their playoff titles in hand, all five teams secured the final auto bids to the 2023 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, joining the three teams that clinched an auto bid as regular season champions of their respective conferences: United States Naval Academy from Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA); University of Pittsburgh from Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL); and University of Central Oklahoma from Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL).
This ranking marks the deadline for choosing the 20 participating teams for the 2023 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships. Fourteen teams in the ranking will return after participating in Nationals last season, including No. 6 seed University of Central Oklahoma (13th overall appearance); No. 7 seed University of Jamestown (sixth overall appearance); No. 8 seed Indiana Tech (fourth overall appearance); No. 9 seed Maryville University (third overall appearance); No. 10 seed Niagara University (fifth overall appearance); No. 11 seed University of Arizona (20th overall appearance); No. 12 seed University of Pittsburgh (fourth overall appearance); No. 17 seed University of Michigan-Dearborn (23rd overall appearance); and No. 19 seed United States Naval Academy (sixth overall appearance).
Joining those schools will be six teams that did not participate a year ago: No. 13 seed Grand Valley State University (first overall appearance); No. 14 seed Calvin University (third overall appearance); No. 15 seed Illinois State University (first overall appearance); No. 16 seed Lawrence Tech (first overall appearance); No. 18 Indiana University of Pennsylvania (second overall appearance); and No. 20 University at Buffalo (fifth overall appearance).
2023 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships team breakdown by conferences:
3 – GLCHL Adrian, Calvin, and Grand Valley State
3 – WCHL Arizona, Central Oklahoma, and Nevada-Las Vegas
3 – WHAC Indiana Tech, Lawrence Tech, and Michigan-Dearborn
2 – CSCHL Maryville and Ohio
2 – ESCHL Niagara and Pittsburgh
2 – Independent Liberty and Minot State
2 – MCH Illinois State and Jamestown
1 – CHMA Indiana Pennsylvania
1 – ECHA Navy
1 – NECHL Buffalo
The Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) leads the way with eight (of 10) of its member teams ranked, while the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) has two (of 3) of its member teams ranked, the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) has four (of 9) of its member teams ranked, the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) has three (of 7) of its member teams ranked, the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) has three (of 8) of its member teams ranked, and Midwest College Hockey (MCH) has two (of 6) of its member teams ranked.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 23 Colorado State University while dropping out of the Top 25 is University of Rhode Island.
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), then comes 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 19 seasons, 12 different schools have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship: Lindenwood (4), Central Oklahoma (2), Illinois (2), Minot State (2), Adrian (2), Arizona State, Davenport, Delaware, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 32nd 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)
- Adrian College (2)
- Minot State University (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 70 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including these new members: College of New Jersey, University of Oregon, Purdue University Northwest, and San Diego State University. The defending Men’s Division I National Champions of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Lindenwood University, has departed to play NCAA Men’s Division I while Iowa State University is on a school suspension for the 2022-23 season.
The final ranking of the 2022-2023 ACHA Men’s Division I season will be released on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
The 2023 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 16-21 for the first time at the New England Sports Center (NESC) in Marlborough, Mass. This will be the eleventh year of the 20-team format.
| 2022-2023 ACHA Men’s Division 1 Ranking #17 | ||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 24-2-0 | 1 | INDEP |
| 2 | Ohio | 28-5-2 | 3 | CSCHL |
| 3 | Adrian | 31-2-2 | 4 | GLCHL |
| 4 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 24-3-1 | 2 | WCHL |
| 5 | Liberty | 15-11-1 | 6 | INDEP |
| 6 | Central Oklahoma | 28-7-1 | 5 | WCHL |
| 7 | Jamestown | 19-7-0 | 8 | MCH |
| 8 | Indiana Tech | 31-3-1 | 7 | WHAC |
| 9 | Maryville | 18-9-0 | 9 | CSCHL |
| 10 | Niagara | 22-8-1 | 10 | ESCHL |
| 11 | Arizona | 16-9-4 | 14 | WCHL |
| 12 | Pittsburgh | 20-7-3 | 11 | ESCHL |
| 13 | Grand Valley State | 32-7-0 | 12 | GLCHL |
| 14 | Calvin | 22-7-3 | 15 | GLCHL |
| 15 | Illinois State | 27-6-2 | 13 | MCH |
| 16 | Lawrence Tech | 25-7-2 | 16 | WHAC |
| 17 | Utah | 15-10-1 | 17 | WCHL |
| 18 | Stony Brook | 16-10-4 | 20 | ESCHL |
| 19 | Michigan-Dearborn | 22-11-2 | 18 | WHAC |
| 20 | Arizona State | 16-16-1 | 19 | WCHL |
| 21 | Purdue Northwest | 20-7-1 | 22 | GLCHL |
| 22 | Grand Canyon | 13-12-2 | 21 | WCHL |
| 23 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 24-6-0 | 24 | CHMA |
| 24 | Missouri State | 15-15-2 | 23 | WCHL |
| 25 | Colorado State | 14-13-1 | NR | WCHL |
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About American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a recognized 501(c)3 organization of almost 450 college and university-affiliated programs which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the quality of collegiate ice hockey throughout the United States. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the ACHA’s primary mission is to support the growth and development of college hockey programs nationwide. The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level and entered its 32nd season in September 2022. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
