MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY NOTCHES 25TH WIN OF SEASON TO STAY ATOP AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKINGS
Beavers Have Held Top Spot in Rankings for Back-to-Back Weeks
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (January 22, 2025) – Minot State University (25-2-3) remains in the top spot in 2024-2025 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #11 for the second week in a row and fourth time this season. The Beavers hit the road and swept Waldorf University (11-3, 6-2) as Walker Jerome (two goals, three assists), Colby Joseph (two goals, two assists), Matthew Yakubowski (goal, three assists), Reid Arnold (goal, two assists), and Logan Cyca (goal, two assists) paced the attack.
No. 2 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (19-1-1), the Men’s Division I national runners-up in 2024, hit the road and swept Missouri State University (4-2, 6-4). Friday night, Hayden Siegel broke a 2-2 tie with only 9:19 remaining in the game and Preston Brodziak sealed the game with an empty net goal with 0:15 left for the 4-2 win. Saturday night, it was Brodziak’s turn to break the 3-3 tie early in the third period before goals by Siegel and Oliver Band gave the Rebels a three-goal cushion as they cruised to a 6-4 win.
No. 3 Liberty University (13-4-4) was swept in overtime both nights at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. by Calvin University (4-3 OT, 7-6 OT). Friday night, a pair of goals by Tucker Shields pushed the Flames to a 3-1 lead heading into the third period, but goals by Joel Fonovic and Steven Ickes tied it with only 1:06 left in regulation before Ickes sniped again in overtime for the 4-3 win for the Knights. Saturday’s game was a back-and-forth affair with the Flames leading 4-3 after two periods only to see the Knights’ Fonovic and Ickes score power play goals in the first 5:09 of the third period to put Calvin back in front 5-4. The Flames’ Truett Olson tied it a 5-5 with a shorthanded goal but Tony Eaton tallied the fourth power play goal of the game for the Knights with only 1:29 remaining to seemingly seal the win. However, Olson notched his third goal of the game for the hat trick and game-tying goal with only 0:47 remaining in regulation. In overtime, the Knights’ Eaton notched his own hat trick with the game winner just 2:07 into overtime to send the Knights home victorious once again.
No. 4 Ohio University (13-3-0) swept West Virginia University in the friendly confines of Bird Arena (6-1, 9-0). Drake Albers had a seven-point weekend including a four-goal game on Saturday night, while Mathieu Ovaert (goal, four assists), Jack Glen (two goals, two assists), Luc Reeve (two goals, two assists), and Collin Felton (four assists) chipped in support on offense.
University of Jamestown (19-6-0) rounds out the Top 5 after hitting the road and sweeping Midland University (5-4, 5-3). Friday night, the Jimmies led 3-2 after two periods only to see a pair of goals by Matthew McCaw and Matthew Kochanowski in the first 7:00 of the third period put the Warriors up 4-3. Darius Makse tallied a power play goal to tie the game before Jacob Thomas potted the game-winning goal with 3:36 remaining in the third period. Saturday night, the Warriors led 3-2 after two periods only to have the Jimmies score three unanswered goals by Makse, Thomas, and Jordan Baranesky (empty net) in the third period for the 5-3 win.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 24 University of Colorado while University of Delaware drops out.
The Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference, playing in its inaugural season, leads the way with four (of 6) of its member teams ranked, while Western Collegiate Hockey League has seven (of 11) of its member teams ranked, Midwest College Hockey has four (of 10) of its member teams ranked, and Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League has two (of 6) 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), and 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 21 seasons, 12 different schools have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship: Lindenwood (4), Minot State (3), Adrian (3), Central Oklahoma (2), Illinois (2), Arizona State, Davenport, Delaware, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 34th 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 (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 Rhode Island
A total of 73 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including former Men’s Division II member Drury University and former Men’s Division III members Northwood University and Saginaw Valley State University.
The computer ranking will for the eleventh time determine the 24 teams that qualify for the 2025 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 twelfth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
The 2025 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 13-18 for the third time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the second year of the 24-team format.
| 2024-2025 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #11 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 25-2-3 | 1 | ― | MCH |
| 2 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 19-1-1 | 2 | ― | WCHL |
| 3 | Liberty | 13-4-4 | 3 | ― | INDEP |
| 4 | Ohio | 13-3-0 | 4 | ― | INDEP |
| 5 | Jamestown | 19-6-0 | 6 | ↑1 | MCH |
| 6 | Adrian | 17-1-2 | 5 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 7 | Drury | 21-1-0 | 9 | ↑2 | INDEP |
| 8 | Calvin | 19-3-0 | 10 | ↑2 | GL6 |
| 9 | Utah | 13-4-1 | 8 | ↓1 | WCHL |
| 10 | Maryville | 15-6-2 | 11 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 11 | Niagara | 15-4-1 | 7 | ↓4 | INDEP |
| 12 | Mary | 18-8-0 | 14 | ↑2 | MCH |
| 13 | Indiana Tech | 20-2-0 | 13 | ― | WHAC |
| 14 | Grand Canyon | 9-9-1 | 12 | ↓2 | WCHL |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 15-5-1 | 17 | ↑2 | WCHL |
| 16 | Purdue Northwest | 11-7-2 | 15 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 17 | Pittsburgh | 14-9-1 | 18 | ↑1 | ESCHL |
| 18 | Oswego State | 16-6-3 | 19 | ↑1 | NECHL |
| 19 | Arizona State | 8-11-2 | 21 | ↑2 | WCHL |
| 20 | Arizona | 9-11-1 | 16 | ↓4 | WCHL |
| 21 | Midland | 13-15-1 | 22 | ↑1 | MCH |
| 22 | Stony Brook | 10-8-3 | 24 | ↑2 | ESCHL |
| 23 | Grand Valley State | 15-6-0 | 20 | ↓3 | GL6 |
| 24 | Colorado | 14-9-2 | NR | ↑2 | WCHL |
| 25 | Northwood | 16-2-0 | 25 | ― | GLCHL |
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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 450 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 34th season in September 2024. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
