MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY REMAINS IN NO. 1 SPOT IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #14
Beavers Sweep University of Mary for 22nd Win of Season
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 11, 2026) – Minot State University (22-1-2) remains in the top spot of 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #14 for the fifth consecutive week. The Beavers swept conference rival University of Mary in a pair of weekday home-and-home games last week. Tuesday night in the friendly confines of Maysa Arena, Colby Joseph’s 17th goal of the season put the Beavers up 1-0 after one period and Logan Cyca pushed the lead to 2-0 after two periods. Jay Buchholz scored his 12th goal of the season just 0:24 into the third period to push the lead to 3-0 before a pair of goals by Alex Senf (19th) on the power play and John Lang cut the lead to 3-2 with 3:26 remaining to play. The Marauders pulled goaltender Zane Clausen for an extra attacker, but Joseph notched his second goal of the game into the vacant net to seal the victory, 4-2. Wednesday evening at the Starion Sports Complex, the Beavers jumped out to a 4-1 first period lead and cruised to an 8-2 victory, as Joey Moffatt and Sean Williams each had a pair of goals. Beavers’ goaltender Will Dyke stopped 51 of 55 shots in the series to earn both wins and improve to 16-1-2 on the season.
No. 2 Ohio University (25-5-0) swept Canisius University (7-0, 9-2) at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio. The Bobcats launched 118 shots on Golden Griffins goaltenders, fronted by Luc Reeve (three goals, three assists), Hollander Thompson (three goals, two assists), Drake Nabozny (goal, four assists), Drake Albers (goal, three assists), Nolan Abraham (two goals, assist), Noah Holt (two goals, assist), Jack Glen (goal, two assists), and Mathieu Ovaert (three assists).
No. 3 Niagara University (20-4-0) hit the 20-win mark by sweeping Oswego State University in the friendly confines of Dwyer Arena, winning 5-2 on Friday afternoon and 9-3 on Saturday afternoon. Leading the Purple Eagles offensively were Charlie Belanger (three goals, two assists), Louis Chabot (three goals, assist), Logan Furlong (goal, three assists), Jacob Cossette (goal, two assists), Jakob Kalin (goal, two assists), Dean Taylor (goal, two assists), and Aiden Kalin (three assists).
No. 4 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (22-4-0) split a pair of road conference games against Grand Canyon University (2-5, 5-3) at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix, Ariz. Thursday night, the Lopes raced out to a 3-0 lead, were up 4-1 after two periods, and skated away with a 5-2 upset victory, as forward Benjamin Oakland finished with two goals and two assists, including the game winning goal. Lopes’ goaltender Dmytro Kubrytskyi stopped 28 of 30 shots for the victory. Friday night, Luke Backel broke a 2-2 in the second period with a pair of goals just 0:18 apart as the Rebels came away with a 5-3 victory. Forward Charles Masek had a goal and two assists while defenseman Jaxsen Wyatt had three helpers. Wyatt, the team’s leading scorer, now has 32 points in only 25 games, including 26 assists. Goaltender Douglas Wakelyn made 24 saves for the win while counterpart Kubrytskyi turned aside 31 shots in a losing effort.
Rounding out the Top 5 is Drury University (21-2-0), which hit the 20-win plateau by sweeping Illinois State University (8-4, 7-3). The Panthers put 15 goals on the scoreboard and fired 94 shots on goal, led by Daniel Beaupre (goal, 4 assists), K-T Walters (two goals, two assists), Matthew Johnson (two goals, assist), Jarrod Gale (goal, two assists), Jackson Truchan (goal, two assists), and Jamison St. Clair (three assists).
The Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference leads the way with six (of 7) of its member teams ranked, while Midwest College Hockey has four (of 7) of its member teams ranked, Western Collegiate Hockey League has five (of 11) of its member teams ranked, Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League has two (of 10) 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, and Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association has one (of 11) of its member teams ranked.
Over the past 22 seasons, 13 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, Nevada-Las Vegas, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 35th season of action, there have been a total of 15 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 Nevada-Las Vegas
- University of Rhode Island
A total of 81 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including former Men’s Division II members Central Michigan University, North Carolina State University, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and University of North Carolina, along with former Men’s Division III members Hope College, the reigning ACHA Men’s Division III National Champions, and University of Michigan-Flint. The Concordia University Ann Arbor program, which made the announcement to relocate to Siena Heights University back in April, folded in July before getting to play a game as the Saints.
The computer ranking will for the twelfth time determine the 24 teams that qualify for the 2026 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, which will include the following six auto bids:
- (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America
- (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League
- (MCH) Midwest College Hockey
- (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League
- (WHAC) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
The fifteenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
The 2026 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 12-17 for the fourth time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the third year of the 24-team format.
| 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #14 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 22-1-2 | 1 | ― | MCH |
| 2 | Ohio | 25-5-0 | 2 | ― | INDEP |
| 3 | Niagara | 20-4-0 | 4 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 4 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 22-4-0 | 3 | ↓1 | WCHL |
| 5 | Drury | 21-2-0 | 5 | ― | INDEP |
| 6 | Liberty | 17-8-1 | 8 | ↑2 | INDEP |
| 7 | Jamestown | 21-9-0 | 6 | ↓1 | MCH |
| 8 | Maryville | 11-10-1 | 7 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 9 | Calvin | 18-5-2 | 9 | ― | GL6 |
| 10 | Adrian | 21-6-2 | 10 | ― | GL6 |
| 11 | Mary | 19-12-1 | 11 | ― | MCH |
| 12 | Utah | 12-8-1 | 12 | ― | WCHL |
| 13 | Grand Canyon | 19-7-0 | 13 | ― | WCHL |
| 14 | Hope | 22-7-0 | 14 | ― | GL6 |
| 15 | Missouri State | 13-6-5 | 18 | ↑3 | WCHL |
| 16 | Arizona | 12-9-3 | 17 | ↑1 | WCHL |
| 17 | Purdue Northwest | 13-14-1 | 16 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 18 | Grand Valley State | 17-10-2 | 15 | ↓3 | GL6 |
| 19 | West Chester | 21-7-0 | 22 | ↑3 | ECHA |
| 20 | Stony Brook | 13-11-3 | 21 | ↑1 | ACCHL |
| 21 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 25-3-4 | 20 | ↓1 | CHMA |
| 22 | Midland | 7-16-5 | 19 | ↓3 | MCH |
| 23 | Davenport | 18-16-5 | 25 | ↑2 | GL6 |
| 24 | Kentucky | 20-3-1 | 24 | ― | ACCHL |
| 25 | Northwood | 21-7-2 | 23 | ↓2 | 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 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 entered its 35th season in September 2025. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
