MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY REMAINS IN NO. 1 SPOT IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #12
Beavers Get Road Sweep Over Maryville University
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (January 28, 2026) – Minot State University (19-1-2) remains in the top spot of 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #12 for the third consecutive week. The Beavers went on the road and swept a pair of low scoring games over No. 6 Maryville University at the Maryville University Hockey Center in Chesterfield, Mo. Friday night, a pair of goals 0:22 apart late in the first period from Jay Buchholz and Eric Krywy were all the Beavers needed as goaltender Will Dyke shutout the Saints making 28 saves in a 2-0 Beavers victory. Saints’ goaltender Lucas Bain turned away 21 of the 23 shots on goal. On Saturday morning, less than 11 hours later, the Beavers finished off the sweep with a 3-2 triumph. After 85:25 of shutout time, the Saints finally solved Dyke in the second period to go up 1-0 as Chad McIlwain scored. The lead was short-lived as just 2:07 later Joey Moffatt tallied his 11th goal of the season to tie it 1-1. Colby Joseph notched his 14th goal and Buchholz got his 10th of the season to put the Beavers up 3-1 after two periods of play. Will Smith scored just 1:13 into the third period to bring the Saints within a goal but Dyke slammed the door the rest of the way finishing with 27 saves as the Beavers prevailed 3-2. Saints’ goaltender Parker Sawka finished with 30 saves.
No. 2 Ohio University (23-3-0) whitewashed Stony Brook University 6-0 on Friday night at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio, as Bobcats goaltender Matt Zazon made 27 saves for the shutout victory. Luc Reeve, who notched his team-leading 17th goal of the season, and Nolan Abraham scored goals 0:20 apart to put the Bobcats up 2-0 late in the first period. Noah Holt, Drake Albers, Graham Broadfoot, and Lance Mengel scored the other goals as the Bobcats put 55 shots on Seawolves goaltender Steven Reganato.
A total of 21 Men’s Division I games, including Saturday’s contest between the Bobcats and Seawolves, were postponed over the weekend due to the winter storm that impacted large parts of the United States, particularly the East Coast and Midwest, bringing heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
No. 3 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (19-3-0) swept a pair of home conference games over Colorado State University at City National Arena (4-1, 6-0). It was a balanced scoring attack as 10 different Rebels players, including six defensemen, tallied goals: Oliver Band, Dillon Kuntz, Dylan Gordon, Mario DiMaggio, Deven Nagra, Ryder McIntosh, Jaxsen Wyatt, Mason Kelly, Dylan Ford, and Heath Mensch. The Rebels suffocating defense allowed a mere 21 shots on goal for the series while firing 102 shots at the Rams net, with Chamberlain Nocera making 40 saves and Ethan Blackburn 52 saves.
No. 4 Niagara University (16-4-0) swept No. 9 Liberty University at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. Friday night, Aiden Kalin broke a 1-1 tie with a power play goal in the second period and goaltender Jacob Dubinsky finished with 33 saves as the Purple Eagles won 3-1. Cullen McCormick and Seth Coulter had the other two Purple Eagles goals while Ryan Finch tallied his 14th goal of the season and Nicholas Bernstein turned aside 28 shots for the Flames. Saturday afternoon, trailing 3-2 in the third period after Shane Burns’ first goal of the season, Lucas Fancy tied it at the 7:08 mark and then Charlie Belanger put the Purple Eagles ahead 4-3 just 0:11 later with his second goal of the game and 16th on the season. The Flames pulled goaltender Konrad Kausch looking for the equalizer but just 0:21 seconds later Jakob Kalin deposited his second goal of the game into the vacant net for the final margin of victory, 5-3. Goaltender Jackson Pundyk got the win making 38 saves while Kausch took the loss making 23 saves.
Rounding out the Top 5 is Drury University (19-2-0), which had its two scheduled games with McKendree University postponed due to the aforementioned winter storm.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 25 Cleary University while University of Pittsburgh drops out of the Top 25.
The Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference leads the way with five (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, Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference has two (of 6) 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, 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 thirteenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, February 4, 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 #12 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 19-1-2 | 1 | ― | MCH |
| 2 | Ohio | 23-3-0 | 2 | ― | INDEP |
| 3 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 19-3-0 | 3 | ― | WCHL |
| 4 | Niagara | 16-4-0 | 5 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 5 | Drury | 19-2-0 | 4 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 6 | Maryville | 11-8-1 | 6 | ― | INDEP |
| 7 | Jamestown | 17-9-0 | 7 | ― | MCH |
| 8 | Adrian | 18-5-2 | 8 | ― | GL6 |
| 9 | Liberty | 14-8-0 | 9 | ― | INDEP |
| 10 | Calvin | 12-5-2 | 10 | ― | GL6 |
| 11 | Mary | 17-10-1 | 11 | ― | MCH |
| 12 | Utah | 10-8-1 | 12 | ― | WCHL |
| 13 | Grand Canyon | 16-6-0 | 13 | ― | WCHL |
| 14 | Hope | 19-6-0 | 14 | ― | GL6 |
| 15 | Purdue Northwest | 12-11-1 | 15 | ― | GL6 |
| 16 | Grand Valley State | 16-7-2 | 16 | ― | GL6 |
| 17 | Arizona | 10-7-3 | 17 | ― | WCHL |
| 18 | Midland | 7-13-4 | 18 | ― | MCH |
| 19 | West Chester | 17-7-0 | 21 | ↑2 | ECHA |
| 20 | Kentucky | 18-1-1 | 20 | ― | ACCHL |
| 21 | Missouri State | 9-6-5 | 19 | ↓2 | WCHL |
| 22 | Stony Brook | 11-10-2 | 22 | ― | ACCHL |
| 23 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 22-3-3 | 24 | ↑1 | CHMA |
| 24 | Indiana Tech | 12-6-6 | 25 | ↑1 | WHAC |
| 25 | Cleary | 21-3-0 | NR | ↑1 | WHAC |
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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.
