MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY REMAINS IN NO. 1 SPOT IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #13
Beavers Defeat Midland University for 20th Win of Season
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 4, 2026) – Minot State University (20-1-2) remains in the top spot of 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #13 for the fourth consecutive week. The Beavers shutout Midland University 7-0 on Sunday afternoon at Maysa Arena in Minot, N.D, as Colby Joseph (two goals, assist), Walker Jerome (two goals), Jay Buchholz (two goals), Joey Moffatt (two assists) and Matthew Yakubowski (two assists) paced the offensive attack. The Beavers outshot the Warriors 47-17 as goaltender Blake Sittler got the shutout victory while counterpart Liam Tereposky made 40 saves in a losing cause.
No. 4 Niagara University (18-4-0) swept No. 2 Ohio University (23-5-0) in the friendly confines of Dwyer Arena. Friday night, after defenseman Dean Taylor scored to put the Purple Eagles up 1-0 after one period of play, Lucas Fancy tallied late in the second period to push the lead to 2-0. However, just 0:21 later, Lance Mengel sliced the lead in half to 2-1 after two periods of play. Late in the third period, the Bobcats drew a power play opportunity with only 2:05 remaining in regulation on a slashing call. The Bobcats pulled goaltender Scott Bird to make it a 6-on-4 advantage, but Jacob Cossette took only 0:13 off the clock before burying the empty net shorthanded goal. Taylor added his second goal of the game, another empty net tally, as the Purple Eagles prevailed 4-1. Saturday afternoon, after a scoreless first period, Seth Coulter put the Purple Eagles up 1-0 at the 3:53 mark before Mathieu Ovaert responded at 16:47 to tie the game 1-1 after two periods of play. Aidan Kalin notched his 11th goal of the season to break the tie at the 8:19 mark of the third period. The Bobcats pulled goaltender Garrett Alderman but were thwarted again as Coulter found the empty net for his second goal of the game with 0:09 remaining for a 3-1 victory. Purple Eagles goaltender Jacob Dubinsky won both games and finished with 62 saves on 64 shots for the weekend.
No. 3 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (21-3-0) swept a pair of road conference games over University of Oklahoma (7-0, 3-2 OT) at Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla. Friday night, the Rebels led 1-0 after one period of play on a goal from defensemen Mario DiMaggio. Fellow defensemen Dylan Gordon extended the lead to 2-0 early in the second period, Bryce Johnson scored shorthanded to make it 3-0, and Dylan Jensen finished off the period with a goal to make it 4-0 after two periods of play. Three more goals in the third period from Johnson, Dillon Kuntz, and Caleb Strong finished off the Rebels’ 7-0 shutout victory, as goaltender Doug Wakelyn pitched the 27 save shutout while counterpart Brendan Forden chalked up 37 saves. Saturday evening, Johnson’s third goal of the weekend and 12th of the season put the Rebels up 1-0 after one period. In the second period, Carson Spear tied it at the 3:45 mark before Michael Imala was awarded a penalty shot and scored his 10th goal of the season to put the Sooners up 2-1. However, before the period was up, DiMaggio scored to tie it at 2-2. Neither team scored in the third period sending the game to overtime. In the extra frame, DiMaggio got the winning goal just 1:45 into overtime, his second goal of the game and third of the weekend. Wakelyn finished with 15 saves while Greyson Pane kicked away 39 of the 42 shots projected his way.
Rounding out the Top 5 is Drury University (19-2-0), which was idle. The Panthers will be back in action this weekend against Illinois State University.
Moving into the polls this week are No. 23 Northwood University and No. 25 Davenport University while Indiana Tech and Cleary University drop out of the Top 25.
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 fourteenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, February 11, 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 #13 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 20-1-2 | 1 | ― | MCH |
| 2 | Ohio | 23-5-0 | 2 | ― | INDEP |
| 3 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 21-3-0 | 3 | ― | WCHL |
| 4 | Niagara | 18-4-0 | 4 | ― | INDEP |
| 5 | Drury | 19-2-0 | 5 | ― | INDEP |
| 6 | Jamestown | 19-9-0 | 7 | ↑1 | MCH |
| 7 | Maryville | 11-8-1 | 6 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 8 | Liberty | 15-8-1 | 9 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 9 | Calvin | 15-5-2 | 10 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 10 | Adrian | 19-6-2 | 8 | ↓2 | GL6 |
| 11 | Mary | 19-10-1 | 11 | ― | MCH |
| 12 | Utah | 10-8-1 | 12 | ― | WCHL |
| 13 | Grand Canyon | 18-6-0 | 13 | ― | WCHL |
| 14 | Hope | 21-6-0 | 14 | ― | GL6 |
| 15 | Grand Valley State | 16-9-2 | 16 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 16 | Purdue Northwest | 12-13-1 | 15 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 17 | Arizona | 10-9-3 | 17 | ― | WCHL |
| 18 | Missouri State | 11-6-5 | 21 | ↑3 | WCHL |
| 19 | Midland | 7-16-4 | 18 | ↓1 | MCH |
| 20 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 24-3-3 | 23 | ↑3 | CHMA |
| 21 | Stony Brook | 12-10-3 | 22 | ↑1 | ACCHL |
| 22 | West Chester | 19-7-0 | 19 | ↓3 | ECHA |
| 23 | Northwood | 19-7-2 | NR | ↑3 | GLCHL |
| 24 | Kentucky | 19-2-1 | 20 | ↓4 | ACCHL |
| 25 | Davenport | 17-15-5 | NR | ↑1 | GL6 |
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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
