MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY REMAINS NO. 1 TEAM IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION I RANKINGS
Beavers Sweep Waldorf University with Back-to-Back Shutouts
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 7, 2024) – Minot State University (26-5-0) holds the top spot in the 2023-2024 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division 1 Ranking No. 14. The Beavers, on top for the sixth consecutive week, swept Waldorf University (5-0, 7-0) on the road at the Albert Lea City Arena in Albert Lea, Minn. Carter Barley (three goals, two assists), Joey Moffatt (two goals, two assists), Brayden Pawluk (four assists), and Christian Kadolf (three assists) paced the Beavers offensively, which peppered Warrior’s goaltenders with 126 shots on goal. Jordan Berschiminsky managed 63 saves on the 68 shots he faced for the Warriors.
No. 2 Adrian College (23-3-0) hit the road and split a pair of games at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va., with Liberty University. Friday night, after a scoreless first period, the host Flames jumped out to a 3-0 lead just 6:55 into the frame with goals by Jacob Kalandyk, Jackson Vercellono, and Matt Bartel. Justin Jamer cut the Bulldog deficit to 3-1 after two periods, then Matteo DiGuilio made it 3-2 just 0:12 into the third period. The Bulldogs, however, were unable to get the equalizer before Kalandyk buried his second of the game with 2:51 remaining in regulation to restore the two-goal lead. A pair of Flames penalties allowed Sam Spaedt to cut the deficit back to one on the power play with 0:26 left in the period but the Flames held on for the 4-3 victory behind Hunter Virostek’s 32 saves. Saturday afternoon it was the Bulldogs who raced to the 3-0 lead at the midway point of the game on tallies by Spaedt, Matthew DiCesare, and Hunter Allen. Truett Olson finally solved Bulldog goaltender Noah DeCottignies on the power play to make it 3-1 after two periods, but Sebastian Smith made it 4-1 with his 23rd goal of the season. Kristopher Bladen answered just thirty seconds after Smith’s goal making it 4-2, but DeCottignies held the fort the rest of the way finishing with 26 saves. Virostek was spectacular again making 42 saves in defeat.
No. 3 University of Central Oklahoma (24-4-0) swept a pair of road conference game at Jordan Valley Ice Park against Missouri State University. Friday night, the Bronchos jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead before the Bears responded with three unanswered goals in the second period to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. However, just 0:12 into the third period, Sam Sykes tied the score at 3-3 before popping the twine for the game winner with only 5:48 left in regulation. Zach Guerra tacked on an insurance goal with 1:34 remaining for the final margin of victory, 5-3. Goaltender Doug Wakelyn turned aside 38 of the 41 shots he saw, then stopped all 31 shots on Saturday night as the Bronchos shutout the Bears 4-0. J.C. Dubecky had a pair of power play goals as the Broncho man advantage netted three goals on six attempts. Cash Regan had a four-point weekend (goal, three assists).
No. 4 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (19-6-2) split a pair of conference games with University of Utah, winning 5-4 in overtime on Friday and losing 4-3 in overtime on Saturday. Friday night, Tristan Rand tied it with 4:13 remaining in regulation before Cole Wyatt got the game-winner with only 0:03 remaining on the clock in overtime. Saturday, the Rebels raced out to a 3-0 first period lead before the Utes answered with three consecutive goals, the last one by Jacob Slater tying the game at 3-3 with 8:23 left in regulation. Matthew Delany got the game-winner on the power play just 1:40 in the overtime period for the 4-3 victory by Utah.
Moving into the Top 5 this week for the first time since October 18 is Ohio University (22-6-3), which swept a pair of home games over former conference rival Iowa State University (4-3, 2-0) at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio. Friday night, the Cyclones let a 2-0 lead with less than ten minutes remaining in the third period slip away. Three goals by the Bobcats in a span of 5:38 put them ahead 3-2. Samuel Dorfman tied it up at 3-3 with only 1:36 remaining but Laker Aldridge scored the game-winner with only 0:23 left for the 4-3 win. Saturday night, goaltender Scott Bird stopped all 36 Cyclone shots on goal while Jack Glen got the game-winner on the power play in the first period. Aiden Grieco added an empty net goal for a 2-0 Bobcat victory.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 23 West Chester University while University of Colorado drops out of the Top 25.
The Western Collegiate Hockey League leads the way with seven (of 10) of its member teams ranked, while Midwest College Hockey has three (of 7) of its member teams ranked, Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League has four (of 10) of its member teams ranked, and Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League has three (of 8) 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), to 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 20 seasons, 12 different schools have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship: Lindenwood University (4), Minot State University (3), Adrian College (2), University of Central Oklahoma (2), University of Illinois (2), Arizona State University, Davenport University, University of Delaware, Oakland University, Ohio University, Penn State University, and University of Rhode Island.
Now in its 33rd 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)
- Minot State University (3)
- Adrian College (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 72 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including University of Mary, which moves up from Men’s Division II after winning back-to-back National Championships in 2021 and 2022.
The computer ranking will for the tenth time determine the 24 teams that qualify for the 2024 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 fifteenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
The 2024 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 7-12 for the second time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the first year of the 24-team format.
| 2023-2024 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #14 | ||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 26-5-0 | 1 | INDEP |
| 2 | Adrian | 23-3-0 | 2 | GLCHL |
| 3 | Central Oklahoma | 24-4-0 | 3 | WCHL |
| 4 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 19-6-2 | 4 | WCHL |
| 5 | Ohio | 22-6-3 | 6 | INDEP |
| 6 | Jamestown | 20-8-0 | 7 | MCH |
| 7 | Liberty | 16-7-1 | 5 | INDEP |
| 8 | Maryville | 19-9-1 | 8 | INDEP |
| 9 | Mary | 21-9-1 | 10 | MCH |
| 10 | Niagara | 17-6-1 | 9 | ESCHL |
| 11 | Purdue Northwest | 22-5-1 | 11 | GLCHL |
| 12 | Calvin | 20-6-2 | 13 | GLCHL |
| 13 | Illinois State | 22-10-1 | 15 | MCH |
| 14 | Utah | 13-8-2 | 17 | WCHL |
| 15 | Grand Valley State | 19-6-2 | 16 | GLCHL |
| 16 | Indiana Tech | 20-9-1 | 19 | WHAC |
| 17 | Pittsburgh | 16-11-2 | 12 | ESCHL |
| 18 | Missouri State | 12-13-2 | 18 | WCHL |
| 19 | Arizona | 11-12-1 | 14 | WCHL |
| 20 | Delaware | 13-8-3 | 20 | ESCHL |
| 21 | Grand Canyon | 14-13-1 | 25 | WCHL |
| 22 | Iowa State | 8-8-0 | 21 | INDEP |
| 23 | West Chester | 20-4-2 | NR | ECHA |
| 24 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 19-6-2 | 24 | CHMA |
| 25 | Oklahoma | 12-9-2 | 22 | WCHL |
# # #
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 460 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 33rd season in September 2023. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
