MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY SCORES THREE MORE WINS TO STAY ATOP AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKINGS
Beavers Have Held Top Spot in Rankings for Three Consecutive Weeks
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (January 29, 2025) – Minot State University (28-2-3) remains in the top spot in 2024-2025 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #12 for the third week in a row and fifth time this season after posting a three-win weekend. The Beavers started off the weekend at home against No. 5 University of Jamestown and spotted the Jimmies a 2-0 lead after two periods. Goals by Jay Buchholz and Logan Rands in the first 3:08 of the third period tied the game but Mario Decapite restored the Jimmies lead on the power play just 1:25 later. Buchholz tallied his second of the game to knot the score at 3-3 with 8:19 left in the third period before Brett Tataryn deposited the game-winning goal with 3:41 remaining to play. The Beavers then swept a home-and-home series with University of Mary winning 6-1 on the road Saturday night and 6-2 at home Sunday evening, as Joey Moffatt tallied five goals while Christian Kadolph had a goal and four assists.
No. 2 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (21-1-1), the Men’s Division I national runners-up in 2024, swept San Diego State University (16-2, 6-0) at City National Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Heath Mensch (five goals, three assists), Bradley Golant (three goals, five assists), Preston Brodziak (two goals, five assists), and Cole Wyatt (three goals, two assists) paced the Rebels attack.
No. 3 Ohio University (15-3-0) swept Stony Brook University in the friendly confines of Bird Arena (5-0, 6-3). Nolan Abraham (goal, three assists), Mathieu Ovaert (three goals), Noah Holt (goal, two assists), and Jack Glen (three assists) paced the Bobcats offensively.
No. 4 Liberty University (15-4-4) swept Niagara University at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. (2-1 OT, 5-3). Friday night, Ryan Finch gave the Flames a 1-0 lead heading into the third period, but the Purple Eagles’ Peter Spameni tied it with 7:44 remaining to send the game into overtime. However, overtime was short lived as Tucker Shields scored just 0:23 into the extra frame for the Flames. Saturday night, Shields broke a 2-2 tie in the second period while Liam Cox-Smith netted the game winner in the third period. Flames goaltender Konrad Kausch turned aside 35 shots each night for a total of 70 saves.
Rounding out the Top 5 is the aforementioned University of Jamestown (19-7-0).
Moving into the polls this week is No. 25 John Carroll University while Northwood University 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 thirteenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, February 5, 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 #12 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 28-2-3 | 1 | ― | MCH |
| 2 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 21-1-1 | 2 | ― | WCHL |
| 3 | Ohio | 15-3-0 | 4 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 4 | Liberty | 15-4-4 | 3 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 5 | Jamestown | 19-7-0 | 5 | ― | MCH |
| 6 | Adrian | 18-1-2 | 6 | ― | GL6 |
| 7 | Drury | 23-1-0 | 7 | ― | INDEP |
| 8 | Niagara | 15-5-2 | 11 | ↑3 | INDEP |
| 9 | Calvin | 19-4-0 | 8 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 10 | Maryville | 16-7-2 | 10 | ― | INDEP |
| 11 | Utah | 14-5-1 | 9 | ↓2 | WCHL |
| 12 | Indiana Tech | 21-3-0 | 13 | ↑1 | WHAC |
| 13 | Grand Canyon | 11-9-1 | 14 | ↑1 | WCHL |
| 14 | Mary | 18-10-0 | 12 | ↓2 | MCH |
| 15 | Purdue Northwest | 11-7-2 | 16 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 16 | Oswego State | 18-6-3 | 18 | ↑2 | NECHL |
| 17 | Pittsburgh | 14-9-1 | 17 | ― | ESCHL |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 16-6-1 | 15 | ↓3 | WCHL |
| 19 | Arizona | 10-12-1 | 20 | ↑1 | WCHL |
| 20 | Arizona State | 11-11-2 | 19 | ↓1 | WCHL |
| 21 | Midland | 15-15-1 | 21 | ― | MCH |
| 22 | Grand Valley State | 15-6-0 | 23 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 23 | Stony Brook | 10-10-3 | 22 | ↓1 | ESCHL |
| 24 | Colorado | 15-10-2 | 24 | ― | WCHL |
| 25 | John Carroll | 20-4-1 | NR | ↑1 | CHMA |
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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.
