MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY STILL TOP DOG IN THE AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION I RANKINGS
Beavers In No. 1 Position for Tenth Consecutive Ranking
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 22, 2023) – Minot State University (23-1-0) retains the top spot in the 2022-2023 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division 1 Ranking No. 16 for the tenth consecutive ranking period. Against University of Mary on Saturday night, the Beavers led 2-0 after the first period, then trailed 4-2 early in the third period before goals by Joey Moffatt and Davis Sheldon knotted the score at 4-4 midway through the period and sent the game into overtime. In overtime, Brayden Pawluk buried the game winner for the 5-4 victory. On Sunday, two power play goals and 23 saves from Jake Anthony in net were all the Beavers needed for a 2-0 win over arch-rival No. 8 University of Jamestown.
University of Nevada-Las Vegas (22-3-1) edged up a spot to No. 2 after a pair of wins and an overtime loss in conference play. On Thursday in a game against Grand Canyon resumed from December 4 with the Rebels up 1-0, the Lopes quickly knotted the score at 1-1 before the Rebels tallied the next five goals for a 6-1 triumph. Friday night, Arizona State University jumped out to a 3-0 in the first period and held a 4-3 lead until Luke Burke tied the game with only 0:21 remaining in regulation. However, the Sun Devils recovered and won the game 5-4 on a Conner Tilmon snipe. The Rebels finished off their road trip with a 5-0 shutout win over ASU on Saturday night as Landon Pavlisin posted 20 saves, Jayson Dimizio had a pair of goals, and Alec Johnson dished out four assists.
No. 3 Ohio University (26-5-2) hit the road to battle with Liberty University at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. without the services of the nation’s leading scorer, freshman phenomenon Luc Reeve (32 goals, 40 assists, 72 total points). On Friday, the Flames peppered Bobcat goaltender Justin Damon with 62 shots on goal but still found themselves down 2-1 just 0:30 into the third period on a pair of goals by Laker Aldridge, the other freshman marvel for the Bobcats. Not to be denied, Nathan Cox tied the game with 7:16 left in regulation before Jacob Kalandyk sent the sold-out crowd into pandemonium with the game-winning goal just 0:29 into the overtime period. Saturday, Damon got retribution by kicking aside 48 shots on goal as Aldridge put the Bobcats up 3-2 on the power play and J.T. Schimizzi iced the game with 5:36 remaining in the third period for the 4-2 win.
No. 4 Adrian College (28-2-2) won all three of its games after defeating University of Michigan-Dearborn 5-0 on Wednesday and then sweeping a pair of home-and-home conference games over Eastern Michigan University (16-1, 9-0). Dylan Gajewski paced the attack with four goals and 5 assists as the Bulldogs peppered its opponents with 194 shots on goal in the three games.
Rounding out the Top 5 once again is University of Central Oklahoma (26-7-1) which swept a pair of conference home games with back-to-back shutouts over University of Colorado (10-0, 11-0) at Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Edmond, Okla. Leading the 21-goal onslaught were Austin Simpson with three goals and four assists, Zach Guerra with four goals and two assists, J.C. Dubecky with a goal and five assists, and Vitalii Mikhailov with a goal and four assists.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 23 Missouri State University while dropping out of the Top 25 is Oswego State University.
The Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) leads the way with seven (of 10) of its member teams ranked, while the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) has two (of 3) of its member teams ranked, the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) has four (of 8) of its member teams ranked, the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) has four (of 9) of its member teams ranked, the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) has three (of 7) of its member teams ranked, and Midwest College Hockey (MCH) 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), then comes 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 19 seasons, 12 different schools have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship: Lindenwood (4), Central Oklahoma (2), Illinois (2), Minot State (2), Adrian (2), Arizona State, Davenport, Delaware, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 32nd 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 (2)
- Minot State University (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 70 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including these new members: College of New Jersey, University of Oregon, Purdue University Northwest, and San Diego State University. The defending Men’s Division I National Champions of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Lindenwood University, has departed to play NCAA Men’s Division I while Iowa State University is on a school suspension for the 2022-23 season.
The computer ranking will for the ninth time determine the 20 teams that qualify for the 2023 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey, which will include the following eight auto bids:
- (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America (PLAYOFF CHAMPION)
- United States Naval Academy – (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- (ESCHL) Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION)
- (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (PLAYOFF CHAMPION)
- (MCH) Midwest College Hockey (PLAYOFF CHAMPION)
- (NECHL) Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (PLAYOFF CHAMPION)
- (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League (REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION)
- (WHAC) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (PLAYOFF CHAMPION)
The seventeenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
The 2023 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 16-21 for the first time at the New England Sports Center (NESC) in Marlborough, Mass. This will be the eleventh year of the 20-team format.
| 2022-2023 ACHA Men’s Division 1 Ranking #16 | ||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 23-1-0 | 1 | INDEP |
| 2 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 22-3-1 | 3 | WCHL |
| 3 | Ohio | 26-5-2 | 4 | CSCHL |
| 4 | Adrian | 28-2-2 | 2 | GLCHL |
| 5 | Central Oklahoma | 26-7-1 | 5 | WCHL |
| 6 | Liberty | 14-10-1 | 6 | INDEP |
| 7 | Indiana Tech | 31-2-1 | 7 | WHAC |
| 8 | Jamestown | 17-7-0 | 8 | MCH |
| 9 | Maryville | 18-9-0 | 9 | CSCHL |
| 10 | Niagara | 22-6-1 | 13 | ESCHL |
| 11 | Pittsburgh | 19-6-3 | 11 | ESCHL |
| 12 | Grand Valley State | 31-6-0 | 10 | GLCHL |
| 13 | Illinois State | 26-5-2 | 12 | MCH |
| 14 | Arizona | 14-9-4 | 15 | WCHL |
| 15 | Calvin | 20-6-3 | 16 | GLCHL |
| 16 | Lawrence Tech | 24-6-2 | 14 | WHAC |
| 17 | Utah | 15-10-1 | 17 | WCHL |
| 18 | Michigan-Dearborn | 19-11-2 | 23 | WHAC |
| 19 | Arizona State | 16-14-1 | 19 | WCHL |
| 20 | Stony Brook | 15-10-3 | 18 | ESCHL |
| 21 | Grand Canyon | 13-10-2 | 22 | WCHL |
| 22 | Purdue Northwest | 19-6-1 | 21 | GLCHL |
| 23 | Missouri State | 13-15-2 | NR | WCHL |
| 24 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 22-6-0 | 20 | CHMA |
| 25 | Rhode Island | 22-8-2 | 25 | ESCHL |
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About American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a recognized 501(c)3 organization of almost 450 college and university-affiliated programs which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the quality of collegiate ice hockey throughout the United States. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the ACHA’s primary mission is to support the growth and development of college hockey programs nationwide. The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level and entered its 32nd season in September 2022. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
