MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY SWEEPS ITS WAY BACK INTO TOP SPOT IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #9
Beavers Finish 2023 at No. 1 after Two Weeks at No. 2
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (December 13, 2023) – In the final poll of the 2023 calendar year, Minot State University (16-4-0) swept a pair of home non-conference games at Maysa Arena over Midland University (7-2, 7-1) to leapfrog past Adrian College for the top spot in 2023-2024 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #9. The Beavers have now held the top spot in 21 of the last 23 rankings. Despite Midland goaltender Liam Tereposky’s 93 saves on 107 Beaver shots, Minot State’s balanced scoring attack was led by Christian Kadolph (goal, four assists), Joey Moffatt (four assists), Brayden Pawluk (two goals, assist), Logan Cyca (goal, two assists), and Trenton Curtis (goal, two assists).
Adrian College (16-2-0) and University of Central Oklahoma (15-3-0) were both idle this past weekend with the Bulldogs falling to No. 2 while the Bronchos edged up a spot to No. 3.
University of Jamestown (15-5-0), coming in at No. 4 this week, traveled to City National Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. to square up with No. 5 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (15-4-0) and each team came away with a victory. Friday night, it was the hometown Rebels who rallied from a 3-1 first period deficit for a 4-3 triumph on a power play goal by Max Johnson with 7:50 remaining in the third period. The Jimmies were able to come away with a split on Saturday night as Phillipe Lessard broke a 1-1 tie with only 1:29 remaining in the game to secure the 2-1 win.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 25 Syracuse University while Davenport University drops out of the Top 25.
The Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League leads the way with five (of 8) of its member teams ranked, while Western Collegiate Hockey League has six (of 10) of its member teams ranked, Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League has four (of 10) of its member teams ranked, Midwest College Hockey has three (of 7) of its member teams ranked, and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference has two (of 7) 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 tenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, January 10, 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 #9 | ||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 16-4-0 | 2 | INDEP |
| 2 | Adrian | 16-2-0 | 1 | GLCHL |
| 3 | Central Oklahoma | 15-3-0 | 4 | WCHL |
| 4 | Jamestown | 15-5-0 | 3 | MCH |
| 5 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 15-4-0 | 5 | WCHL |
| 6 | Maryville | 13-7-1 | 9 | INDEP |
| 7 | Mary | 13-4-1 | 6 | MCH |
| 8 | Ohio | 14-5-2 | 7 | INDEP |
| 9 | Liberty | 11-6-1 | 8 | INDEP |
| 10 | Niagara | 11-6-1 | 10 | ESCHL |
| 11 | Purdue Northwest | 16-5-0 | 11 | GLCHL |
| 12 | Calvin | 16-4-2 | 12 | GLCHL |
| 13 | Grand Valley State | 13-4-2 | 16 | GLCHL |
| 14 | Arizona | 8-8-1 | 18 | WCHL |
| 15 | Illinois State | 16-9-0 | 15 | MCH |
| 16 | Indiana Tech | 13-7-1 | 14 | WHAC |
| 17 | Utah | 10-6-1 | 17 | WCHL |
| 18 | Pittsburgh | 14-8-1 | 13 | ESCHL |
| 19 | Michigan-Dearborn | 14-3-0 | 22 | WHAC |
| 20 | Missouri State | 8-9-2 | 20 | WCHL |
| 21 | Iowa State | 5-2-0 | 24 | INDEP |
| 22 | Delaware | 9-6-1 | 21 | ESCHL |
| 23 | Arizona State | 8-9-1 | 19 | WCHL |
| 24 | Stony Brook | 4-8-2 | 25 | ESCHL |
| 25 | Syracuse | 10-7-1 | NR | ESCHL |
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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 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.
