MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY SWEEPS OHIO UNIVERSITY TO STAY ATOP AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKINGS
Beavers Have Held Top Spot in Rankings for Six Consecutive Weeks
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 19, 2025) – Minot State University (33-2-3) remains in the top spot in 2024-2025 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #15 for the sixth week in a row and eighth time this season after sweeping No. 3 Ohio University (16-9-2) on the road at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio. Friday night, Sheldin Howard got the Beavers going with a goal just seven seconds into the game, but the Bobcats settled in and tied it at 1-1 at the 1:40 mark on a goal by Barron Stibbe. Drake Nabozny put the Bobcats back in front 2-1 but Joey Moffatt lit the lamp for the 24th time this season to tie it at 2-2 just 8:58 into the game. Colby Joseph’s 21st goal on the power play goal put the Beavers ahead 3-2 after one period. Reece Henry’s quick goal just 0:32 into the second period put the Beavers up 4-2 but Will Cohen got one back before the period ended and the Bobcats trailed 4-3 after two periods. Brett Tataryn seemed to ice the game away with a goal at the 7:50 mark making it 5-3 and the game entered the final minute of regulation with the Bobcats down two goals and their net empty. However, Nabozny scored with 0:47 left before Bird Arena erupted when Mathieu Ovaert tied it at 5-5 with only 0:10 remaining in regulation. Neither team scored in the three-on-three overtime period, so it went to a shootout. Howard put the Beavers up 1-0 before Stibbe tied it on the Bobcats third attempt, but Joseph responded for the game winning shootout goal for the Beavers. Saturday, the Bobcats power play staked them to a 1-0 lead after the first period on a goal by Nolan Abraham. The Beavers tied it just 0:14 into the second period on a Trenton Curtis goal but another Bobcat power play goal, this one by Nabozny, put them back in front 2-1. Colby Joseph netted his 22nd goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2 before captain Jay Buchholz put the Beavers back in front 3-2 after two periods. After getting outshot 28-18 the first two periods, the Beavers turned up the suffocation meter and only allowed six Bobcat shots on goal in the third period, with none of them getting past goaltender Will Dyke as the Beavers held on for a 3-2 victory. Dyke turned aside 32 Bobcat shots on goal for the win.
No. 2 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (24-1-2), the Men’s Division I national runners-up in 2024, throttled San Diego State University in a pair of conference games (19-1, 12-1) at Kroc Center Ice in San Diego, Calif. The Rebels offense peppered Aztec goaltenders Liam Dee (76 saves) and Brody Hsiao (75 saves) with 182 shots on goal in the two-game series and was led by Cole Wyatt (5 goals, 5 assists), Preston Brodziak (4 goals, 5 assists), Tristan Rand (3 goals, 6 assists), Justin Stathopoulos (4 goals, 3 assists), Jaxsen Wyatt (3 goals, 4 assists), Mattias Dal Monte (2 goals, 5 assists), and Dylan Ford (7 assists).
No. 4 Liberty University (20-5-4) swept a pair of home games over University of Pittsburgh at LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. Friday night, the Flames jumped out to a 5-0 lead just 26:03 into the game and cruised to an 8-3 victory as Hayden DeMars, Tucker Shields, and Liam Cox-Smith each had a goal and two assists while Kal Essenmacher notched two goals. Panther’s goaltender Grant Lindsay had 42 saves in defeat. Saturday, the Flames led 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 after two periods as Lindsay once again did his best in goal for the Panthers by making 45 saves. Edward Pazo ruined the shutout bid for Flames goaltender Nicholas Bernstein with a goal with only 0:01 remaining in the game. Bernstein finished with 26 saves in the 3-1 Flames victory.
Rounding out the Top 5 is University of Jamestown (21-7-1), which swept conference rival University of Mary in a home and home series. Friday night at Wilson Arena, Kaleb Percival and Zane McDonald staked the Jimmies to a 2-0 first period lead. Carter Johson added a power play goal in both the second and third periods and goaltender Brandon Weare stopped all 32 Marauder shots on goal for a 4-0 shutout victory. Saturday night on the road at the Starion Sports Complex, five different Jimmies scored goals in the first period (Brendan Vulcano, Darius Makse, Jacob Thomas, Keaton Cline, and Wyatt Johnson) and Weare was spectacular again making 36 saves in the 5-1 conquest over the Marauders.
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, Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League has three (of 6) of its member teams ranked, and Midwest College Hockey has four (of 10) 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
- West Chester University – (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- University of Delaware – (ESCHL) Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League
- (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League
- (MCH) Midwest College Hockey
- (NECHL) Northeast Collegiate Hockey League
- University of Nevada-Las Vegas – (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League
- (WHAC) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
The sixteenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Tuesday, February 25, 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 #15 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Minot State | 33-2-3 | 1 | ― | MCH |
| 2 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 24-1-2 | 2 | ― | WCHL |
| 3 | Ohio | 17-4-3 | 3 | ― | INDEP |
| 4 | Liberty | 20-5-4 | 4 | ― | INDEP |
| 5 | Jamestown | 21-7-1 | 5 | ― | MCH |
| 6 | Adrian | 22-3-2 | 6 | ― | GL6 |
| 7 | Niagara | 19-5-3 | 8 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 8 | Drury | 26-2-0 | 7 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 9 | Utah | 19-6-1 | 9 | ― | WCHL |
| 10 | Maryville | 17-9-2 | 10 | ― | INDEP |
| 11 | Calvin | 23-5-0 | 11 | ― | GL6 |
| 12 | Grand Canyon | 14-11-2 | 12 | ― | WCHL |
| 13 | Mary | 21-13-0 | 13 | ― | MCH |
| 14 | Indiana Tech | 26-4-0 | 14 | ― | WHAC |
| 15 | Arizona | 14-12-1 | 15 | ― | WCHL |
| 16 | Midland | 17-16-2 | 16 | ― | MCH |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 18-8-1 | 19 | ↑2 | WCHL |
| 18 | Arizona State | 13-14-2 | 17 | ↓1 | WCHL |
| 19 | Pittsburgh | 14-11-5 | 20 | ↑1 | ESCHL |
| 20 | Purdue Northwest | 14-10-2 | 18 | ↓2 | GL6 |
| 21 | Oswego State | 18-7-4 | 21 | ― | NECHL |
| 22 | Stony Brook | 12-11-6 | 23 | ↑1 | ESCHL |
| 23 | Colorado | 18-13-2 | 22 | ↓1 | WCHL |
| 24 | Delaware | 20-10-3 | 25 | ↑1 | ESCHL |
| 25 | Grand Valley State | 15-7-1 | 24 | ↓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 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.
