NIAGARA UNIVERSITY NO. 1 FOR FIRST TIME IN TEAM HISTORY IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #6
Undefeated Purple Eagles Swept Adrian College on the Road
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (November 12, 2025) – Niagara University (10-0-0) takes over the top spot of 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #6. Ranked No. 2 the previous week, the Purple Eagles stand atop the rankings for the first time in team history after sweeping Adrian College on the road at Arrington Ice Arena. Thursday evening, Aiden Kalin and Charlie Belanger staked the Purple Eagles to a 2-0 lead before Dylan Gajewski cut it to 2-1 after two periods. The Bulldogs pressed for the equalizing goal, yet goaltender Jacob Dubinsky held strong before Lucas Fancy popped one in with two minutes remaining in the third period and Jakob Kalin added an empty net goal for a 4-1 victory. Friday afternoon, the Purple Eagles again led 2-1 after two periods of play, but this time the Bulldog’s Matteo Turin solved Dubinsky to tie the game at 2-2 and send it into overtime. However, defenseman Alex Little wasted little time in the extra fame as he got one past Peyton Trzaska at 0:36 to complete the sweep.
No. 2 Ohio University (13-1-0) swept in-state rivals Kent State University at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio. Friday night, the Bobcats seemed to have the game in hand after two periods and a 4-0 lead, outshooting the Golden Flashes 47-11 at that point. However, the Golden Flashes tallied three times in a span of 7:35 to pull within a goal at 4-3 with only 1:03 remaining in regulation. Goaltender Garrett Alderman did not allow the equalizer as the Bobcats held on for a 4-3 victory. Saturday evening, despite outshooting the Golden Flashes 31-11, the Bobcats only led 1-0 after forty minutes on a goal late in the second period by Alex Mazzuca. There would be no comeback in the third period as goals by Luc Reeve and Tommy Kloepfer pushed the lead to 3-0 and the Bobcats finished off the sweep with a 4-0 win. Reeve (two goals, three assists) and Laker Aldridge (goal, three assists) paced the Bobcats’ attack while Golden Flashes’ goaltender Matthew Wiess finished with 90 saves on the weekend.
No. 3 Minot State University (7-1-1) lost its lone game of the weekend to conference rival University of Mary 2-1 on the road at Starion Sports Complex in Mandan, N.D. Jay Buchholz put the Beavers up 1-0 after one period of play with a power play goal but David Loahr tied it at 1-1 for the Marauders with a power play goal in the second period. In the third period with time winding down, Amraj Gill brought the crowd of 875 to its feet with the game-winning goal with only 1:30 remaining in regulation. The Beavers pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker but were unable to get the equalizer past Marauders’ goaltender Caleb Cross, who finished with 38 saves.
No. 4 Calvin University (7-1-1) swept a non-conference home-and-home series against Purdue University Northwest (6-4, 3-2). Thursday night at the Kube Sports Complex in Hammond, Ind., as both teams generated over forty shots on goal, the Knights came away with a 6-4 victory. Friday night at Eagles Ice Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., the teams played a little more defensively and the game was tied 2-2 in the third period before Joel Fonovic netted the game winner with 6:23 remaining in regulation for the 3-2 win. Steven Ickes (two goals, two assists), Krzysztof Petryla (goal, three assists), Daniel Siso (two goals, assist), and Trent Benedict (three assists) paced the Knights offensively.
Rounding out the Top 5 is Liberty University (12-3-0), which swept a pair of home games against University of Jamestown at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. Thursday evening, after a scoreless first period, goals by Liam Cox-Smith and Mason Smith put the Flames up 2-1 after two periods. Only 0:50 into the third period, Michael Debrito stretched the lead to 3-1 and goaltender Konrad Kausch kept the Jimmies at bay the rest of the way finishing with 40 saves on the night as the Flames won 4-3. Saturday night, the Flames led 2-1 after the first period and, after a scoreless second period, tacked on a pair of goals by Tucker Shields and Aidan Carney just 7:24 into the third period to push the lead to 4-1. Defensemen Sully Ross got one goal back and then Brad Fortin cut the lead to 4-3 with 2:11 remaining in regulation. Flames forward Shields snuffed out any comeback attempt just 0:24 later with his second goal of the game completing the sweep with a 5-3 victory. Goaltender Kausch stood tall again making 36 saves for the win.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 22 Grand Valley State University and No. 24 Villanova University.
Dropping out of the Top 25 are Missouri State University and Midland University.
The Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference leads the way with six (of 7) of its member teams ranked, while Midwest College Hockey has three (of 7) of its member teams ranked, Western Collegiate Hockey League has four (of 11) of its member teams ranked, Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference has two (of 6) of its member teams ranked, Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League has two (of 10) of its members ranked, Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association has two (of 11) of its member teams ranked, and College Hockey Mid-America has one (of 7) its member teams ranked.
Over the past 22 seasons, 13 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, Nevada-Las Vegas, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 35th season of action, there have been a total of 15 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 Nevada-Las Vegas
- University of Rhode Island
A total of 81 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including former Men’s Division II members Central Michigan University, North Carolina State University, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and University of North Carolina, along with former Men’s Division III members Hope College, the reigning ACHA Men’s Division III National Champions, and University of Michigan-Flint. The Concordia University Ann Arbor program, which made the announcement to relocate to Siena Heights University back in April, folded in July before getting to play a game as the Saints.
The computer ranking will for the twelfth time determine the 24 teams that qualify for the 2026 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, which will include the following six auto bids:
- (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America
- (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League
- (MCH) Midwest College Hockey
- (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League
- (WHAC) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
The seventh ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.
The 2026 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 12-17 for the fourth time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the third year of the 24-team format.
| 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #6 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Niagara | 10-0-0 | 2 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 2 | Ohio | 13-1-0 | 1 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 3 | Minot State | 7-1-1 | 3 | ― | MCH |
| 4 | Calvin | 7-1-1 | 5 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 5 | Liberty | 12-3-0 | 6 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 6 | Adrian | 9-3-2 | 7 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 7 | Drury | 14-0-0 | 9 | ↑2 | INDEP |
| 8 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 9-2-0 | 8 | ― | WCHL |
| 9 | Jamestown | 9-4-0 | 4 | ↓5 | MCH |
| 10 | Maryville | 5-4-0 | 10 | ― | INDEP |
| 11 | Hope | 12-2-0 | 11 | ― | GL6 |
| 12 | Mary | 9-5-0 | 12 | ― | MCH |
| 13 | Stony Brook | 7-3-1 | 20 | ↑7 | ACCHL |
| 14 | Pittsburgh | 8-2-2 | 15 | ↑1 | ACCHL |
| 15 | Purdue Northwest | 7-6-0 | 14 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 16 | Grand Canyon | 9-4-0 | 19 | ↑3 | WCHL |
| 17 | Indiana Tech | 6-2-4 | 17 | ― | WHAC |
| 18 | West Chester | 9-3-0 | 18 | ― | ECHA |
| 19 | Utah | 5-6-1 | 13 | ↓6 | WCHL |
| 20 | Cleary | 11-1-0 | 21 | ↑1 | WHAC |
| 21 | Davenport | 7-6-2 | 22 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 22 | Grand Valley State | 6-4-2 | NR | ↑4 | GL6 |
| 23 | Arizona | 5-4-0 | 16 | ↓7 | WCHL |
| 24 | Villanova | 6-2-1 | NR | ↑2 | ECHA |
| 25 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 12-2-2 | 23 | ↓2 | 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 560 colleges and university-affiliated teams representing 48 states provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the sport of Hockey nationwide. With approximately 16,000 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 35th season in September 2025. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
