NIAGARA UNIVERSITY REMAINS NO. 1 TEAM IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #7
Undefeated Purple Eagles Swept Stony Brook University at Home
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (November 19, 2025) – Niagara University (12-0-0), for the second consecutive week, remains in the top spot of 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #7. The undefeated Purple Eagles swept a home series at Dwyer Arena over Stony Brook University (5-1, 4-3). Forward Charlie Belanger notched the game winning goal in both contests, his eleventh and twelfth goals of the season. Belanger, whose tie-breaking goal on Sunday came with only 6:05 remaining in the third period, now has five game winning goals and 21 points in 12 games played. Goaltender Jackson Pundyk stopped 24 of 25 shots on Saturday night for the 5-1 victory, while fellow netminder Jacob Dubinsky turned aside 24 of 27 shots Sunday afternoon for the 4-3 triumph, his ninth win of the season.
No. 2 Ohio University (15-1-0) welcomed Maryville University to Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio, and promptly swept them out of town (2-1, 3-1). Friday night, it was a goaltenders’ duel for more than 59:17 of action until Bobcats forward Hollander Thompson put his ninth goal of the season past Saints goaltender Parker Sawka for the 2-1 victory. Sawka finished with 27 saves while counterpart Garrett Alderman kicked aside 29 shots for his sixth win. Saturday night, Lance Mengel broke a 1-1 tie early in the second period and Will Cohen added an insurance goal with 5:59 remaining in the third period as the Bobcats finished off the sweep with a 3-1 victory. Goaltender Matt Zazon stopped 35 shots for his sixth win while Sawka added another 32 saves for a weekend total of 59 saves.
No. 3 Minot State University (9-1-1) swept conference rival University of Jamestown (3-1, 2-1) in the friendly confines of Maysa Arena. Friday night, Tanner McCracken put the Jimmies up 1-0 after the first period before Sheldin Howard tied it at 1-1 after two periods with a power play goal. Defenseman Matthew Yakubowski put the Beavers up 2-1 at the 8:18 mark of the third period while Jay Buchholz’ goal with only 1:38 remaining in regulation iced the game for the final 3-1 margin. Goaltender Blake Sittler got the win making 26 saves while Brandon Weare took the loss for the Jimmies despite making 30 saves. Saturday night, after a scoreless first period, Howard tallied another power play goal to put the Beavers up 1-0 after two periods. Joey Moffatt increased the lead to 2-0 with a power play goal before Darius Makse notched his own power play goal to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 12:05 remaining in the third period. The Jimmies pulled Weare for the extra attacker for 55 seconds but could not get the equalizer past goaltender Will Dyke as the Beavers prevailed 2-1. Dyke only needed to make 13 saves for the win while Weare collected 25 saves for a weekend total of 55 saves.
No. 4 Liberty University (12-3-0) was idle this weekend while rounding out the Top 5 is Adrian College (11-3-2), which swept conference rival Roosevelt University (6-1, 10-1) on the road at The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Ill. The Bulldogs put 129 shots on goal in the two-game series and were fronted by Eli Reimer (two goals, three assists), Blake Wideman (three goals, assist), Cale Strasky (goal, three assists), Griffin Zaske (four assists), and Cash Regan (four assists). Lakers goaltender Harber Cassel diverted 108 shots on goal.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 24 University of Rhode Island while University of Arizona
drops out of the Top 25.
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, Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference has two (of 6) of its member teams ranked, Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association has three (of 11) of its member teams ranked, Western Collegiate Hockey League has three (of 11) of its member teams ranked, and Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League has two (of 10) of 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 eighth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, December 3, 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 #7 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Niagara | 12-0-0 | 1 | ― | INDEP |
| 2 | Ohio | 15-1-0 | 2 | ― | INDEP |
| 3 | Minot State | 9-1-1 | 3 | ― | MCH |
| 4 | Liberty | 12-3-0 | 5 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 5 | Adrian | 11-3-2 | 6 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 6 | Calvin | 7-1-1 | 4 | ↓2 | GL6 |
| 7 | Drury | 14-0-0 | 7 | ― | INDEP |
| 8 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 9-2-0 | 8 | ― | WCHL |
| 9 | Jamestown | 9-6-0 | 9 | ― | MCH |
| 10 | Maryville | 5-6-0 | 10 | ― | INDEP |
| 11 | Mary | 9-5-0 | 12 | ↑1 | MCH |
| 12 | Hope | 13-3-0 | 11 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 13 | Stony Brook | 7-5-1 | 13 | ― | ACCHL |
| 14 | Purdue Northwest | 8-6-1 | 15 | ↑1 | GL6 |
| 15 | Grand Canyon | 9-4-0 | 16 | ↑1 | WCHL |
| 16 | Indiana Tech | 6-2-4 | 17 | ↑1 | WHAC |
| 17 | Utah | 7-6-1 | 19 | ↑2 | WCHL |
| 18 | Pittsburgh | 8-3-3 | 14 | ↓4 | ACCHL |
| 19 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 14-2-2 | 25 | ↑6 | CHMA |
| 20 | Cleary | 13-1-0 | 20 | ― | WHAC |
| 21 | Villanova | 8-2-1 | 24 | ↑3 | ECHA |
| 22 | West Chester | 9-5-0 | 18 | ↓4 | ECHA |
| 23 | Grand Valley State | 8-5-2 | 22 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 24 | Rhode Island | 12-4-0 | NR | ↑2 | ECHA |
| 25 | Davenport | 9-6-2 | 21 | ↓4 | 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 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.
