NIAGARA UNIVERSITY REMAINS NO. 1 TEAM IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #8
Undefeated Purple Eagles Swept University of Pittsburgh at Home
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (November 26, 2025) – Niagara University (14-0-0), for the third consecutive week, remains in the top spot of 2025-2026 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #8. The undefeated Purple Eagles swept a home series at Dwyer Arena over University of Pittsburgh (11-1, 5-1). The Purple Eagles put 100 shots on goal in the two-game series and were spearheaded offensively by Cody Gudnason (two goals, three assists), Dean Taylor (goal, three assists), and Johnny Wescoe (four assists). Goaltender Jackson Pundyk stopped 50 of 51 shots on Friday night while fellow netminder Jacob Dubinsky turned aside 27 of 28 shots Saturday evening, his tenth win of the season.
No. 2 Minot State University (12-1-1) won all three of its games at the Capper Hockey Chicago Showcase in Romeoville, Ill., defeating University of Nevada-Las Vegas 2-1 on Friday, University of Utah 4-2 on Saturday, and Arizona State University 8-2 on Sunday. Friday afternoon, after two scoreless periods of hockey, Colby Joseph netted his seventh goal of the season to put the Beavers up 1-0. The Rebels’ Heath Mensch tied it with a power play goal before Joseph potted his own power play goal that would hold up as the game winner. Goaltender Will Dyke turned aside 29 shots for the win while Rebels counterpart Doug Wakelyn finished with 22 saves. Saturday afternoon, Joseph had both a power play goal and shorthanded goal to stake the Beavers to a 3-1 lead after one period. Joey Moffatt tacked on a goal in the second period and Dyke made 28 saves for the 4-2 win. Sunday afternoon, the Beavers used a five-goal outburst in the second period to catapult themselves to an 8-2 victory over the Sun Devils.
No. 3 Ohio University (16-3-0) also participated in the Capper Hockey Chicago Showcase, losing
2-1 to University of Jamestown on Friday and 5-4 to University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Saturday before defeating Drury University 6-2 on Sunday. Friday, Drake Nabozny put the Bobcats up 1-0 with a power play goal, but goals 0:23 apart from Matthew McIntyre and Carson Brown gave the Jimmies a 2-1 lead after one period that would not be relinquished. Goaltender Brandon Weare turned aside 24 shots the last two periods as the Jimmies prevailed. Saturday morning, Bobcat forward Luc Reeve knotted the score at three with his 13th goal of the season with 9:31 remaining in the third period. However, a pair of tallies by Deven Nagra, his second of the game, and Asher Wites just 0:47 apart put the Rebels up 5-3. The Bobcats’ Laker Aldridge notched his tenth goal of the season to make it a one goal game with 2:38 left in the third period, but goaltender Wakelyn shut the door the rest of the way as the Rebels prevailed. Sunday evening, the Bobcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period before a power play and shorthanded goal by the Panthers made it 3-2 halfway through the game. Mathieu Ovaert restored the two-goal lead before the second period ended and the Bobcats tacked on two more goals in the third period for the final margin of victory.
No. 4 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (11-3-0) won two of its three games at the Capper Hockey Chicago Showcase, defeating Purdue University Northwest (3-0), losing to Minot State University (2-1), and conquering Ohio University 5-4. Friday night after 51:17 of scoreless action, forward Heath Mensch finally solved Pride goaltender Caleb Kril to put the Rebels up 1-0. Mason Kelly and Charles Masek tacked on insurance goals for the 3-0 triumph as Wakelyn got the shutout making 21 saves, while counterpart Kril ended up with 48 saves for the Pride.
Rounding out the Top 5 and achieving its highest ranking in team history is Drury University (16-1-0). The Panthers participated in the Capper Hockey Chicago Showcase, defeating Arizona State University 7-2 on Friday and University of Jamestown 6-3 on Saturday while succumbing to Ohio University 6-2 on Sunday. Friday night after trailing 1-0 early, the Panthers rattled off five consecutive goals en route to an 8-2 victory. Saturday night, the Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Jimmies and lead 5-1 after two periods. The Jimmies fought back in the third period with a pair of goals but it was too little, too late as the Panthers prevailed 6-3. Panthers forward Anmol Garcha had two goals and five assists on the weekend.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 15 University of Arizona, No. 21 Missouri State University, No. 24 Midland University, and No. 25 Arizona State University.
Dropping out of the Top 25 are Villanova University, West Chester University, University of Rhode Island, and Davenport University.
The Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference leads the way with five (of 7) of its member teams ranked, while Midwest College Hockey has four (of 7) of its member teams ranked, Western Collegiate Hockey League has six (of 11) of its member teams ranked, Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference has two (of 6) 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 ninth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, December 10, 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 #8 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Niagara | 14-0-0 | 1 | ― | INDEP |
| 2 | Minot State | 12-1-1 | 3 | ↑1 | MCH |
| 3 | Ohio | 16-3-0 | 2 | ↓1 | INDEP |
| 4 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 11-3-0 | 8 | ↑4 | WCHL |
| 5 | Drury | 16-1-0 | 7 | ↑2 | INDEP |
| 6 | Adrian | 13-3-2 | 5 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 7 | Jamestown | 11-7-0 | 9 | ↑2 | MCH |
| 8 | Liberty | 14-4-0 | 4 | ↓4 | INDEP |
| 9 | Maryville | 8-6-0 | 10 | ↑1 | INDEP |
| 10 | Calvin | 7-3-2 | 6 | ↓4 | GL6 |
| 11 | Mary | 10-6-1 | 11 | ― | MCH |
| 12 | Utah | 8-8-1 | 17 | ↑5 | WCHL |
| 13 | Grand Canyon | 11-4-0 | 15 | ↑2 | WCHL |
| 14 | Hope | 15-3-0 | 12 | ↓2 | GL6 |
| 15 | Arizona | 6-7-1 | NR | ↑11 | WCHL |
| 16 | Purdue Northwest | 10-7-1 | 14 | ↓2 | GL6 |
| 17 | Pittsburgh | 8-5-3 | 18 | ↑1 | ACCHL |
| 18 | Stony Brook | 7-6-2 | 13 | ↓5 | ACCHL |
| 19 | Cleary | 13-1-0 | 20 | ↑1 | WHAC |
| 20 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 16-2-2 | 19 | ↓1 | CHMA |
| 21 | Missouri State | 9-3-4 | NR | ↑5 | WCHL |
| 22 | Indiana Tech | 6-3-4 | 16 | ↓6 | WHAC |
| 23 | Grand Valley State | 8-5-2 | 23 | ― | GL6 |
| 24 | Midland | 6-9-3 | NR | ↑2 | MCH |
| 25 | Arizona State | 5-8-3 | NR | ↑1 | WCHL |
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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.
