NO. 1 LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY ATOP AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION I RANKING
Lions Games Against Conference Rival Ohio University Postponed
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 9, 2022) – Lindenwood University, undefeated on the season with a record of 13-0-0, holds the top spot in the 2021-2022 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division 1 Ranking No. 16. The Lions had its road games against Central States Collegiate Hockey League foe Ohio University postponed.
No. 2 Minot State University (21-2-0) traveled cross country to Lynchburg, Va. and came away with a sweep of Liberty University (16-7-1), which dropped to No. 5 in the rankings. Friday night, the Beavers took a 3-1 lead into the 3rd period, only to have the Flames storm out of the gate and score two quick goals in the first 1:17 to tie it at 3-3. However, Reid Arnold tallied the game-winning goal midway thru the period and an empty-net goal by Eric Soar sealed the 5-3 Beavers victory. Saturday night, the Beavers jumped out to another two-goal lead midway through the game but a goal by Kam Ottenbreit with 5:46 remaining in regulation tied it at 2-2 and sent the game to overtime. In the overtime, Drew Carter scored to send the Beavers into a raucous celebration on the ice and a weekend sweep of the Flames.
No. 3 Iowa State University (22-4-2) swept a pair of games against Central States Collegiate Hockey League arch-rival University of Illinois at the Ames/ISU Arena in Ames, Iowa. Friday, Stuart Pearson broke a scoreless tie with a pair of goals 0:45 apart late in the second period for a 2-0 lead after two periods. Matty Moran tacked on a goal early in the third period to make it 3-0 before the Illini answered back with a pair of goals by Braden Stewart and Brandon Hay via the penalty shot to make it 3-2 with 5:14 remaining in the third period. Hunter Floris sealed the deal with a goal to make it 5-3 with 2:03 left in the game for the final margin of victory. Saturday, the Cyclones completed the sweep by scoring four times in a span of 2:50 late in the second period to break a 1-1 tie and complete the 5-1 victory.
No. 4 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (21-4-0) was idle.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 25 University of Delaware while Grand Canyon University drops out of the Top 25.
The Central States Collegiate Hockey League leads the way with four (of 5) of its member teams ranked, while the Western Collegiate Hockey League has six (of 10) of its member teams ranked, the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League has three (of 6) of its member teams ranked, the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference has three (of 7) of its member teams ranked, and Midwest College Hockey has two (of 6) 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 comes 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 18 seasons, 12 different schools have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship: Lindenwood (3), Central Oklahoma (2), Illinois (2), Minot State (2), Adrian (2), Arizona State, Davenport, Delaware, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 31st season of action, there have been a total of 14 schools that have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship:
- Penn State (5 times)
- Ohio (4)
- Lindenwood (3)
- Adrian (2)
- Central Oklahoma (2)
- Illinois (2)
- Minot State (2)
- North Dakota State (2)
- Arizona State
- Davenport
- Delaware
- Iowa State
- Oakland
- Rhode Island
A total of 68 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, as four teams have departed Men’s Division I: Cornell University, Penn State Berks, Slippery Rock University, and SUNY Cortland.
The computer ranking will for the eighth time determine the 20 teams that qualify for the 2022 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, which will include the following eight autobids:
- (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America
- (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- (ESCHL) Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League
- (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League
- (MCH) Midwest Collegiate Hockey
- (NECHL) Northeast Collegiate Hockey League
- (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League
- (WHAC) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
The seventeenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, February 16, 2022.
The 2022 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships will be hosted March 10-15 for the first time by the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League and the St. Louis Sports Commission, with the event to be contested at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the tenth year of the 20-team format.
| 2021-2022 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #16 | ||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Conference |
| 1 | Lindenwood | 13-0-0 | 1 | CSCHL |
| 2 | Minot State | 21-2-0 | 2 | Independent |
| 3 | Iowa State | 22-4-2 | 5 | CSCHL |
| 4 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 21-4-0 | 4 | WCHL |
| 5 | Liberty | 16-7-1 | 3 | Independent |
| 6 | Central Oklahoma | 26-4-0 | 6 | WCHL |
| 7 | Stony Brook | 18-6-2 | 7 | ESCHL |
| 8 | Adrian | 18-4-0 | 8 | GLCHL |
| 9 | Missouri State | 17-8-3 | 9 | WCHL |
| 10 | Maryville | 17-5-1 | 11 | MCH |
| 11 | Jamestown | 9-9-4 | 12 | Independent |
| 12 | Illinois | 16-14-1 | 10 | CSCHL |
| 13 | Pittsburgh | 23-3-1 | 13 | CHMA |
| 14 | Indiana Tech | 22-4-2 | 14 | WHAC |
| 15 | Ohio | 14-11-3 | 15 | CSCHL |
| 16 | Arizona | 14-9-1 | 16 | WCHL |
| 17 | Utah | 10-7-3 | 19 | WCHL |
| 18 | Michigan-Dearborn | 18-8-2 | 17 | WHAC |
| 19 | Niagara | 22-4-1 | 18 | NECHL |
| 20 | Aquinas | 16-6-1 | 20 | WHAC |
| 21 | Arizona State | 10-13-0 | 24 | WCHL |
| 22 | Rhode Island | 16-10-1 | 22 | ESCHL |
| 23 | Davenport | 17-7-0 | 21 | GLCHL |
| 24 | Midland | 12-11-3 | 23 | MCH |
| 25 | Delaware | 16-11-2 | 27 | ESCHL |
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About American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a recognized 501(c)3 organization of almost 450 college and university-affiliated programs which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the quality of collegiate ice hockey throughout the United States. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the ACHA’s primary mission is to support the growth and development of college hockey programs nationwide. The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level and entered its 31st season in September 2021. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
