OHIO UNIVERSITY, DEFENDING AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION I NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, ATOP RANKING #3 AFTER SWEEPING STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY AT HOME
Undefeated Bobcats (8-0-0) Capture 14th Straight Victory
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (October 21, 2026) – Ohio University (8-0-0), the defending Men’s Division I National Champions of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, received all 32 first-place votes to remain atop the 2026-2027 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #3. The Bobcats swept Stony Brook University (11-1, 7-0) at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio. Luc Reeve (5 goals, 3 assists), Barron Stibbe (4 goals, 3 assists), Will Cohen (goal, 5 assists), Gavin Keller (goal, 3 assists), Breyden Zupsansky (4 assists), and Alex Thomas (4 assists) paced the Bobcats scoring attack. Goaltenders Matt Zazon (18 saves, shutout) and Garrett Alderman (18 saves) got the wins for the Bobcats.
No. 2 University of Nevada-Las Vegas (6-0-0) swept a pair of road games at AZ Ice Peoria over conference foe Grand Canyon University (8-3, 2-1). Friday night, the Rebels jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period before the Lopes narrowed the margin to 3-2 after two periods. A pair of goals in the first 4:57 of the third period by Shaun Rios and Gaige Giblin put the Rebels up 5-2 and they finished with an 8-3 victory. Rios finished with the three-goal hat trick while Bryce Johnson added a pair of goals. Lopes goaltender Ryan Kerr made 49 saves in defeat. Saturday night, Michael Schwartz put the Lopes up 1-0 after one period before the Rebels tied it on a goal by Dyland Gordan just 3:17 into the second period. Late in the period, Luke Backel notched his third goal of the season for the winning margin as the Rebels held on for a 2-1 victory. Lopes Goaltender Hunter Hein matched Kerr’s output from Friday night with 49 saves.
No. 3 Adrian College (7-1-0) split a pair of home games with Liberty University at Arrington Ice Arena. Thursday night, the Flames recovered from a 1-0 deficit after one period by scoring three times in the second period to pull away for a 4-1 triumph. Tucker Shields had a pair of goals, Luke Munroe and Zachary Nicolas tallied the other two goals, Sam Feamster dished out three helpers, and goaltender Austin Caley made 22 saves for the Flames. Friday night, Caleb Minns and Luke Marley scored early first period goals just 1:14 apart for the Bulldogs and goaltender Peyton Trzaska shut the door the rest of the way making 36 saves for a 3-1 victory. Blake Wideman added an empty net goal for the final margin.
No. 4 Minot State University (6-0-2) swept a pair of games with University of Jamestown and then lost in a shootout to University of Mary. Wednesday evening in the friendly confines of Maysa Arena, the Beavers jumped out to a 5-1 lead midway through the second period only to have the Jimmies claw back into the game with three goals in a 7:54 span of the second and third period. Alas, goaltender Will Dyke preserved the victory by finishing with 24 saves while counterpart Brandon Weare finished with 22 saves. The Jimmies’ Carter Johson had a three-goal hat trick and an assist. Friday night on the road at John L. Wilson Arena, the Beavers spotted the Jimmies a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. Matthew Yakubowski cut the deficit to 2-1 with a power play goal midway through the third period. With the goaltender pulled, Colby Joseph tied the game with only 0:33 remaining in regulation, then won the game in overtime just 0:30 into the extra frame. Weare finished with 38 saves while Jase Wareham got the win for the Beavers making 27 saves. Saturday night on the road at the Starion Sports Complex in front of a packed house, goals by Joey Moffatt and Sean Williams staked the Beavers to a 2-0 lead just 7:00 into the contest. Lyndon Orr responded quickly to make it 2-1 while Crae Dawson tied it at 2-2 early in the second period. After a scoreless third period and overtime, Joe Gronholz and John Lang scored shootout goals for the Marauders while Moffatt scored for the Beavers in defeat.
Rounding out the Top 5 was the aforementioned No. 5 Liberty University (7-1-0).
The Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference (GL6) leads the way with five (of 7) of its member teams ranked, while Midwest College Hockey (MCH) has three (of 5) of its member teams ranked, Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) has five (of 10) of its member teams ranked, Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) has two (of 6) of its member teams ranked, College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA) has two (of 7) of its member teams ranked, South East Conference Hockey League (SECHL) has one (of 6) of its member teams ranked, Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) has one (of 8) of its member teams ranked, and Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) has one (of 11) of its member teams ranked.
Over the past 23 seasons, 13 different schools have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship: Lindenwood (4), Adrian (3), Minot State (3), Central Oklahoma (2), Illinois (2), Ohio (2) Arizona State, Davenport, Delaware, Nevada-Las Vegas, Oakland, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 36th season of action, there have been a total of 15 schools that have won the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship:
- Ohio University (5 times – 2026, 2004, 1997, 1996, 1995)
- Penn State University (5 – 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1998)
- Lindenwood University (4 – 2022, 2016, 2010, 2009)
- Adrian College (3 – 2024, 2021, 2018)
- Minot State University (3 – 2023, 2019, 2013)
- University Central Oklahoma (2 – 2017, 2015)
- University of Illinois (2 – 2008, 2005)
- North Dakota State University (2 – 1994, 1993)
- University of Nevada-Las Vegas (2025)
- Arizona State University (2014)
- University of Delaware (2012)
- Davenport University (2011)
- Oakland University (2007)
- University of Rhode Island (2006)
- Iowa State University (1992)
A total of 81 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including former Men’s Division II members Farmingdale State College and Sacred Heart University. The University at Buffalo program will compete in Men’s Division II this season while the Men’s Division I team at George Mason University team has folded.
The computer ranking, which will not commence until November 4, will for the thirteenth time determine the 24 teams that qualify for the 2027 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, which will include the following nine (9) auto bids:
- (ACCHL) Atlantic Coast College Hockey League
- (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America
- (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- (GL6) Great Lakes Six Hockey Conference
- (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League
- (MCH) Midwest College Hockey
- (NECHL) Northeast Collegiate Hockey League
- (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League
- (WHAC) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
The fourth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
The 2027 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 11-16 for the fifth time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the fourth year of the 24-team format.
| 2026-2027 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #3 | |||||||
| Rank | School Name | 1st Votes | M1 Record | Pts | Previous | Conference | Trend |
| 1 | Ohio | 32 | 8-0-0 | 700 | 1 | INDEP | ― |
| 2 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 6-0-0 | 654 | 3 | WCHL | ↑1 | |
| 3 | Adrian | 7-1-0 | 652 | 2 | GL6 | ↓1 | |
| 4 | Minot State | 6-0-2 | 606 | 4 | INDEP | ― | |
| 5 | Liberty | 7-1-0 | 575 | 6 | INDEP | ↑1 | |
| 6 | Niagara | 6-0-1 | 560 | 5 | ACCHL | ↓1 | |
| 7 | Drury | 6-1-0 | 535 | 7 | INDEP | ― | |
| 8 | Calvin | 4-1-0 | 477 | 8 | GL6 | ― | |
| 9 | Jamestown | 3-2-1 | 460 | 9 | MCH | ― | |
| 10 | Mary | 4-2-0 | 439 | 11 | MCH | ↑1 | |
| 11 | Utah | 6-1-0 | 426 | 10 | WCHL | ↓1 | |
| 12 | Maryville | 4-3-0 | 364 | 12 | INDEP | ― | |
| 13 | Purdue Northwest | 5-1-0 | 357 | 14 | GL6 | ↑1 | |
| 14 | Grand Canyon | 3-4-0 | 296 | 13 | WCHL | ↓1 | |
| 15 | Northwood | 7-2-1 | 284 | 17 | GLCHL | ↑2 | |
| 16 T | West Chester | 7-1-0 | 269 | 16 | ECHA | ― | |
| 16 T | Davenport | 9-1-1 | 269 | 18 | GL6 | ↑2 | |
| 18 | Hope | 4-4-0 | 202 | 15 | GL6 | ↓3 | |
| 19 | Indiana Pennsylvania | 7-2-0 | 190 | 19 | CHMA | ― | |
| 20 | Missouri State | 6-3-0 | 171 | 21 | WCHL | ↑1 | |
| 21 | Arizona | 1-3-1 | 134 | 20 | WCHL | ↓1 | |
| 22 | John Carroll | 7-3-0 | 112 | 22 | CHMA | ― | |
| 23 | Kentucky | 10-2-0 | 80 | 25 | SECHL | ↑2 | |
| 24 | Midland | 4-2-0 | 73 | 23 | MCH | ↓1 | |
| 25 | Stony Brook | 1-3-1 | 14 | 24 | ACCHL | ↓1 | |
Others receiving votes: Rhode Island, Drexel, Indiana Tech, Illinois State, Syracuse, Oregon, Saginaw Valley State.
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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 36th season in September 2026. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
