UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN TAKES OVER TOP SPOT FOR FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION RANKING #4
Ranking System Moves to Computer-based Poll
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (October 30, 2024) – University of Jamestown (11-0-0) takes over the top spot of 2024-2025 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #4, as the ranking system switches from a coaches poll to a computer poll. Ranked No. 2 the previous week, the Jimmies stand atop the rankings for the first time in program history. The Jimmies were swept in a home and home exhibition series against NCAA Division III Concordia College-Moorhead (5-2, 6-4).
No. 2 Calvin University (7-1-0) split a home-and-home series with Purdue University Northwest. Thursday night, Pride goaltender Cooper Olson stopped 39 shots on goal to forge a 4-1 victory. Saturday evening, the Knights rallied from an early 1-0 deficit as Krzysztof Petryla notched a shorthanded tally, his eighth goal of the season, for the game winning goal in a 2-1 battle.
No. 3 Minot State University (5-1-1) hit the road on Saturday night against conference rival University of Mary and came away with a 6-1 win. Joey Moffatt and Reid Arnold each tallied a pair of goals, Colby Joseph had a goal and an assist, and Walker Jerome distributed two assists for the Beavers.
No. 4 Ohio University (6-2-0) took down former No. 1 Adrian College on the road at Arrington Arena on Thursday night, 3-1. Laker Aldridge and Mathieu Ovaert put the Bobcats up 2-0 heading into the third period before Matteo Turrin potted his seventh goal of the season with only 3:46 remaining in regulation to make it a one goal game. The Bulldogs pulled their goaltender but were unable to get the equalizer before Spencer Schons scored into the empty net to seal the victory.
Rounding out the Top 5 was University of Nevada-Las Vegas (5-1-0), Men’s Division I national runners-up in 2024, which swept a pair of conference games on the road at Tucson Arena over University of Arizona (3-1, 3-2). Thursday night, the Rebels built a 3-0 lead in the second period on goals by Heath Mensch, Jaxsen Wyatt, and Tristan Rand before Justin Hughes tallied for the Wildcats for the final margin of 3-1. Friday afternoon, two goals by Bradley Golant, including a shorthanded tally, were the difference in a 3-2 win. Haydn Gould stopped 64 of 70 shots on the weekend for the Wildcats.
Moving into the polls this week is No. 19 Midland University, No. 20 Arizona State University, No. 21 Davenport University, No. 23 University of Colorado, No. 24 Colorado State University, and No. 25 University of Illinois.
Dropping out of the Top 25 are West Chester University, Illinois State University, Missouri State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Central Oklahoma, and University of Delaware.
The Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference, playing in its inaugural season, leads the way with five (of 6) of its member teams ranked, while Western Collegiate Hockey League has eight (of 11) of its member teams ranked, and Midwest College Hockey has five (of 10) of its member teams ranked.
With the ACHA switching to a computer-based ranking from a coaches poll, the ACHA will use the 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 come 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 21 seasons, 12 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, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.
Now in its 34th season of action, there have been a total of 14 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 Rhode Island
A total of 73 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including former Men’s Division II member Drury University and former Men’s Division III members Northwood University and Saginaw Valley State University.
The computer ranking will for the eleventh time determine the 24 teams that qualify for the 2025 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, which will include the following eight auto bids:
- (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America
- (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
- (ESCHL) Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League
- (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 fifth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
The 2025 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will be hosted March 13-18 for the third time at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. This will be the second year of the 24-team format.
| 2024-2025 ACHA Men’s Division I Ranking #4 | |||||
| Rank | School Name | M1 Record | Previous | Trend | Conference |
| 1 | Jamestown | 11-0-0 | 2 | ↑1 | MCH |
| 2 | Calvin | 7-1-0 | 10 | ↑8 | GL6 |
| 3 | Minot State | 5-1-1 | 3 | ― | MCH |
| 4 | Ohio | 6-2-0 | T 4 | ― | INDEP |
| 5 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 5-1-0 | T 4 | ↓1 | WCHL |
| 6 | Liberty | 8-2-0 | 6 | ― | INDEP |
| 7 | Utah | 7-1-1 | 14 | ↑7 | WCHL |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 9-0-0 | 19 | ↑11 | WCHL |
| 9 | Indiana Tech | 8-0-0 | 18 | ↑9 | WHAC |
| 10 | Purdue Northwest | 6-2-0 | 9 | ↓1 | GL6 |
| 11 | Drury | 9-1-0 | 23 | ↑12 | INDEP |
| 12 | Adrian | 4-1-2 | 1 | ↓11 | GL6 |
| 13 | Niagara | 9-1-0 | 11 | ↓2 | INDEP |
| 14 | Grand Canyon | 3-1-1 | 12 | ↓2 | WCHL |
| 15 | Maryville | 7-4-1 | 8 | ↓7 | INDEP |
| 16 | Oswego State | 7-2-3 | 15 | ↓1 | NECHL |
| 17 | Arizona | 4-3-0 | 17 | ― | WCHL |
| 18 | Mary | 8-3-0 | 7 | ↓11 | MCH |
| 19 | Midland | 6-6-1 | NR | ↑7 | MCH |
| 20 | Arizona State | 2-4-0 | NR | ↑6 | WCHL |
| 21 | Davenport | 9-5-0 | NR | ↑5 | GL6 |
| 22 | Grand Valley State | 6-2-0 | 13 | ↓9 | GL6 |
| 23 | Colorado | 5-4-1 | NR | ↑3 | WCHL |
| 24 | Colorado State | 5-2-1 | NR | ↑2 | WCHL |
| 25 | Illinois | 5-7-0 | NR | ↑1 | MCH |
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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 450 colleges and university-affiliated teams representing 48 states provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the sport of Hockey nationwide. With approximately 13,000 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 34th season in September 2024. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
