UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-DEARBORN RANKED #1 IN THE FIRST RANKING OF THE 2026-2027 SEASON
TROY, Mich. – (October 20, 2026) – University of Michigan-Dearborn claims the No. 1 spot in the first weekly ranking of the 2026-2027 American Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s Division 1 season. The Wolverines (5-0-0-0) come off the weekend with a sweep over No. 2 Liberty University (3-2-0-0), winning 2-0 and 4-1. The Flames look to bounce back with a road trip to Adrian College in the upcoming weekend.
No. 3 Midland (8-0-0-0) swept No. 12 Maryville University, winning 4-1 and 8-1. The Warriors will host No. 5 Minot State (3-0-0-1) this upcoming weekend. The Beavers hosted No. 7 ranked Sault College (4-1-0-1) this past weekend. Minot State won the first game 2-0, and tied 1-1 in the second game.
No. 4 Niagara (5-1-0-0) Niagara has beaten Penn State, University of Massachusetts, and Davenport University. Their only loss coming from No. 9 ranked University of Massachusetts. They split the series with the Minutemen, losing 2-0, and winning 3-1.
Please note, many teams in the rankings have played less than 6 games. This can have a significant impact on the ranking from week to week.
The Women’s Midwest College Hockey League has six (of 8) member teams ranked, while the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association has seven (of 12) of its member teams ranked, and the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League has one (of 6).
The computer ranking will determine the 10 teams that qualify for the 2026 ACHA Women’s Division 1 National Championships, which will include the following three automatic bids:
- (CCWHA) Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association
- (WWCHL) Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League
- (WMCHL) Women’s Midwest College Hockey League
A total of 34 teams are competing in Women’s Division 1 this season, including one new full member team, Eastern Michigan University, and two probationary members, University of Washington, and University of New Mexico.
The ACHA uses two computer rankings, Ranking A (Wins with goal differential of 6) and Ranking B (Wins with maximum goal differential of 1) to come up with an average of the two rankings, which determines the ranking spots for teams.
There has been a total of 11 schools that have won the ACHA Women’s Division 1 National Championship:
- St. Cloud State
- Wisconsin (2 Times)
- Michigan State (2)
- Robert Morris (2)
- Lindenwood (4)
- Northeastern
- Minnesota
- Miami (3)
- Liberty (7)
- Adrian
- Midland
The 2027 ACHA National Championships presented by FloHockey will be played March 11-21, 2027 at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, MO. All five divisions, with more than 1,500 players from 72 teams — Men’s Division 1, 2, and 3, and Women’s Divisions 1 and 2 — will converge upon the Maryland Heights area to compete in more than 100 games. The ACHA Women’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will have twelve teams competing beginning on March 17th and conclude with the Championship game on March 21st.
