Women’s Division II Releases First Ranking of 2023-24 Season
TROY, Mich. – Nov. 24, 2023 – The American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Women’s Division II (W2) today announced the first official rankings of the 2023-2024 season. The results are based on games played and reported within the first ranking period that ended on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, between the division’s 68 member teams (up from 62 last season).
W2 was pleased to welcome the following teams that made their ACHA debut this season: Aurora University, Harvard University, Lake Region State College, Roger Williams University, Slippery Rock University, SUNY Cortland, and University of St. Thomas.
Details About the Rankings & Invitations to Nationals
The Women’s D2 tournament at the 2024 ACHA National Championships presented by FloHockey will begin Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at the Maryville University Hockey Center (MUHC) in Chesterfield, Missouri. The championship game will be played on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at the Centene Community Ice Center (CCIC), the practice facility for the NHL St. Louis Blues.
Invitations to Nationals will ultimately be extended to the top-ranking W2 teams in each region based on the final ranking of the season. The final date that games will count towards W2 rankings is Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. The ACHA will extend invitations to the following number of W2 teams per region:
- Northeast region: 4 invitations
- Southeast region: 5 invitations
- West region: 3 invitations
- Central region: 4 invitations
RANKING #1
NORTHEAST REGION
- Boston College
- Northeastern University
- Providence College
- University of Vermont
- Assumption University
- Boston University
- Sacred Heart University
- Saint Anselm College
- University of New Hampshire
- University of Connecticut
- Harvard University
- Merrimack College
- Bentley University
- ^College of the Holy Cross
Teams not yet ranked due to having only three or fewer games reported: ^Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of New England, Roger Williams University
SOUTHEAST REGION
- Villanova University
- United States Naval Academy
- University of Delaware
- Liberty University
- The Ohio State University
- Niagara University
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Maryland
- Mercyhurst University
- Rowan University
- Brockport State University
- West Virginia University
- University of Pittsburgh
- University at Buffalo
- Robert Morris University
- Montclair State University
- West Chester University
- Oswego State University
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Loyola University Maryland
Teams not yet ranked due to having only three or fewer games reported: University of Virginia, ^Virginia Tech, *SUNY Cortland, ^Georgetown University, ^George Washington University, *Slippery Rock University
CENTRAL
- Sault College
- Lawrence Technological University
- Central Michigan University
- Adrian College
- Northern Michigan University
- ^Aurora University
- Michigan State University
- Miami University
- Bowling Green State University
- ^University of Notre Dame
- ^Loyola University Chicago
WEST REGION
- Assiniboine Community College
- Dakota College at Bottineau
- University of Saint Thomas
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
- Maryville University
- North Dakota State University
- Lake Region State College
- Iowa State University
- University of Minnesota-Duluth
- ^University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
- ^University of Wisconsin-Stout
Teams not yet ranked due to having only three or fewer games reported: University of Wisconsin-Madison, *United States Air Force Academy, ^University of Nebraska
The following four conferences with at least six W2 ACHA member teams will be offered an automatic bid for their top team to the 2024 W2 National Championships: Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association (CCWHA), College Hockey East (CHE), Women’s Delaware Valley College Hockey Conference (DVCHC) and the Independent Women’s Club Ice Hockey League (IWCHL).
*The following teams are not eligible for the 2024 National Championships: Slippery Rock University, SUNY Cortland, Lake Region State College, United States Air Force.
^The following teams have declared they will not attend the 2024 National Championships: College of the Holy Cross, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Virginia Tech, University of Nebraska, University of Wisconsin Stout, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Aurora University, Loyola University Chicago, University of Notre Dame.
The second W2 ranking period will end on Dec. 3, 2023. Follow the W2 schedule here. For more information about W2 policies and procedures, please review the ACHA Manual.
