Hockey / MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY ENTERS M1 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AS NO. 1 SEED

MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY ENTERS M1 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AS NO. 1 SEED

Date:  Source: ACHA

UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 21, 2018) – Minot State University (26-2-1) beat Colorado State University (4-1) at home to hold onto the top spot for the seventh consecutive week in the 2017-2018 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division I Ranking, No. 19.  The Beavers once again enter the ACHA Men's Division I National Championships as the top seed, looking to bring home its second national title in six seasons.  Adrian College (26-1-0), the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League Regular Season Champions, earned their 12th consecutive win after thrashing Mercyhurst University (13-1, 8-3) on the road in Erie, Pa., and will enter Nationals as the No. 2 seed.  Lindenwood University (23-4-4) will be the No. 3 seed after sweeping a pair of road games at the University of Arkansas.  The Lions will be seeking their second national title in three years, and were Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) Regular Season Co-Champions along with No. 4 seed Ohio University (24-7-1).  The Bobcats enter the tournament after splitting a pair of games at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio against Iowa State University.  With its 6-1 win on Saturday, Ohio clinched a share of the CSCHL Regular Season Championship.  Rounding out the Top 5 entering Nationals is the University of Illinois, which swept Robert Morris University Illinois at home (3-0, 2-1 OT)  on the Big Pond in Champaign, Ill. The Fighting Illini will seek their first national title since 2008.

 

This ranking marks the deadline for choosing the 20 participating teams for the 2018 ACHA Men's Division I National Championships.  Fifteen teams in the ranking will all return to the 2018 ACHA Men's Division I National Championships, including No. 6 seed Robert Morris Illinois; No. 7 seed Central Oklahoma, the defending ACHA Men's Division I National Champions; No. 8 seed Michigan-Dearborn; No. 9 seed Colorado; No. 10 seed Liberty; No. 11 seed Iowa State; No. 14 seed Davenport; No. 15 seed Stony Brook; No. 18 seed Pittsburgh (College Hockey Mid-America Association Regular Season Champions); and No. 20 seed Drexel (Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association Regular Season Champions).  Joining those 15 schools will be five new teams that did not participate a year ago: No. 12 seed Jamestown; No. 13 seed Nevada-Las Vegas; No. 16 seed Arizona; No. 17 seed Missouri State; and No. 19 seed Buffalo (Northeast Collegiate Hockey League Regular Season Champions).

                                                                                     

National Tournament Breakdown by leagues:

 

5 – Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) teams include: Illinois, Iowa State, Lindenwood, Ohio and Robert Morris Illinois

 

4 – Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) teams include: Arizona, Central Oklahoma, Colorado and Missouri State

 

3 – Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) teams include: Adrian, Davenport and Michigan-Dearborn

 

3 – Independent teams include: Jamestown, Minot State and Nevada-Las Vegas

 

2 – Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) teams include:  Liberty and Stony Brook

 

1 – College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA) teams include: Pittsburgh

 

1 – Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) teams include: Drexel

 

1 – Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL) teams include: Buffalo

 

The Central States Collegiate Hockey League leads the way with all five of its member teams ranked, while the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) and Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) each have five (of 8) of its member teams ranked, and the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) has four (of 9) of its member teams ranked.

 

The computer ranking will for the fifth time determine the 20 teams that qualify for the 2018 ACHA Men's Division I National Championships, which will include the following six autobids:

 

  • (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America – University of Pittsburgh
  • (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association – Drexel University
  • (ESCHL) Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League – Liberty University
  • (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League – Adrian College
  • (NECHL) Northeast Collegiate Hockey League – University at Buffalo
  • (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League – University of Central Oklahoma

 

A total of 60 teams are competing in Men’s Division I this season, including three new teams: Calvin College, New York University and University of Nevada-Las Vegas.  The two teams that have departed Men’s Division I include Binghamton University and Indiana Tech.

 

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 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.  Games that go to a shootout will be scored as ties.

 

In its 27th season of action, there have been a total of 13 schools that have won the ACHA Men's Division I National Championship:

 

  • Penn State (5 times)
  • Ohio (4)
  • Lindenwood (3)
  • Central Oklahoma (2)
  • Illinois (2)
  • North Dakota State (2)
  • Arizona State
  • Davenport
  • Delaware
  • Iowa State
  • Minot State
  • Oakland
  • Rhode Island

 

The 2018 ACHA Men's Division I National Championships will be hosted March 8-13 for the second consecutive season by the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, Columbus Blue Jackets, and OhioHealth Chiller Ice Rinks at the OhioHealth Ice Haus, in Columbus. This will be the seventh year of the 20-team format.

 

The final ranking of the season will be released on Thursday, March 15, 2018.

 

2017-2018 ACHA Men's Division I Ranking #19

Rank

School Name

M1 Record

Previous

1

Minot State

26-2-1

1

2

Adrian

26-1-0

2

3

Lindenwood

23-4-4

3

4

Ohio

26-8-2

4

5

Illinois

16-8-2

5

6

Robert Morris Illinois

18-12-1

6

7

Central Oklahoma

27-5-4

7

8

Michigan-Dearborn

16-4-2

11

9

Colorado

23-8-1

8

10

Liberty

28-6-0

10

11

Iowa State

16-13-3

13

12

Jamestown

17-11-1

9

13

Nevada-Las Vegas

18-9-0

12

14

Davenport

18-9-3

15

15

Stony Brook

21-7-4

14

16

Arizona

18-8-3

16

17

Missouri State

16-12-3

17

18

Midland

6-14-0

18

19

Kent State

24-9-1

20

20

Oklahoma

15-17-2

21

21

Rhode Island

23-11-2

22

22

Alabama

20-9-1

23

23

New York

15-9-2

24

24

Pittsburgh

21-10-1

25

25

Delaware
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