ADRIAN COLLEGE REMAINS NO. 1 FOR TENTH CONSECUTIVE RANKING PERIOD IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION 1 RANKING

Bulldogs Start 2020 With A Home-and-Home Sweep Of No. 23 Oakland

UNION LAKE, Mich. – (January 22, 2020) – For the tenth consecutive ranking, Adrian College (18-0-0) remains in the top spot in the 2019-2020 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 1 Ranking No. 12.  The Bulldogs swept a home-and-home series with No. 23 Oakland University, beating the Golden Grizzlies 6-3 on Thursday night at Arrington Ice Arena.  On Friday evening, Adrian scored 9 goals in a 9-3 rout of Oakland at the ONYX.  Adrian hosts Robert Morris (IL) University this upcoming Saturday and Sunday. 

No. 2 Liberty University (19-3-1) opened 2020 with a sweep of No. 23 University of Delaware at the LaHaye Center in Lynchburg, Va.  Friday night saw the Flames beat the Blue Hens by a score of 5-2.  Liberty followed up the next evening by breaking into double digits, beating Delaware in a 10-3 romp.  Liberty travels to No. 6 Stony Brook University for a pair of games this weekend.

No. 3 Lindenwood University (13-5-2) moves up a spot in the rankings after a road sweep of Robert Morris (IL) University at the Edge in Bensenville, Il. The Lions took care of business on Friday night with a 5-2 win over the Eagles.  On Saturday, Lindenwood secured the sweep with a 3-1 victory over RMU-IL.  Lindenwood hosts No. 7 Ohio University this weekend at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

No. 4 Minot State University (13-2-3), the defending Men's Division I National Champions of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, dropped one spot in the rankings after a 2-1 shootout loss to No. 13 University of Jamestown on Friday evening.  The game was played in blizzard conditions on an outdoor rink on the Jamestown campus as part of the Hockey Day North Dakota 2020 festivities.  Tied at one after regulation, the shootout went 14 rounds before the Beavers surrendered the game-winner.  Minot State will seek immediate redemption in a home-and-home series against Jamestown this weekend.

The University of Michigan-Dearborn (14-5-3) rounds out the top 5 after splitting a weekend series with No. 8 Indiana Tech University.  The Wolverines dominated the Warriors on Friday night by a score of 6-1 but lost the next night by a score of 5-2.  UM-D took full advantage of the holiday weekend and also played No. 6 Stony Brook University on Sunday, losing 4-3 to the Seawolves.  Michigan-Dearborn plays No. 19 Aquinas College in a home-and-home series this weekend.

The Central States Collegiate Hockey League has four (of 5) of its member teams ranked, while the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League has four (of 6) of its member teams ranked, the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League and Western Collegiate Hockey League both have four (of 7) of its member teams ranked, and the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference has three (of 6) of its member teams ranked.

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.  All games that go to overtime will be scored as ties in the computer ranking.

Over the past 17 seasons, 12 different schools have won the ACHA Men's Division I National Championship: Lindenwood (3), Central Oklahoma (2), Illinois (2), Minot State (2), Adrian, Arizona State, Davenport, Delaware, Oakland, Ohio, Penn State, and Rhode Island.

Now in its 29th season of action, there have been a total of 14 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)
• Minot State (2)
• North Dakota State (2)
• Adrian
• Arizona State
• Davenport
• Delaware
• Iowa State
• Oakland
• Rhode Island

A total of 70 teams will compete in Men’s Division I this season, including eleven new teams: Aquinas College, Cleary University, Concordia University Ann Arbor, Grand Canyon University, Indiana Tech, Lawrence Tech, Maryville University, McKendree University, Midland University, Northern Illinois University, and Waldorf University. The sole team departing Men’s Division I is University of Arkansas.

The computer ranking will for the seventh time determine the 20 teams that qualify for the 2020 ACHA Men's Division I National Championships, including the following six autobids:

• (CHMA) College Hockey Mid-America (PLAYOFF CHAMPION)
• (ECHA) Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION)
• (ESCHL) Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION)
• (GLCHL) Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION)
• (NECHL) Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (PLAYOFF CHAMPION)
• (WCHL) Western Collegiate Hockey League (REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION)

The thirteenth ranking of the regular season will be released on Wednesday, January 29, 2020.

The 2020 ACHA Men's Division I National Championships will be hosted March 19-24 for the second time by the Dallas Stars, Visit Frisco, and Children’s Health StarCenters at the Comerica Center, in Frisco, TX. This will be the ninth year of the 20-team format.

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About American Collegiate Hockey Association

The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a recognized 501(c)3 organization of over 500 college and university-affiliated programs which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the quality of collegiate ice hockey throughout the United States.  Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the ACHA's primary mission is to support the growth and development of college hockey programs nationwide.  The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level and enters its 29th season in September 2019. For more information, visit achahockey.org.