UNION LAKE, Mich. – (March 3, 2021) – Lindenwood University keeps the top spot in the 2020-2021 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 1 Ranking No. 3.  The Lions (10-0-0) remained undefeated after sweeping Missouri State University (4-6-2) on the road.  Friday night, Brady Griffin nearly stole one for the Bears by making 37 saves, but the Lions were able to battle back twice from a deficit to force the five-minute overtime period.  With only 0:20 remaining in the extra frame and the Lions killing a too many men penalty, Vegard Faret sniped the shorthanded game winner for the 3-2 win.   Saturday night, the Lions completed the sweep with a 5-1 win as defenseman Kyler Newman scored two goals and Stephen Friedland made 26 saves in goal.  Bailey Stephens had 34 saves in a losing effort.

While there are 72 teams fielding teams in Men’s Division 1, only 25 teams have played at least one game this season so far.  To reflect these numbers, the rankings will only contain 10 teams.

No. 2 Adrian College (12-1-0) defeated Aquinas College 4-1 on Thursday night at Arrington Arena in Adrian, Mich.  Saints goaltender Nicholas Ottenbacher was sensational in goal making 40 saves, but the Bulldogs got goals from Sheldon Nolan, Christopher Donaldson, Tyler Fyfe, and Matteo Digiulio for the win.  Saturday night, the Bulldogs hit the road to Grand Rapids, Mich. and throttled league rival Davenport University 11-1.  Domenic Moore, Nash Hatcher, and Fyfe each netted two goals apiece as the Bulldogs pumped 72 shots on goal, with Zach Janis making 57 saves for the Panthers.

No. 3 Liberty University (4-2-0) swept Ohio University at the LaHaye Center in Lynchburg, Va, its fourth consecutive win over the Bobcats in as many games.  Friday night, Quinn Ryan paced the attack with 2 goals and 2 assists as the Flames power play connected for 3 goals with the man advantage, while Cedric Lesieur made 29 saves in goal for the win.  Saturday, the Flames jumped out to a 3-0 in the first period and turned the heat up the rest of the way for a 9-1 rout.  Brock Thompson had the 3-goal hat trick while Jason Foltz and Quinn Ryan each had a pair of goals.    

No. 4 Minot State University (13-2-1) put up three wins for the week after a 4-2 win on Wednesday over Dakota College at Bottineau and then a weekend sweep over Williston State College (8-0, 7-1).  Adam Wowryk and Nick Doyle paced the Beaver offense with 3 goals and 3 assists each while goaltender Chad Duran got two wins, a shutout, and made 47 saves on 49 shots.

No. 5 Iowa State University (10-5-1) was idle this past weekend

Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 6 Indiana Tech (8-5-1), No. 7 Missouri State University (4-6-2), No. 8 Ohio University (1-9-0), No. 9 Lawrence Tech (1-0-1), and No. 10 University of Illinois (2-0-0).

The Central States Collegiate Hockey League leads the way with four of its member teams ranked while the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference has two of its member teams ranked.  The Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League, Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League, and Western Collegiate Hockey League each have a single team 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 10 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.

With the conclusion of the ACHA’s 29th season, there have been a total of 14 schools that have won the ACHA Men's Division 1 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

The 2021 ACHA Men's Division-I National Championships will be hosted April 15-20 for the first time at the Maryville University Hockey Center (MUHC) in Chesterfield, MO. This will be the tenth year of the 20-team format and will celebrate the ACHA’s 30th anniversary.