LIBERTY UNIVERSITY HOLDS ONTO THE #1 SEED IN THE FIRST ACHA WOMEN’S DIVISION 1 RANKING OF THE NEW YEAR

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – (JANUARY 21, 2020) – Liberty University, claims the top spot in the first ranking period of the new year for the American Collegiate Hockey Association Women's Division 1.  The Flames (20-2-0) have outscored their opponents 115-22. Lindenwood University-Belleville (16-4-0) earns No. 2 after a win over Midland University (4-0) and a loss to University of Massachusetts (2-0).  Coming in at third in our ranking, Adrian College. The Bulldogs (11-4-0), had a 2-1 weekend, which started with a 3-2 in overtime loss to Minot State University, and two wins against Robert Morris University, IL (10-1, 6-0). Minot State University (12-3-0) comes in at No. 4 after a weekend of wins. The Beavers, in addition to the win against the Bulldogs, had a pair of wins at Miami University (5-3, 2-0). Rounding out the top 5 is Michigan State University (10-1-1), up one from the last ranking, after a single win against the University of Michigan (14-2).

The Women’s Midwest College Hockey League leads the way with all of their six member teams ranked, while the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association has 4 (of 8) of its member teams ranked, the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League has 2 (of 6), and the East Coast Women’s Hockey League has 3 (of 3) of its member teams ranked.

The computer ranking will determine the 8 teams that qualify for the 2019 ACHA Women’s Division 1 National Championships, which will include the following two 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 25 teams are competing in Women’s Division 1 this season, including two new teams, Minot State University and Utah University.

The ACHA uses two computer rankings, Ranking A (Wins with goal differential of 7) and Ranking B (Wins with maximum goal differential of 1), and come up with an average of the two rankings. This is the first year we are only using computer rankings.

In its 20th season of action, there have been a total of 9 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 (3)

The 2020 ACHA National Championships will be played at the Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas as well as additional Dr Pepper StarCenter facilities. The Dr Pepper Arena is home practice facility for the NHL Dallas Stars and also houses the Stars' Executive Offices.  The Dr Pepper StarCenters are the Stars-led community ice rinks throughout the DFW Metroplex.

More than 1,500 players from 72 teams across all five ACHA divisions—Men’s Division 1, 2, and 3, and Women’s Divisions 1 and 2 — will converge upon the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area from March 19 through March 29, 2020, to compete in more than 100 games.