2006-07 ACHA Division 1 Ranking #9

2007-02-14

[WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI] - The votes are in, and six new teams will be competing at the 2007 ACHA Division 1 National Tournament, including Kent State, Liberty, Oakland, Robert Morris (PA), Washington & Jefferson, and West Virginia. Penn State University takes over as the #1 ranked team in the country, returning to the top spot for the first time in over a year [2005-2006 Ranking #8]. The Nittany Lions received 17 of a possible 37 votes and, along with Iowa State and Michigan-Dearborn, have now qualified for all sixteen ACHA Division 1 National Tournaments. #2 Ohio University, Regular-Season Champions of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL), collected 11 first-place votes and will be making its 14th consecutive appearance. The University of Illinois received 8 first-place votes, but dropped to #3. The Fighting Illini will make their 10th consecutive appearance, and 12th overall. Defending ACHA Division 1 National Champions, the University of Rhode Island, maintained the #4 spot and qualified for its 4th consecutive ACHA Division 1 National Tournament. The University of Oklahoma (#5) received the remaining first-place vote and will make its 2nd consecutive appearance, while Iowa State University comes in at #6 and will make its 16th consecutive appearance. Lindenwood University holds at #7 and will make its 3rd consecutive appearance, while Liberty University, the 2005-06 Division 2 National Runners-Up, comes in at #8 and makes the tournament in its first year of Division 1 competition. #9 Kent State University returns to the National Tournament for the first time since 2004-05 and will make its 4th appearance overall. West Chester University earns the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) automatic berth and rounds out the top 10. The Golden Rams will be making their 4th consecutive appearance, and were the biggest mover in the polls for the 3rd consecutive ranking, moving up another 3 notches. Oakland University, the 2003-04 and 2005-06 ACHA Divison 2 National Champions, also makes the tournament in its first year of Division 1 competition and holds the #11 spot. The University of Delaware comes in at #12 and earned its 10th trip to the National Tournament, while #13 West Virginia returns to the tournament for the first time since 1999-2000. The Mountaineers will be making their 3rd appearance overall. #14 Washington & Jefferson, Regular-Season Champions of the College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA), is making its 3rd overall appearance as well, returning to the tournament for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign. The University of Michigan-Dearborn is #15 and will make its 16th consecutive appearance at the National Tournament. Robert Morris (PA) earns the automatic berth out of the Eastern Collegiate Hockey League (ECHL) and rounds out the sixteen participating ACHA Division 1 National Tournament teams. The Colonials, the 2001-02 ACHA Division 3 National Champions, make it to the tournament in only their fourth season of Division 1 action.

The seedings and matchups for the ACHA Division 1 National Championships will be released on Wednesday, February 14.

The final ranking of the 2006-2007 season will be released on Friday, March 16.

This years ACHA Division 1 National Championships will be hosted by Kent State University and take place February 28-March 4, 2007 at the Ice Zone in Youngstown, OH.

2006-2007 Ranking #9
Rank	School Name	1st Votes	Record	Pts	Previous
1	Penn State	17	26-4-2	635	2
2	Ohio	11	27-7-1	622	3
3	Illinois	8	26-4-0	617	1
4	Rhode Island		27-8-1	546	4
5	Oklahoma	1	26-4-0	539	5
6	Iowa State		26-8-2	495	6
7	Lindenwood		25-11-0	463	7
8	Liberty		25-5-1	425	8
9	Kent State		26-11-1	374	9
10	West Chester		23-6-1	334	13
11	Oakland		16-11-3	327	10
12	Delaware		20-8-2	321	11
13	West Virginia		24-13-1	269	12
14	Washington & Jefferson		26-7-2	244	14
15	Michigan-Dearborn		16-18-2	143	16
16	Western Michigan		19-16-3	141	15
17	Robert Morris (PA)		19-4-3	102	19
18	Eastern Michigan		16-17-2	97	18
19	Arizona State		15-12-3	92	17
20	Robert Morris (IL)		14-15-6	32	NR

Others receiving votes: Niagara, Minot State, Navy, Arizona, and Buffalo.

Brian Moran
Commissioner, ACHA Division 1