Logan, UT. - The American Collegiate Hockey Association has released the eighth rankings for the 2021-2022 Season. With only two weeks left, the majority of teams of teams that will be heading to the postseason seem to be known. All that is left is to determine seeding.
Southeast: The three-team race for the Nationals autobid is continuing to tighten. The #1 team, NC State and the #3 team, Florida Gulf Coast, are separated by only .46 rating points. Sandwiched between them is Liberty University, with an equal chance of moving up to the top seed or down to the three seed. This weekend, LU and FGCU will play a weekend series in Fort Myers, Florida, with the results most likely providing more clarity on the race.
Northeast: With UMass and Northeastern seeming to have all but locked up the autobids to Nationals, the two races that bear watching are between Boston College and Keene State for the top seed at Regionals and Army and UNH for the last spot of first round bye teams. UNH got back to .500 on the season at 9-9-0 and jumped in front of Army, who was idle. A dark horse looking to jump into a potential At Large bid is Clarkson, who is trying to overtake Boston University to try to keep their season alive.
West: BYU made the biggest mover this ranking period, from barely hanging onto a potential at large bid spot, to now sitting in the last "safe" Regional spot. MSU-Denver continues to push Providence for the top Regional spot, but has to begin to look behind them, as Montana State sits less than .3 behind them.
Central: This region had the most movement of the four areas. Nine of the 12 teams currently in Regionals position were in different spots then in the last rankings. Marian and Minnesota both jumped into first round bye spots, and Marquette continued to rise, now just one spot for guaranteed bid.
There are two rankings remaining, with the final ranking period ending on Sunday, February 13th. The top two teams in each region will receive an automatic bid to the 2022 National Championships. The #3-#10 seeds will have a guaranteed spot in their respective Regional Tournament. The final four teams in each regional will be selected from either League Autobids or at large teams, depending on League tournaments.
Leagues with Autobids
Northeast
NECHA: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
SECHL: Regular Season Champion (currently Army)
Central
MACHA: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)
NCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/19)
WCCHA: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)
Southeast
ACCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
CSCHC: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
MACH: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
TSCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/20)
West
MWCHL: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)
TCHC: Tournament Champion (Championship on 2/13)
WCHC: Regular Season Champion (currently Loyola Marymount University)
