LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY STAYS NO. 1 IN AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S DIVISION 1 SECOND RANKING
21 Teams Have Played Games So Far This Season During Pandemic
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (February 24, 2021) – Lindenwood University keeps the top spot in the 2020-2021 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 1 Ranking No. 2. The Lions (8-0-0) remained undefeated after sweeping Iowa State University (10-5-1) in the friendly confines of the Centene Community Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. Saturday evening, Blake Finley broke a 2-2 tie early in the 3rd period as the Lions held on for the 3-2 win. Sunday afternoon, Stephen Friedland made 24 saves for the shutout while Andy Willis got the game-winner in the 2nd period as the Lions completed the sweep 2-0. Despite the sweep, the Cyclones moved into the No. 5 position.
While there are 72 teams fielding teams in Men’s Division 1, only 21 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 (10-1-0) swept Ohio University in their fourth consecutive matchup against each other. Friday night at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio, the Bulldogs trailed 2-1 heading into the 3rd period before scoring four unanswered goals for a 5-2 win. Matteo Digiulio first tied it at 2-2 on the power play before connecting on the game winner just 3:24 later. Saturday night back at Arrington Arena in Adrian, Mich., goaltender Michael Barrett made 28 saves as Adrian shutout the Bobcats 5-0. The Bulldogs special teams provided the difference as the power play unit tallied 4 goals on 8 attempts while holding the Bobcats scoreless during their 8 attempts.
No. 3 Liberty University (2-2-0) was idle this past weekend
No. 4 Minot State University (13-2-1) swept rival University of Jamestown. Friday night, the Beavers roared back from a 2-0 deficit late in the 3rd period to force overtime. Davis Sheldon got the Beavers on the board with only 2:12 left in regulation before Drew Carter netted the game-tying goal with 0:47 remaining and the goaltender pulled to tie the game at 2-2 and send it into overtime. That didn’t last long as Paul O’Connor scored the game-winner only 0:26 into the extra frame for the 3-2 win. Saturday night, Eric Soar broke a scoreless tie with only 2:59 remaining in the 3rd period to lead the Beavers to the 1-0 victory. Chad Duran made 30 saves for the shutout win, while counterpart Tyson Brouwer made 33 saves after turning away 43 shots on Friday night.
Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 6 Ohio University (1-7-0), No. 7 Indiana Tech (7-4-1), No. 8 Lawrence Tech (1-0-1), and No. 9 Davenport University (2-1-0), and No. 10 Missouri State University (4-5-1).
The CSCHL leads the way with three of its member teams ranked, while the GLCHL and the WHAC have two 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 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.
2020-2021 ACHA Men's Division 1 Ranking #2
Rank School Name M1 Record Previous Conference
1 Lindenwood 8-0-0 1 CSCHL
2 Adrian 10-1-0 2 GLCHL
3 Liberty 2-2-0 5 ESCHL
4 Minot State 13-2-1 6 INDEP
5 Iowa State 10-5-1 8 CSCHL
6 Ohio 1-7-0 7 CSCHL
7 Indiana Tech 7-4-1 10 WHAC
8 Lawrence Tech 1-0-1 9 WHAC
9 Davenport 2-1-0 3 GLCHL
10 Missouri State 4-5-1 13 WCHL
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About American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a recognized 501(c)3 organization of almost 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 entered its 30th season in September 2020. For more information, visit achahockey.org.