New Men's D2 Rankings see change at the top of the WestLogan, Utah: The American Collegiate Hockey Association released its latest Men's Division 2 Rankings today. These rankings will be released on a weekly basis until Mid-December and then resume in early January, concluding with the Final Ranking the week of February 12th. The Top 20 for each region are listed below and full rankings can be found at the
M2 Ranking Page Central Region: Saint Thomas Rises to New Heights The Tommies of UST celebrated the biggest win in their program's history, over University of Mary, last Sunday. That win, combined with a 3-2 loss to UMary the night before, vaulted St. Thomas eight spots to the #2 spot, their highest ranking ever. Also making a big move was Lake Superior State, rising five spots from last week, to #7, in their first year at Division 2. Sault College checks in for the first time at #17 replacing Wisconsin-Oshkosh, which fell from #13 out of the Top 20.
Northeast Region: Sacred Heart moves into Top 10 SHU rose eight spots this week, coming from #18 all the way to #10 in a single week. The Pioneers have five teams within a half of point of them and the coveted 10th seed, which guarantees a spot to Regionals. University of Maine and Westfield State fell out the Top 20 this week and replaced by College of the Holy Cross and Roger Williams University, #18 and #19 respectively.
Southeast Region: Miami tightens gap with Liberty for #2 Spot The TSCHL again dominates the SE Top 20, with Miami University leading the way at #3. The RedHawks also have eyes on one of the National Autobids. Liberty has seen its lead over MU shrink by almost half, in a single week. After their run to the final day of Regionals last year, UPenn continues to build on that momentum, moving into the Top 10. All 20 teams in last week's ranking remain the same.
West Ranking: A Change on Top Death, Taxes, and University of Mary being the top West team are the constants in recent ACHA memory. For over four years, the Marauders have been the best of the Region and for much of that time, the nation. UMary's split with St. Thomas, coupled with Montana State's two wins over #9 Dakota College, have put the Bobcats at the top spot with just over a 1/3 of point lead. While there was only one change in Top 20 teams, with Colorado State University replacing University of Colorado, it saw the most movement of the four regions, with 17 of the 20 teams moving either up or down.
Men's Division 2 postseason is broken into the two levels. The top two teams in each region receive an automatic bid to the National Tournament, making up half of the field. The other half of the field is determined in Regional Tournaments with 12 teams competing for the two remaining spots from each region. Those eight winners will then join the eight autobids in the ACHA National Championship Tournament presented by FloHockey, in Marlborough, MA on March 17-21, 2023.
