The Bracket ⤵️

📝: Matchups will be based off of highest vs. lowest so bracket may change.. pic.twitter.com/HbjiPpqEzW

— ACC Hockey (@ACCHockey) February 7, 2023

M2 Rankings Tighter than ever in the Penultimate Release

Troy, Mich. (February 9, 2023): The American Collegiate Hockey Association released its latest Men's Division 2 Rankings today. These rankings are 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 M2 Ranking Page.

Northeast: Army Hits New Heights in Rankings West Point rose to the highest ranking in program history, coming in at #4 in the latest NE rankings. Army, which has a 15-1 record this season, currently is head of a pack of three teams, including Boston University and Bentley University for the 2nd seed in the Regionals at the end of the month. The Cadets are the top seed in the SECHL playoffs this weekend and has a first round bye. The Engineers of RPI hit the highest ranking of the season at #10, on the strength of weekend wins vs. #9 Sacred Heart and #5 Boston University. With matchups against #3 Keene State and #1(SE) Liberty, RPI has a chance to continue to move up in the final weekend of the regular season.
For information purposes, here are the Northeast Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Super East Collegiate Hockey League (SECHL)

Central: Concordia of Wisconsin Finds Itself One Week from Boston
The #2 seed in the Central has seen two teams jockeying for the position, Trine University and University of Saint Thomas. With one week left in the season, both teams find themselves looking up at CUW. The Falcons, which split with #3 UST, winning 4-1 and losing 1-0 in a shootout, moved into the coveted spot. Whichever of the three teams gets the #2 seed, will be the first national autobid for the programs. Concordia and St. Thomas will finish the regular season in their respective league tournaments, while Trine is idle this weekend. With three potential spots in Regionals going to league autobids, safety is found at #11. Lake Superior State is holding onto the spot just .06 ahead of Michigan State. With the Lakers finished their regular season, the Spartans have a chance to move past them with a weekend series with #9 Adrian College.
For information purposes, here are the Central Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA)
Northern Collegiate Hockey League (NCHL)
Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association (WCCHA)

Southeast: League Tournaments Results Hold the Keys to Bids and Seedings.
With the Southeast having four league autobids, there is always a chance of a huge shakeup in what team gets to go to the Regionals. The current #11 to #14 are all "on the bubble", but also have a chance to secure a spot in DC by winning their league. The TSCHL tournament could be a preview of the final day of Regionals as top four Regional seeds currently are from the conference. Probably the hottest team in the Southeast, #9 University of Michigan, also has a chance to make a statement. UNC and NCSU will face each other on the outdoor ice in Raleigh on the 20th, but may face off in the ACCHL tournament with the winner most likely moving ahead of the other and possibly a guaranteed At-Large bid. #13 Maryland is the highest ranked team in the MACH, but will go to their tournament as the #3 seed, and UPenn will head into the CSCHC tournament as the #1 seed and holding down the last regional spot at #14.
For information purposes, here are the Southeast Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL)
Colonial States Collegiate Hockey Conference (CSCHC)
Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey (MACH)
Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League (TSCHL)

West: University of Denver Gets a Turn at #3
The #3 Seed continues to be difficult spot to secure for the top teams of the Region. After spending most of the year at #4 and teams jumping all around them, the Pioneers move up into the slot. Denver will look to make a run in the BMHC playoffs to try to secure the seed in the final rankings. Williston State moves into the last possible Regional spot, sliding in front of Arizona State by .06. The Tetons finish up with a road game against #7 Dakota College, while ASU will be in the WCHC tournament. Both teams, along with current #13 Grand Canyon University, are looking to get to #13 as the last spot will most likely be filled by the winner of the TCHC playoffs.
For information purposes, here are the West Region leagues that have a regional auto bid:
Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League (MWCHL)
Pac Hockey (PAC) Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference
(TCHC) Western Collegiate Hockey Conference (WCHC)

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.

ACCHL Tournament action kicks off today, with the 4 seed Pack facing 5 seed Virginia Tech at 3pm. Hopefully we can get off to a good start and avoid falling asleep in the middle period like we did the last 2 outings against the Hokies. Game will be streaming here.

#ACC Playoff Stream ⤵️https://t.co/q7X7F5ycxa

— ACC Hockey (@ACCHockey) February 10, 2023

Pack were firing on all cylinders from start to finish today. With Rowan beating UNCW in the earlier game, we'll take on top seed Penn State tomorrow at 3pm. Rowan will face UNC at 10:30am.

STATEment🐺 pic.twitter.com/kbSkQwuLD5

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 10, 2023

FINAL SCORE:

0-1 Penn State.

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 11, 2023

ACCHL championship game between Penn State and UNC has been postponed due to the building losing power and residual ice conditions from the last few days. This means the following:

• The game has been set for Thursday, Feb. 23 with location TBD. It will almost certainly be in the DC area, with Southeast Regionals scheduled for Feb. 24-26 in Arlington.
• Since today is the last day for games to count towards regional rankings, this game now will not factor in the final rankings.
• Given the most recent rankings and the results from this weekend, we are almost certainly going to play UNC in the first round of Regionals. This means they will have to play us Monday at Carter-Finley, Thursday against a physical Penn State team, and then again Friday against us. Have to think that works in our favor.
• Lastly, this presents some questions over the future of holding the ACCHL Tournament at this facility in Winston-Salem. It has always worked well financially for the league, but the ice has always been terrible, and it's becoming clear that this building is on its last legs. Given the expanding footprint of the league, it's possible we could see the tourney on the move for the first time in 6 years.

Today’s 𝗠𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗜 - 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗥 Championship has been POSTPONED due to a power outage at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex.

The makeup date is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23rd; time & location is still TBD.

We apologize for any inconvenience!

— ACC Hockey (@ACCHockey) February 12, 2023

Tonight we'll see the final rankings and the resulting bracket for Regionals. As I've alluded to, I'm almost positive we'll be playing UNC in the first round. Last weeks rankings had us at 10 and 11 (see bracket below); based on last weekend's results, the most movement I could see happening is a seeding flip. Don't think enough happened to move either team up to 9, and certainly not down to 12. More analysis to come once the rankings are posted.

Excited for the Final Rankings? Scheduled release is at 7pm EST. So stay tuned!

— ACHA Men's D2 (@achamensd2) February 14, 2023

It's official, the Pack are back in the postseason for the 5th straight year. As expected, we'll see a very familiar opponent in the first round, as the Pack face UNC for the 6th time this season. Full Regionals schedule below (all games at The St. James in Springfield, VA):

Day 1: February 24th
11:40am: #13 Penn / Rider vs. #8 Michigan
12:10pm: #12 Louisville vs. #9 Rowan
2:40pm: #14 Rider / CSCHC Autobid vs. #7 Penn State
10:20pm: #11 North Carolina vs. #10 NC State

Day 2: February 25th
1:30pm: 2nd Lowest Remaining Seed vs. #4 Indiana
2:40pm: 2nd Highest Remaining Seed vs. #5 Miami (OH)
4:30pm: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. #3 Kentucky
7:10pm: Highest Remaining Seed vs. #6 Ohio

Day 3: February 26th
11:40pm: 2nd Lowest Remaining Seed vs. 2nd Highest Remaining Seed
2:40pm: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. Highest Remaining Seed

All games will stream on HockeyTV (monthly subscription).

#ACHAM2 Ranking #9 - FINAL

• Top 2 teams from each region punch 🎟️ to 2023 National Tournament!
• Teams ranked #3-14 earn Regional bid.

• SOUTHEAST ⤵️
Rider wins auto-bid for the MACH.
• WEST ⤵️
East Texas Baptist wins auto-bid for the TCHC.#RoadtoBoston pic.twitter.com/RtgITcVsHj

— ACHA Men's D2 (@achamensd2) February 15, 2023

We are taking donations as part of Frozen Finley being FREE for everyone! Please consider donating if possible!🐺

DONATE: https://t.co/scGKAIjkrc pic.twitter.com/EvfQwRIFv5

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 15, 2023

It’s just not @Canes that get to play at Carter-Finley. @NCStateHockey plays a “Frozen Finley” game on Feb 20 at 7PM. Today the team visited the stadium where they debuted their game day jerseys for the media. Some wide eyed hockey players living their best hockey dreams! pic.twitter.com/T3THdjcrm8

— Invisalign Arena (@invisalignarena) February 15, 2023

Tap to watch: NC State Icepack club hockey team preps to take on UNC's club team at Carter-Finley Stadium https://t.co/hBbEuiDVRe

— WRALSportsFan (@WRALSportsFan) February 15, 2023

Inside look at the Frozen Finley👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/L1BLRszHhX

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 15, 2023

Important meeting in the District coming up🚨 pic.twitter.com/JCOkuQrgru

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 16, 2023

SEC Network/espnradio
Marty and McGee 7am-10am
Marty Smith at Invisilin Arena doing show and said at 8am he will be on SportsCenter in goal trying to stop shots
so far entire 1st segment on Hurricanes Hockey, Raleigh, Fan Fest, etc

Had a great time at the #StadiumSeries Fan Fest in downtown Raleigh! pic.twitter.com/kqigbJhMC9

— NC State Football (@PackFootball) February 18, 2023

Wolfer79 said:

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SEC Network/espnradio
Marty and McGee 7am-10am
Marty Smith at Invisilin Arena doing show and said at 8am he will be on SportsCenter in goal trying to stop shots
so far entire 1st segment on Hurricanes Hockey, Raleigh, Fan Fest, etc

---

Icepack lit Marty up!
i think they shot one into glove as a pity shot

Dear every hockey goalkeeper at every level ever…

RESPECT. 🙏🏻 https://t.co/cTNq9GVPOY

— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) February 18, 2023

Carter-Finley on Ice! Look for us tonight as we cheer on our @Canes! 🐺⛸️ #StadiumSeries

🚩 Carolina Hurricanes
⏰ 8 PM
🆚 Washington Capitals
🏟️ Carter-Finley Stadium
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/lb5IpocLEO

— NC State Cheerleading (@ncsucheer) February 18, 2023

Want your own Frozen Finley apparel? You’re in luck! Shirts dropping at 10 AM today along with the jerseys as seen on ESPN at Red and White shop! Link below for online purchase and in store!🔥https://t.co/iF9TOgeZX5 pic.twitter.com/U7L4wGhxJM

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 18, 2023

One of my favorite shots from the Fan Fest Yesterday!

Happy @Canes stadium series day! And a very happy @NCStateHockey Frozen Finley eve-eve! #smsports pic.twitter.com/AkSHhr6pqP

— Zak Selwaeh (@ZakSelwaeh) February 18, 2023

Jersey’s are still for sale! Grab yours before the game tomorrow!🔥

BUY HERE: https://t.co/xZK7mwqGix pic.twitter.com/tEH7s9gj19

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 19, 2023

Sleep tight tonight and get ready for a big day tomorrow😈 pic.twitter.com/WvvYPX0rnS

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 19, 2023

INFO YOU NEED FOR TOMORROW:

⏰: 7:00 pm puck drop
PARKING: $10
WHERE: Carter Finley Stadium
WHEN: Tomorrow - Feb 20th
ADMISSION: FREE for all with donations accepted https://t.co/zQI1JeKi6E

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 19, 2023

We are in for a treat tomorrow👀

UPDATE:
Parking is now $8 - no cash accepted
Gates and lots are now opening at 2:00 not 3:00! pic.twitter.com/XMgM4yNkre

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2023

WANNA BUY YOUR PARKING IN ADVANCE? Use the link below:

BUY PARKING: https://t.co/SQkBEhraQL

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2023

Marty Smith runs with the pack🐺 @MartySmithESPN pic.twitter.com/0S6DwnZ33E

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2023

Today is the day😈 pic.twitter.com/rNCVflcZJ8

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2023

Wolfer79 said:

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Today is the day😈 pic.twitter.com/rNCVflcZJ8

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 20, 2023

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Come on out and make some noise! Please remember to throw the boys a donation to help cover the cost of this game as well as upcoming postseason travel

Website: https://icepackhockey.com/store/p1/donate.html#/

Venmo: @IcepackNCState

Cash at the gate

Donations of any amount are accepted & appreciated!

Pack with a 7-3 win over UNC in front of an estimated 26,000 fans at Carter-Finley Stadium. Zach Herman led the way with a hat trick, as the Pack rode an early and late flurry of goals to put this one away. An absolutely incredible night for NC State, the city of Raleigh, and the game of hockey.

Up next for the Pack: a rematch with UNC on Friday night in the opening round of ACHA Regionals in Springfield, VA.

YOU GOTTA FIGHT… FOR YOUR RIGHT… TO PARTAYYYYYYY #GTHC #GOPACK pic.twitter.com/FX8kkgunhY

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 21, 2023

Highlights already available here. Expect the full recording to be uploaded later this week.

Stadium turned into a whole barn last night, thanks to you guys🐺⚡️ pic.twitter.com/bUfutkn8XZ

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 21, 2023

Can we get a PUCK YEAH!
Frozen Finley hockey pucks will be available at the Red and White shop very, very soon🫡 Be on the lookout and until then:

DONATE: https://t.co/scGKAIjkrc pic.twitter.com/VNKtFM9zfL

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 21, 2023

Pack are right back at it for postseason play against a very familiar opponent. I'm really optimistic about our chances this weekend. The Southeast is not a strong region this year; if I had to put money on it, I'd have an incredibly difficult time picking 2 teams to make it out of this weekend. There are a few teams here that we played really well against earlier this season. 3 wins in 3 days is a tough ask, but this team can do it if they avoid any more injuries.

All postseason games (Regionals and Nationals) will stream on HockeyTV. It's $30 for the monthly subscription, which would cover you through the end of Nationals. I know some folks will balk at that price tag, but these regional tournaments can be absolutely nuts, and Nationals also will give us some absolute thrillers. I'll be at the games this weekend as long as the Pack are still playing and will try to give updates as best I can.

Pack on the hill🐺 pic.twitter.com/oU9gB9evNs

— NC State Icepack (@NCStateHockey) February 23, 2023

What are the chances that the Ice Pack could host something like the regionals in the future? I am sure PNC would not be ideal, but Invisiline could host could they not?

The time has arrived as all eyes (in the region) are on the #ACHAM2 Southeast Regionals this weekend!

All #ACC teams are in play today but only two will be able to punch a 🎟️ to get on the #RoadtoBoston come Sunday..

💻: @MyHockeyTV pic.twitter.com/QVHcdVto5D

— ACC Hockey (@ACCHockey) February 24, 2023