UNION LAKE, Mich.--The Adrian College American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I men's hockey team will start the 2016-17 campaign ranked 10th in the nation, according to the ACHA preseason poll released Thursday by the organization.
The defending national champion Lindenwood Lions are picked as the preseason favorite after taking 20 of 24 first place votes in the rankings.
"The ACHA has become very competitive and balanced over the past decade," Adrian first-year coach Gary Astalos said. "While it is very nice to be ranked 10th in the country, we will have a lot of work to do in order to reach our goals of moving up the national ranking ladder."
Fans can catch their first glimpse of the new-look Bulldogs--who have 13 underclassmen on the 29-man roster that represents student-athletes from four states, three Canadian provinces and two European countries--on Monday (11 a.m.) against the Northeast Generals of the North American Hockey League. The Junior-A league had five players chosen in the last National Hockey League Draft. There is no admission charge for this exhibition contest played at Arrington Ice Arena.
Adrian finished 24-5-3 overall last season, qualified for the national tournament and ended up 11th in the ACHA rankings.
Below are the preseason Top-25 rankings for ACHA D-I, but others receiving votes are Rhode Island, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris (Pa.), Indiana Tech, Canisius and West Virginia.
2016-2017 ACHA Men's Division 1 Preseason Ranking
|
Rank |
School Name |
1st Votes |
Record |
Pts |
Previous |
|
1 |
Lindenwood |
20 |
27-10-0 |
498 |
1 |
|
2 |
Iowa State |
1 |
26-9-6 |
469 |
2 |
|
3 |
Stony Brook |
1 |
30-3-2 |
455 |
3 |
|
4 |
Davenport |
|
33-3-2 |
425 |
4 |
|
5 |
Minot State |
|
34-3-2 |
422 |
5 |
|
6 |
Central Oklahoma |
|
26-8-2 |
400 |
6 |
|
T 7 |
Ohio |
1 |
29-9-2 |
362 |
9 |
|
T 7 |
Oklahoma |
|
22-10-5 |
362 |
8 |
|
9 |
Colorado |
1 |
26-8-2 |
355 |
10 |
|
10 |
Adrian |
|
24-5-3 |
330 |
11 |
|
11 |
Robert Morris Illinois |
|
21-14-4 |
291 |
12 |
|
12 |
Michigan-Dearborn |
|
22-5-4 |
277 |
13 |
|
13 |
Delaware |
|
22-10-4 |
244 |
14 |
|
14 |
Arizona |
|
10-19-4 |
233 |
15 |
|
15 |
Syracuse |
|
24-9-2 |
200 |
16 |
|
16 |
Illinois |
|
20-15-3 |
198 |
17 |
|
17 |
Liberty |
|
12-17-2 |
173 |
19 |
|
18 |
Western Michigan |
|
20-11-5 |
170 |
18 |
|
19 |
Niagara |
|
24-8-2 |
136 |
20 |
|
20 |
Arkansas |
|
15-15-3 |
98 |
21 |
|
21 |
Rutgers |
|
12-13-1 |
76 |
22 |
|
22 |
Colorado State |
|
9-24-5 |
72 |
23 |
|
23 |
Buffalo |
|
23-9-2 |
61 |
24 |
|
T 24 |
Missouri State |
|
18-21-0 |
37 |
25 |
|
T 24 |
Arizona State |
|
32-3-2 |
37 |
NR |
