The Lions were fourth for the third straight week in the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men's Division I Ranking. Lindenwood saw its first action of 2020 last weekend with a two-game sweep of Missouri State on home ice to improve to 13-5-0.
Adrian College retained the top spot for the ninth straight week. The Bulldogs enter the new year with a perfect 16-0-0 record and play their first games after the break this weekend against Oakland. Liberty University remained in second with an 18-3-0 mark. The Flames also return to action for the first time against No. 23 Delaware this weekend. Defending national champion Minot State camped in third place after a very busy break. The Beavers played five games during the ranking period and won four of them to improve to 13-2-2. They swept Jamestown at the end of 2019, then traveled to Las Vegas at the beginning of January for a split against UNLV and a single victory over Grand Canyon on neutral ice. Ohio University jumped from eighth to round out the top five. The Bobcats earned two conference wins over No. 11 Illinois to improve to 15-4-3.
The Lions put their 7-1-0 record in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) on the line this weekend when they travel to Chicago to face Robert Morris (Ill.) January 17-18. The Eagles have struggled to a 10-9-4 mark so far, but are still ranked No. 25 in the ACHA. Their offense is led by two players, each with 39 points. Scott Coash is the sniper for the team with 26 goals and 13 assists while Michael Cacciato paces the team in helpers with 28 assists and 11 goals. Dominick Manochio has a unique stat line with 22 assists and only one goal for Robert Morris.
Eagles goaltending has been a bit suspect with three players all yielding an average above three goals a game. Chris Mallon has played the most and posted a 3.09 goals against average and .924 save percentage in 16 games. In seven games, Darryll Smith has a 3.93 goals against average and .868 save percentage while Nicholas Kotz has a 3.50 goals against average and .899 save percentage in two games.
Lindenwood stumbled a bit at the end of 2019, but played well against the Bears last weekend. The Lions continue to have a balanced attack as eight players enter the series with double-digit points.
Aapo Nurminen is the team leader with 20 points on seven goals and 13 assists.
Brendan Murphy is close behind with 18 points on 10 goals and eight assists, followed by
Vegard Faret with 16 points and
Kyler Newman with 14.
Cooper Seedott continues to be one of the better goalies in the country with a goals against average of 1.20 and a save percentage of .944.
The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday night at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois.
| 2019-2020 ACHA Men's Division 1 Ranking #11 |
| Rank |
School Name |
M1 Record |
Previous |
| 1 |
Adrian |
16-0-0 |
1 |
| 2 |
Liberty |
18-3-0 |
2 |
| 3 |
Minot State |
13-2-2 |
3 |
| 4 |
Lindenwood |
13-5-0 |
4 |
| 5 |
Ohio |
15-4-3 |
8 |
| 6 |
Michigan-Dearborn |
15-3-1 |
5 |
| 7 |
Arizona |
15-3-3 |
7 |
| 8 |
Indiana Tech |
16-4-1 |
6 |
| 9 |
Davenport |
11-5-0 |
9 |
| 10 |
Stony Brook |
12-6-0 |
11 |
| 11 |
Illinois |
12-6-2 |
10 |
| 12 |
Pittsburgh |
17-2-0 |
14 |
| 13 |
Oklahoma |
14-4-0 |
18 |
| 14 |
Jamestown |
15-5-0 |
13 |
| 15 |
Drexel |
16-2-4 |
16 |
| 16 |
Central Oklahoma |
15-9-2 |
12 |
| 17 |
Calvin |
8-1-2 |
17 |
| 18 |
Nevada-Las Vegas |
13-11-1 |
23 |
| 19 |
Arizona State |
15-7-1 |
19 |
| 20 |
New York |
7-6-1 |
24 |
| 21 |
Aquinas |
12-8-2 |
15 |
| 22 |
Iowa State |
13-9-2 |
21 |
| 23 |
Delaware |
15-8-0 |
20 |
| 24 |
Oakland |
13-3-2 |
22 |
| 25 |
Robert Morris Illinois |
10-9-4 |
25 |
