March 6, 2015
Salt Lake City
After six months of hockey, the field of 178 teams in Division II of the ACHA has been whittled down to just 16 as the final group of teams get ready to battle for a title at the 2015 ACHA Men’s Division II National Championship Tournament in Salt Lake City on March 20th.
Four teams from each of the four regions in the ACHA have been invited to the tournament. Eight of the 16 teams received automatic bids while the other eight teams earned the final bids in Regional tournaments across the country.
The 16 teams are divided into four pools of four teams with one team from each region being placed in each pool. After three days of round-robin pool play, the winners of each pool will advance to the semifinals of the tournament on March 23rd with the winners play in the National Championship game on Tuesday, March 24th.
In the West Region, Arizona State and Utah received automatic bids to the tournament. The Sun Devils finished the season with a 27-4-2 record while Utah finished with a 26-12-3 record. Northern Arizona defeated Loyola Marymount and Denver to advance to Nationals with a 26-8-2 record. Boise State received the final spot from the West, beating Weber State and Utah State at the West Regionals and finished with a 25-2-1 record.
In the Northeast Region, William Paterson and Montclair State received the two automatic bids to Nationals. William Paterson finished the season with a 26-3 record while Montclair State finished with a 23-4 record. In the Northeast Regional tournament, New York University defeated Keene State and Boston College to receive the third bid from the Northeast with a 20-6-1 record on the season. Northeastern fought its way through Regionals as well, beating Central Connecticut State and defending champion New Hampshire to earn the final spot to Nationals with a 16-7 record.
In the Central Region, Grand Valley State Univerity and Missouri State received automatic bids to Nationals as GVSU finished with a 24-6-2 record and Missouri State finished with a 24-9 record. At the Central Regionals, Lindenwood defeated Northern Michigan and Davenport to make it to Nationals with a 24-5-2 record. Michigan State grabbed the last spot by beating Waldorf and Northern Illinois to get out of Regionals with a 17-12 record.
In the Southeast Region, Florida Gulf Coast and Miami (OH) took the two automatic bids and punched their tickets to Salt Lake City. FGCU finished with an impressive 26-1 record while Miami finished with a 20-5-1 record. In the Southeast Regional tournament, Toledo beat Rider and Rowan to advance to Nationals with a 23-7-1 record. Liberty took the final spot at Nationals by beating Ohio and Penn State to round out the field of 16 that is coming to Utah for Nationals.
Pool A belongs to the West Region as top seeded Arizona State will play Montclair State, Toledo, and Michigan State in pool play.
The Central Region has the top seed in Pool B as Grand Valley State will play against Northern Arizona, NYU, and Liberty in their pool.
Florida Gulf Coast is the top seed in Pool C as the Southeast Region leader will take on Missouri State, Utah, and Northeastern in that pool.
In Pool D, William Paterson will play with Miami, Lindenwood, and Boise State in pool play action.
The tournament begins on Friday, March 20th in Salt Lake City starting at 10:30am MT each day for pool play action. The semifinals will take place on Monday, March 23rd at 5pm and 8pm MT. The 2015 ACHA Men’s Division II National Championship Game will be on Tuesday, March 24th at 7pm MT where we will crown a new national champion.
Tournament passes, day passes, and single game tickets are on sale online or at the door of the Salt Lake City Sports Complex. All 27 games will also be broadcasted free of charge on Utah Hockey Game Day Live.
