Over 500 collegiate women’s hockey players descend to St. Louis this weekend on their quest for a National Championship — but it’s not the NCAA!
The ACHA, American Collegiate Hockey Association, often referred to as “club” hockey, includes DI and DII women’s leagues. It’s an entirely separate collegiate hockey league outside of the NCAA with teams from United States and Canada.
The most compelling aspect about ACHA hockey is most teams are student-led and funded. The ACHA prohibits athletic scholarships and many programs receive little to no funding from their universities. Programs without support staff appoint players to serve on their team’s executive board (e-board). They manage the team’s day-to-day logistics including equipment orders, budgeting, and game scheduling. Despite resource gaps between the teams, the competition and talent improves across the ACHA every year.
The women’s divisions centralize with the three men’s ACHA divisions for the fourth time in St. Louis. Centene Community Ice Center and the Maryville University Hockey Center will host approximately 13,000 players in total, making it one of the largest college hockey events of the year.
WDII Tournament Quick Bits
- The four teams at the top of their region heading into pool play are: Sault College (Central), Boston College (Northeast), Liberty University (Southeast), and Assiniboine College (West).
- Every team plays three consecutive days of pool play to determine the final four.
- Sault College looks to defend their back-to-back 2024 and 2025 Championship titles.
WDI Tournament Quick Bits
- After the final ranking, the top three teams are: (#1) Liberty University, (#2) Midland University and (#3) Minot University.
- Last year’s champions, Adrian College, currently sits at #7 and is in a pool with (#2) Midland University.
- Liberty University has seven National Championships, six of them consecutive and aim to restart their back-to-back streak.
The Women’s DII Tournament starts today, Sun., March 15 while puck drops for the Women’s DI Tournament Wed., March 18. All games are available to watch online with a FloHockey subscription, or view in person with a single-day or all-tournament ticket.
