Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League

Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League

Founded	1995
Commissioner	Mike Walley (since 2012)
Division	ACHA / AAU
No. of teams	61
Headquarters	North Carolina
Region	Southeast
Official website	Official website

The Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) is a non-NCAA collegiate ice hockey league in the mid-atlantic and southeast regions of the United States. The Mission of the ACC Hockey League is to provide student-athletes an option to compete in organized intercollegiate ice hockey without the high expenses of NCAA level hockey.

All teams in Men's Division I compete out of the ACHA. All teams in Men's Division II compete out of the ACHA Southeast Region in Division II with some being dual within Division II of the AAU. All teams in the Women's Division compete out of the ACHA Southeast Region in Division II. All teams in Men's Division II 'A' compete in the AAU as part of the Division III level with some being dual within Division III of the ACHA. All teams in Men's Division III compete in the AAU as part of the FED Division. Mike "Sheriff" Walley is the current executive director of the league. ^[1]

Current members

Men's Division I

Institution	Location	Nickname	Arena	Team Colors	Primary conference
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC	Tar Heels	Orange County Sportsplex		ACC (DI)
North Carolina State University	Raleigh, NC	Wolfpack	Wake Competition Center		ACC (DI)
University of Delaware	Newark, DE	Blue Hens	Fred Rust Ice Arena		CAA (DI)
University of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, PA	1787	State-related	50,027[ citation needed ]	Panthers	ACC (D-I)
Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, NY	1957	Public	26,782	Seawolves	CAA (D-I)
University of Louisville	Louisville, KY	Cardinals	2025	Iceland Sports Complex			UofL Hockey
University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa	Alabama	1831	2023-24	Public	32,458	Crimson Tide	Pelham Civic Center
SUNY Oswego	Oswego, NY	1861	Public	8,909	Lakers	SUNYAC (D-III)
Syracuse University	Syracuse, NY	1870	Private	21,267	Orange	ACC (D-I)

Men's Division II

Division	Institution	Location	Nickname	Arena	Team Colors	Primary conference
Premier - Carolina Division	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC	Tar Heels	Orange County Sportsplex		ACC (DI)
	University of North Carolina at Wilmington	Wilmington, NC	Seahawks	Polar Ice Wilmington		CAA (DI)
	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, VA	Hokies	LancerLot Sports Complex		ACC (DI)
Premier - Mid Atlantic Division	University of Delaware	Newark, DE	Blue Hens	Fred Rust Ice Arena		CAA (DI)
	University of Maryland	College Park, MD	Terrapins	The Gardens Ice House		Big Ten (DI)
	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, NC	Wolfpack	Wake Competition Center		ACC (DI)
Premier - North Division	Pennsylvania State University	State College, PA	Nittany Lions	Pegula Ice Arena		Big Ten (DI)
	Rider University	Lawrenceville, NJ	Broncs	Tsai Field House		MAAC (DI)
	Rowan University	Glassboro, NJ	Profs	Hollydell Ice Arena		NJAC (DIII)
Elite - Capitol Division	Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.	Hoyas	The Gardens Ice House		Big East (DI)
	George Washington University	Washington, D.C.	Colonials	The St. James		A-10 (DI)
	Princeton University	Princeton, NJ	Tigers	Baker Rink		Ivy League (DI)
	Saint Joseph's University	Philadelphia, PA	Hawks	Haverford Skatium		A-10 (DI)
Elite - Carolina Division	Elon University	Elon, NC	Phoenix	Orange County Sportsplex		CAA (DI)
	High Point University	High Point, NC	Panthers	Greensboro Ice House		Big South (DI)
	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, NC	49ers	Extreme Ice Center		AAC (DI)
	Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem, NC	Demon Deacons	Winston-Salem Fairgrounds		ACC (DI)
Elite - Mid Atlantic Division	Denison University	Granville, OH	Big Red	Lou & Gib Reese Ice Arena		NCAC (DIII)
	James Madison University	Harrisonburg, VA	Dukes	Haymarket IcePlex		Sun Belt (DI)
	Stevenson University	Stevenson, MD	Mustangs	Reisterstown Sportsplex		MAC (DIII)
	West Virginia University	Morgantown, WV	Mountaineers	Morgantown Ice Arena		Big 12 (DI)
Elite - Virginia Division	Duke University	Durham, NC	Blue Devils	Orange County Sportsplex		ACC (DI)
	East Carolina University	Greenville, NC	Pirates	Carolina Ice Zone		AAC (DI)
	University of Richmond	Richmond, VA	Spiders	Richmond Ice Zone		A-10 (DI)
	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, VA	Cavaliers	SkateNation Plus		ACC (DI)

Women's Division II

Division	Institution	Location	Nickname	Arena	Team Colors	Primary conference
North Division	Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.	Hoyas	The Gardens Ice House		Big East (DI)
	George Washington University	Washington, D.C.	Colonials	The St. James		A-10 (DI)
	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, VA	Cavaliers	LaHaye Ice Center		ACC (DI)
	West Chester University	West Chester, PA	Golden Rams	Ice Line Quad Rinks		PSAC (DII)
South Division	High Point University	High Point, NC	Panthers	Greensboro Ice House		Big South (DI)
	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC	Tar Heels	Orange County Sportsplex		ACC (DI)
	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, NC	Wolfpack	Wake Competition Center		ACC (DI)
	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, VA	Hokies	LancerLot Sports Complex		ACC (DI)

Men's Division III

Division	Institution	Location	Nickname	Arena	Team Colors	Primary conference
M2A - Capitol Division	George Mason University	Fairfax, VA	Patriots	Prince William Ice Center		A-10 (DI)
	Loyola University Maryland	Baltimore, MD	Greyhounds	Reisterstown Sportsplex		Patriot (DI)
	Stevenson University	Stevenson, MD	Mustangs	Reisterstown Sportsplex		MAC (DIII)
	York College of Pennsylvania	Spring Garden Township, PA	Spartans	York Ice Arena		MAC (DIII)
M2A - Carolina Division	Appalachian State University	Boone, NC	Mountaineers	Greensboro Ice House		Sun Belt (DI)
	College of Charleston	Charleston, SC	Cougars	Carolina Ice Palace		CAA (DI)
	Coastal Carolina University	Conway, SC	Chanticleers	Wilmington Ice House		Sun Belt (DI)
	High Point University	High Point, NC	Panthers	Greensboro Ice House		Big South (DI)
	Liberty University	Lynchburg, VA	Flames	LaHaye Ice Center		ASUN (DI)
	Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem, NC	Demon Deacons	Winston-Salem Fairgrounds		ACC (DI)
M2A - Eastern Shore Division	Christopher Newport University	Newport News, VA	Captains	Hampton Roads Iceplex		C2C (DIII)
	Catholic University of America	Washington, D.C.	Cardinals	Fort Dupont Ice Arena		Landmark (DIII)
	University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, MD	Terrapins	The Gardens Ice House		Big Ten (DI)
	United States Naval Academy	Annapolis, MD	Midshipmen	McMullen Hockey Arena		Patriot (DI)
M2A - Tri-State Division	Rowan University	Glassboro, NJ	Profs	Hollydell Ice Arena		NJAC (DIII)
	The College of New Jersey	Ewing, NJ	Lions	Lawrenceville School		NJAC (DIII)
	West Chester University	West Chester, PA	Golden Rams	Ice Line Quad Rinks		PSAC (DII)
	Widener University	Chester, PA	Pride	IceWorks Skating Complex		MAC (DIII)
M3 - North Division	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	Blue Jays	Mt. Pleasant Ice Arena		Centennial (DIII)
	Millersville University	Millersville, PA	Marauders	Lancaster Ice Rink		PSAC (DII)
	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	Catonsville, MD	Retrievers	The Gardens Ice House		America East (DI)
M3 - South Division	The Citadel	Charleston, SC	Bulldogs	Carolina Ice Palace		SoCon (DI)
	Roanoke College	Salem, VA	Maroons	LancerLot Sports Complex		ODAC (DIII)
	Virginia Military Institute	Lexington, VA	Keydets	LaHaye Ice Center		Southern (DI)
M3 - Virginia Division	American University	Washington, D.C.	Eagles	Cabin John Ice Rink		Patriot (DI)
	Montgomery College	Rockville, MD	Raptors	Rockville Ice Arena		NJCAA
	Old Dominion University	Norfolk, VA	Monarchs	Chilled Ponds Ice Sports Complex		Sun Belt (DI)
	College of William & Mary	Williamsburg, VA	Tribe	Hampton Roads Iceplex		CAA (DI)

League Expansion

• 2010: George Washington and Maryland join Men's Division II.
• 2012: Elon joins Men's Division II.
• 2013: Navy and Wake Forest join Men's Division II.
• 2015: James Madison, Saint Joseph's and UNC Charlotte join Men's Division II.
• 2018: West Virginia and UNC Wilmington join Men's Division II.
• 2019: Richmond joins Men's Division II.
• 2022: Penn State and Rowan join Men's Division II Premier; Denison and Princeton join Men's Division II Elite while East Carolina moves up from Men's Division III; Loyola Maryland joins Men's Division III Elite. ^[2]
• 2023: Delaware, Maryland and Rider join Men's Division II Premier; Stevenson joins Men's Division II Elite and Men's Division III Premier; George Mason & West Chester join Men's Division III Premier while Loyola Maryland moves up from Men's Division III Elite; Johns Hopkins, Longwood, UMBC, Millersville and York College join Men's Division III Elite while Virginia Commonwealth & Northern Virginia CC re-join and High Point adds a second team to the division.
• 2024: High Point moves up from Men's Division III Premier to Division II Elite and Men's Division III Elite to Division III Premier. TCNJ, Wake Forest (second team) & Widener join Men's Division III Premier. North Carolina & West Chester join the Women's Division.
• 2025: The conference announced an ACHA Men's Division I league. Teams will include Alabama, Louisville, Delaware, Oswego State, Pittsburgh, Stony Brook and Syracuse. North Carolina & North Carolina State will move up to Division I to join the league. The conference also announced the return of the SEC with the additions of Alabama (second team), Auburn, Georgia and Ole Miss for a Men's Division. Georgia Tech will also join the conference in Men's Division II as Georgia's second team will also join on the Men's side. TCNJ announced that they will leave the conference to join the CSCHC.

Tournament Championships

The 2025 ACCHL playoff tournaments features the top eight teams qualifying from the M2 Premier Division as the winner is awarded the Admiral's Cup. The M2 Elite Division features the top ten teams qualifying with seeds 7-10 participating in Play-In Games; the winner is awarded the Admiral's Cup. The Women's Division features the top six teams qualifying with seeds 1 & 2 getting a bye into the Semi-Finals; the winner is awarded the Commodore's Cup. The M2A Division features the top twelve teams qualifying with seeds 1-4 receiving first-round byes; the winner is awarded the Commodore's Cup. The M3 Division has the top six teams qualify with the 1 & 2 seeds getting a bye into the Semi-Finals; the winner is awarded the Commissioner's Cup.

Men's Division 2 Premier

Year	Admiral's Cup Champion	Runner-Up	Regular Season Champion	Tournament Location
1996	Virginia (1)	North Carolina	Virginia Tech (1)	Fort Bragg, NC
1997	Liberty (1)	North Carolina	Virginia (1)	Charlottesville, VA
1998	Duke (1)	Virginia	Virginia (2)	Charlottesville, VA
1999	Maryland (1)	North Carolina	Virginia (3)	Charlottesville, VA
2000	Virginia (2)	Maryland	Virginia (4)	Ashburn, VA
2001	Maryland (2)	NC State	NC State (1)	Laurel, MD
2002	Liberty (2)	Maryland	NC State (2)	Laurel, MD
2003	NC State (1)	Maryland	NC State (3)	Raleigh, NC
2004	Duke (2)	Virginia	Duke (1)	Charlottesville, VA
2005	Georgetown (1)	Virginia	Virginia (5)	Hillsborough, NC
2006	Duke (3)	Georgetown	Duke (2)	Charlottesville, VA
2007	Georgetown (2)	Duke	Georgetown (1)	Arlington, VA
2008	Georgetown (3)	Duke	Virginia Tech (2)	Roanoke, VA
2009	Virginia Tech (1)	Duke	Virginia Tech (3)	Roanoke, VA
2010	Virginia Tech (2)	Georgetown	Maryland (1)	Arlington, VA
2011	NC State (2)	Maryland	Maryland (2)	Hillsborough, NC
2012	Georgetown (4)	Maryland	Georgetown (2)	Hillsborough, NC
2013	Georgetown (5)	NC State	NC State (4)	Laurel, MD
2014	Georgetown (6)	NC State	NC State (5)	Annapolis, MD
2015	North Carolina (1)	Georgetown	NC State (6)	Annapolis, MD
2016	George Washington (1)	NC State	NC State (7)	Charlottesville, VA
2017	Virginia (3)	NC State	Virginia (6)	Charlottesville, VA
2018	Charlotte (1)	Wake Forest	George Washington (1)	Charlottesville, VA
2019	NC State (3)	Virginia	NC State (8)	Winston-Salem, NC
2020	NC State (4)	Wake Forest	NC State (9)	Winston-Salem, NC
2021	*NC State (5)	Virginia Tech	N/A (COVID)	Winston-Salem, NC
2022	NC State (6)	North Carolina	Virginia Tech (4)	Winston-Salem, NC
2023	Penn State (1)	North Carolina	Penn State (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2024	Rowan (1)	UNC Wilmington	Rider (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2025	Penn State (2)	Virginia Tech	Penn State (2)	Winston-Salem, NC

Men's Division 2 Elite

Year	Admiral's Cup Champion	Runner-Up	Regular Season Champion	Tournament Location
2023	West Virginia (1)	Charlotte	Saint Joseph's (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2024	West Virginia (2)	Denison	Denison (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2025	Wake Forest (1)	West Virginia	High Point (1)	Winston-Salem, NC

Women's Division 2

Year	Commodore's Cup Champion	Runner-Up	Regular Season Champion	Tournament Location
2022	NC State (1)	West Virginia	West Virginia (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2023	Georgetown (1)	NC State	Georgetown (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2024	High Point (1)	Virginia Tech	Virginia (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2025	High Point (2)	Virginia Tech	High Point (1)	Springfield, VA

Men's Division 2A

Year	Commodore's Cup Champion	Runner-Up	Regular Season Champion	Tournament Location
2020	Christopher Newport (1)	College of Charleston		Chesapeake, MD
2021	*Coastal Carolina (1)	Liberty	N/A (COVID)	Winston-Salem, NC
2022	Coastal Carolina (2)	Liberty	Liberty (1)	Lynchburg, VA
2023	Coastal Carolina (3)	Liberty	Liberty (2)	Winston-Salem, NC
2024	High Point (1)	Rowan	Rowan (1)	Winston-Salem, NC
2025	Liberty (1)	Coastal Carolina	Rowan (2)	Winston-Salem, NC

Men's Division 3

Year	Commissioner's Cup Champion	Runner-Up	Regular Season Champion	Tournament Location
2022	William & Mary (1)	Appalachian State	William & Mary (1)	Lynchburg, VA
2023	Loyola Maryland (1)	William & Mary	William & Mary (2)	Winston-Salem, NC
2024	William & Mary (2)	Johns Hopkins	William & Mary (3)	Winston-Salem, NC
2025	William & Mary (3)	The Citadel	William & Mary (4)	Springfield, VA

• For the 2020-2021 season, league playoffs were held despite numerous programs not competing due to the COVID pandemic.

ACC Fall Tournament

From 2009 to 2020, NC State hosted the Stephen Russell Tournament at some point every season to commemorate the loss of their goaltender, Stephen Russell, who had passed away. The team retired Russell's #20 in his honor.

Starting in the 2021–2022 season, the ACC began to host what is now the annual fall tournament for all M2 member teams for a three-game league weekend. The tournament takes place at The St. James in Springfield, Virginia. The league will typically invite two non-members from ACHA Men's Division II to come participate as well. In 2022, the ACC began awarding a Men's Premier and Elite winner separately as well as a Women's winner which is held on a different weekend.

The current tournament features a conglomerate scoring system of winning periods (2 points per period) and whole games (4 points = W, 2 points = OT/SOW, 1 point = OT/SOL, and 0 points = L). The totals are added for a final score.

Year	Tournament Champion
2013	NC State
2014	North Carolina
2015	NC State
2016	James Madison
2017	James Madison
2018	Virginia
2019	NC State
2020	NC State
2021	NC State
2022	Rowan (Premier) | Denison (Elite) | Virginia Tech (Women's)
2023	Rider (Premier) | George Washington (Elite) | Virginia (Women's)
2024	Penn State (Premier) | Saint Joseph's (Elite) | Virginia (Women's)

ACHA Men's Division II Southeast Regionals

The ACHA hosts their regional tournaments towards the end of February. Four regions (Northeast, Southeast, Central and West) see teams ranked #3-14 compete in a single elimination, three-day weekend for two berths to the Men's Division II National Tournament. The top two teams in each regional automatically qualify.

• 2020: #9 Wake Forest defeated #12 The College of New Jersey in Overtime; defeated #4 NC State; lost to #3 Cincinnati.
• 2021: ACHA did not hold the regional tournament due to the shortened seasons caused by COVID-19.
• 2022: #3 NC State lost to #13 Pennsylvania / #14 North Carolina lost to #7 Indiana.
• 2023: #7 Penn State defeated #14 Rider; lost to #6 Ohio / #9 Rowan lost to #12 Louisville / #11 North Carolina defeated #10 NC State; defeated #5 Miami Ohio in Overtime; lost to #3 Kentucky.
• 2024: #7 North Carolina lost to #14 Pennsylvania / #8 NC State defeated #13 Rowan; defeated #6 Ohio; lost to #3 Indiana / #9 Penn State defeated #12 UNC Wilmington; lost to #5 Kentucky in Overtime / #10 Rider defeated #11 Louisville; lost to #4 Miami Ohio.
• 2025: #4 Penn State lost to #9 Indiana / #5 Virginia Tech lost to #8 Ohio in double Overtime / #6 NC State lost to #7 Miami Ohio in Overtime / #11 North Carolina lost to #10 Louisville / #14 Rider lost to #7 Miami Ohio.

ACHA Men's Division II National Tournament

The ACHA hosts the Men's Division II National Tournament every March, hosting 16 teams. Those teams are put into four separate pools with a team from each region. Winner of each pool advances to the Final Four.

• 2019: NC State (SE #4) finished 1–2 in Pool A; lost to Massachusetts (NE #1) 7–2, defeated Northern Colorado (West #2) 6-5 and lost to Trine (Central #3) 9–1.
• 2021: NC State (#2) finished 2–1 in Pool A; defeated Providence (#4) 6–4, Davenport (#3) 5-3 and lost to Mary (#1) 5–1.

AAU Men's Division II National Tournament

The AAU hosts the Men's Division II National Tournament every March, hosting 20 teams (32 teams prior to 2024). Teams are split into five pools based on their national ranking. Winner of each pool advances to the Quarter-Finals plus three wild card teams. The overall winner is the AAU Division II College Hockey National Champion.

• 2022: Christopher Newport (#16) finished 2-1 to win Pool A; lost to Central Florida (#17) 3-1, defeated Salisbury (#32) 5-2 and Tampa (#1) 4-3 in Overtime; lost to Ramapo (#9) 9-2 in the Quarter-Finals / Liberty (#12) finished 0–3 in Pool E; lost to Buffalo State (#21) 7-3, College of Charleston 4-2 and Babson (#5) 9-3 / East Carolina (#18) finished 1–2 in Pool B; lost to St. Bonaventure (#15) 9-4, Farmingdale State (#2) 7-2 and defeated Penn State Harrisburg (#31) 6-1 / College of Charleston (#28) went 1–2 in Pool E; lost to Babson (#5) 9-4, defeated Liberty 4-2 and lost to Buffalo State (#21) 11-5.
• 2023: Liberty (#4) finished 0-2-1 in Pool G; tied Fordham (#26) 3-3 in Overtime, lost to Alabama (#18) 5-1 and South Carolina (#10) 7-6 in Overtime / High Point (#32) finished 1-2 in Pool A; lost to St. Bonaventure (#1) 5-0 and Georgia (#16) 7-0 and defeated Massachusetts Maritime Academy (#24) 7-2.
• 2024: High Point (#3) finished 3-0 in Pool C; defeated Farmingdale State (#18) 3-0, Alabama Huntsville (#13) 6-4 and Central Florida (#8) 5-3; defeated Clemson (#11) in the Quarters 6-4; lost to Florida (#2) in the Semi's 9-3 / Liberty (#6) finished 0-3 in Pool E; lost to Clemson (#11) 5-2, Vanderbilt (#16) 5-4 and Bishops (#5) 6-3.
• 2025: High Point (#3) finished 3-0 in Pool C; defeated Georgia Tech (#18) 7-1, Miami FL (#13) 6-1 and Penn State Harrisburg (#8) 5-2; defeated South Florida (#5) in Quarters 5-3; defeated Tampa (#6) in Semi's 5-2; lost to Florida Atlantic (#1) in National Championship 5-2 / Wake Forest (#11) finished 0-3 in Pool A; lost to Farmingham State (#10) 6-3, Florida Atlantic (#1) 5-0 and Lynn (#20) 5-4 / Richmond (#16) was to play in Pool E but dropped out prior.

AAU Men's Division III National Tournament

The AAU hosts the Men's Division III National Tournament every March, hosting 12 teams (8 teams prior to 2025). Teams are split into three pools based on their national ranking. Winner of each pool advances to the Semi-Finals plus one wild card team. The overall winner is the AAU Division III College Hockey National Champion.

• 2024: William & Mary (#8) finished 0-3 in Pool A; lost to Miami FL (#1) 4-0, Stony Brook (#4) 5-2 and Rochester (#6) 11-2.
• 2025: Liberty (#1) finished 2-1 in Pool A; defeated Alvernia (#12) 4-0, defeated Rowan (#7) 4-0 and lost to St. John Fisher (#6) 3-2 / Rowan (#7) finished 1-2 in Pool A; lost to St. John Fisher (#6) 5-1, lost to Liberty (#1) 4-0 and defeated Alvernia (#12) 6-1 / Coastal Carolina (#4) finished 1-2 in Pool C; defeated Stony Brook (#9) 5-2, lost to Fairfield (#10) 4-3 and lost to South Carolina (#3) 4-3 / Appalachian State (#8) finished 1-2 in Pool B; lost to Rutgers (#5) 7-2, lost to Columbia (#2) 8-6 and defeated Tennessee (#11) 4-3 in Overtime.

References

1. "ACCHL: Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League | Home Page | Pointstreak Sites". Archived from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
2. "Membership History". Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League. Retrieved 2023-01-15.