USU hockey is nationals bound
It’s official. The Utah State hockey team is heading to Florida over spring break.
The final American Collegiate Hockey Association rankings were released Monday night and USU is sitting at No. 2 in the Western Division, making them the second team in the West to receive an auto-bid to nationals.
Arizona State University captured the No. 1 spot and will join the Aggies on their national title quest. The rest of the teams from the West will battle it out in the ACHA regional tournament in San Jose, Calif.
The 27-1-2 Aggies lost 6-1 to the Sun Devils in early December but still managed to hang on to the top spot.
After last week’s 8-8 tie to Northern Arizona, the Aggies auto-bid chances took a hit. USU’s strength of schedule eventually pushed them into the No. 2 spot, but the Aggies held on to receive the auto-bid.
The berth allows Utah State to skip the Western Regional competition which would normally be the route to Nationals qualification. Because of this, USU has no scheduled games from Feb. 17 to when Nationals are slated to begin.
The ACHA National tournament will be held in Fort Myers, Fla. The top two teams from each division have already been given an exemption pass and will not have to compete in the regional tournament. The tournament is hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University, which sealed its bid by winning the Southeast division.
Nationals will be held March 16-20.
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu