The Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I level ice hockey league. The GLCHL is made up of nine schools, including one in Indiana, one in Illinois, and seven in Michigan.
 | |
| Conference | ACHA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Region | Great Lakes |
| Most recent champion(s) | Grand Valley State Lakers (1st title) |
| Most titles | Adrian Bulldogs (7 titles) |
| Official website | Official website |
History
editThe league was announced in late 2009 and began play in the Fall of 2010 with six member teams, all located within the state of Michigan.[1] Eastern Michigan, Michigan-Dearborn and Western Michigan all joined the league after competing as members of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League. Oakland and Adrian College previously competed as ACHA Division 1 Independents. Davenport joined after making the transition from ACHA Division 2 to Division 1.[1] In 2012, Kent State announced they would move from the CSCHL to the league beginning in the 2012-13 season. Indiana Tech and Rochester College joined the league in the 2015-16 season. Before the 2017-18 season Indiana Tech left to join the newly formed NAIA Division. Calvin College moved up from ACHA Division 3 to fill the spot left by Indiana Tech. In 2019, Rochester and Michigan-Dearborn left the conference after the NAIA Division consolidated into the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC), the all-sport conference for both RU and UMD.[2] In recent years, though, the league has been able to supplement its membership with programs making the transition from ACHA D2 to D1, adding Grand Valley State for the 2020-2021 season,[3] and Purdue University Northwest for the 2022-2023 season.[4]
Adrian College has won the most regular season and playoff titles with seven regular season and five playoff titles.
Format
editThe conference plays a 16-game league schedule, two games against each team—home team alternates each season. In addition team schedules will include other ACHA Division I opponents. The GLCHL holds a league championship tournament at the end of the regular season in February.[5]
Member schools
editCurrent members
edit| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwood University | Midland, Michigan | 1959 | Nonsectarian | 1,344 | Timberwolves | 2024 | ? | Great Midwest (G-MAC)[a] |
| Oakland University | Rochester, Michigan | 1957 | Public | 20,519 | Golden Grizzlies | ? | ? | Horizon[b] |
| Saginaw Valley State University | University Center, Michigan | 1963 | Public | 7,523 | Cardinals | 2024 | ? | Great Lakes (GLIAC)[a] |
| University of Toledo | Kalamazoo, Michigan | 1872 | Public | 18,319 | Rockets | 2024 | ? | Mid-American (MAC)[b] |
| Western Michigan University[c] | Kalamazoo, Michigan | 1903 | Public | 19,887 | Broncos | ? | ? | Mid-American (MAC)[b] |
- Notes
- ^ a b Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ a b c Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
- ^ Western Michigan has NCAA Division I hockey competing in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).
Former members
edit- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Member school left the GLCHL to form the Great Lakes Six Hockey Conference (GL6), beginning the 2024–25 school year.
- ^ Adrian has NCAA Division III hockey competing in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA).
- ^ a b Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
- ^ a b c d Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
- ^ a b Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
- ^ a b c Currently an NAIA athletic conference.
- ^ Formerly known as Rochester College until 2019, then later known as Rochester University until 2024.
Conference arenas
edit| School | Hockey Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian | Arrington Ice Arena | 500 |
| Calvin | Eagles Ice Center | |
| Davenport | Patterson Ice Center | 1,200 |
| Eastern Michigan | Ann Arbor Ice Cube | 1,000 |
| Grand Valley State | Griff's Georgetown | |
| Oakland | Onyx Rochester Ice Arena | 750 |
| Purdue Northwest | Kube Sports Complex | |
| Roosevelt | Edge Ice Arena | 3,000 |
| Western Michigan | Wings West Arena | 1,000 |
Past champions
edit| Regular season | Tournament | Tournament site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Adrian College[7] | Oakland[8] | The Peak Ice Arena, Romulus, Michigan |
| 2012 | Oakland[9] | Adrian College[10] | Arrington Ice Arena, Adrian, Michigan |
| 2013 | Adrian College | Davenport | Patterson Ice Center, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2014 | Adrian College | Adrian College | ONYX Ice Arena, Rochester, MI |
| 2015 | Adrian College | Adrian College | The Rink, Battle Creek, MI |
| 2016 | Davenport | University of Michigan-Dearborn | University of Michigan-Dearborn Fieldhouse, Dearborn, MI |
| 2017 | Adrian College | University of Michigan-Dearborn | KSU Ice Arena, Kent, OH |
| 2018 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2019 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Arrington Ice Arena, Adrian, MI |
| 2020 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Patterson Ice Center, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2021 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Griff's Georgetown, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2022 | Adrian College | Grand Valley State | Griff's Georgetown, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2023 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Eagles Ice Center, Grand Rapids, MI |
National tournament results
edit- 2011: #2 Davenport won the 2011 ACHA Men's DI National Championship defeating #1 Lindenwood 3-2 in overtime; #4 Adrian defeated 4-5 in 2ot by #5 Delaware in Quarter-final Round; #11 Oakland defeated 2-6 by #3 Ohio in Quarter-final Round.[11]
- 2018: #2 ranked Adrian College won the ACHA Men's Div. I National Championship against #5 Illinois, defeating them 8-1.
References
edit- ^ a b "All-Michigan GLCHL League To Debut in 2010-2011". ACHA. November 13, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "WHAC adds hockey and Tech gets tourney". The Journal Gazette. 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ "GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY TO JOIN ACHA MEN'S DIVISION 1 & GLCHL FOR 2020-2021 SEASON". 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Purdue University Northwest Joining GLCHL In 2022-23 Season". 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Bulldogs Set to Join GLCHL in 2010-11". Adrian College. Dec 4, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ "Purdue University Northwest Joining GLCHL In 2022-23 Season | GLCHL: Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League". www.pointstreaksites.com. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
- ^ "Adrian Clinches GLCHL Regular Season Title". GLCHL. Feb 7, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ "Oakland wins GLCHL Playoff Championship with 4-0 win over Adrian". GLCHL. Feb 21, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ "Oakland head coach Jeremy Bachusz named 2012 GLCHL coach of the year". GLCHL. March 13, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ^ "GLCHL Tournament Champs". GLCHL. Feb 21, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ^ "GLCHL Represented well in ACHA DI National Tournament". GLCHL. Feb 16, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2011.