UNLV VS UTAH ACHA HOCKEY 10/10/2025

The defending 2025 ACHA Men's D1 National Champions, the UNLV Skatin' Rebels take on the Utah Utes from City National Arena in Summerlin just west of downtown Las Vegas. In this top 10 showdown between the #1 Rebels and the #10 Utes, the defending champs saw a packed crows come cheer on their Skatin' Rebels for banner raising night!

ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association) is an organization that makes up club hockey at the college level and offers schools (and their students) the opportunity to play hockey in college for universities and programs that can't put a NCAA team on the ice for whatever reason that may be. The ACHA, while not affiliated with the NCAA, provides alternatives for competetive ice hockey games and events. The men have three divisions while the women have two. The UNLV Skatin' Rebels won their first ACHA National Championship last season after losing in the National Championship game the year before.

Penn State and Arizona State are great examples of ACHA programs who won National Championships and eventually moved on to play NCAA Division I Ice Hockey and thrived (both did receive genrous donations and new arenas, which significantly helped their cause). Teams that dominate at the D1 ACHA level include Central Oklahoma, Adrian, UNLV, Minot State, and other as well. The Skatin' Rebels are likely to be Division I bound in the next 10 years if their growth and support continue at this rate. Their home basketball arena, the Thomas and Mack Center, was the home to the International Hockey League's Las Vegas Thunder back in the 90's, so its definitely possible that history could repeat itself the way things are going.

I was in Vegas for business and financial reasons when this game took place, so I took a break from the hustle and bustle and decided to take in a game. I was not disappointed at all. The audio was certainly lacking from the PA and the guy trying to hype the crowd, but other than that, this is one nice facility and I had a great time seeing a melting pot of students and hockey families along with those who "love their rebels" and watch all their events.

I had some good conversations with those nearby during the game. Game 5 of the ALDS was also being played which made myself and one other Seattle Mariners fan in the crowd watching two games. The young man next to me became my newest subscriber after I told him a little bit about myself and my journey. I will definitely be back for a game in the future!