OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Alberta Golden Bears top
the ninth and final CIS men’s hockey rankings of the fall
semester. The first portion of the regular schedule came to an end
last weekend and conference play will resume on January 3.
The Bears (14-4-0) lead the Top 10 for the fourth straight week
after receiving nine of 16 first-place votes and 158 points from
the national media panel. In yet another close poll, no less than
three other teams also earned first-place nods, including the
second-ranked Acadia Axemen (4), No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies (2) and
No. 5 Western Mustangs (1).
Acadia (12-3-1) moves up two spots in the new poll, Saskatchewan
(13-3-0) stays put and Western (13-3-0) gains one position. The UNB
Varsity Reds (12-4-0) drop a pair and fall to No. 4 this week.
Rounding out the last Top 10 of the fall are the sixth-seeded
UQTR Patriotes (12-3-1), down one position; No. 7 Saint
Mary’s Huskies (11-4-1), up one; No. 8 Windsor Lancers
(12-4-0), down one; No. 9 Manitoba Bisons (9-4-3), up one; and No.
10 Carleton Ravens (10-4-2), down one.
Standings in all three CIS conferences could hardly be closer at
the December break.
In Canada West, Alberta holds a slim two-point advantage over
Saskatchewan but the Huskies have two games in hand.
In the AUS, after 16 league contests, Acadia has 25 points, UNB
24 and Saint Mary’s 23.
In the OUA West division, Western leads Windsor by two points
and unranked Guelph by three.
In the OUA East, division-leading UQTR has a three-point cushion
over Carleton.
The top-ranked Golden Bears wrapped up the fall semester last
weekend with a two-game split against Manitoba, in Winnipeg.
Alberta took the opener 3-2 in a shootout on Friday but dropped
Saturday’s rematch by a 4-2 score.
The Axemen closed out the first half with a bang. Following a
3-1 win over UPEI last Friday, they edged UNB 3-2 on home ice the
next night to secure first place in the Atlantic conference heading
into the break.
Also last weekend, Saskatchewan swept Canada West newcomer Mount
Royal 6-2 and 6-3; UNB beat Dalhousie 5-2 before falling to Acadia;
Western outscored York 10-5 and Brock 4-1; UQTR edged RMC 4-3 in a
shootout and Queen’s 2-1 in overtime; Saint Mary’s
downed St. Thomas 3-2 in OT and Moncton 5-2; Windsor lost 3-2 to
Guelph on Friday but won the rematch 5-2 on Saturday; Carleton
defeated Nipissing 3-2 in OT and lost by the same score against
Ryerson, also in extra time.
The next CIS men’s hockey Top 10 will be published on
Tuesday, Jan. 8.
CIS
MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#9)
Voting is based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with a 1st
place vote worth 10 points. The CIS Men’s Ice Hockey Top Ten
Committee is made up of media members from across Canada.
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) /
(previous rankings)
1. Alberta (14-4-0) / 158 points (9) / (1)
2. Acadia (12-3-1) / 147 (4) / (4)
3. Saskatchewan (13-3-0) / 129 (2) / (3)
4. UNB (12-4-0) / 123 / (2)
5. Western (13-3-0) / 102 (1) / (6)
6. UQTR (12-3-1) / 89 / (5)
7. Saint Mary’s (11-4-1) / 69 / (8)
8. Windsor (12-4-0) / 47 / (7)
9. Manitoba (9-4-3) / 40 / (10)
10. Carleton (10-4-2) / 15 / (9)
Other teams receiving votes: St. Francis Xavier (5), McGill (5),
Guelph (3), Calgary (1), Moncton (1), Toronto (1).
-CIS-
