OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Alberta Golden Bears lead
the CIS men’s hockey Top 10 for the seventh consecutive
ranking period, dating back to mid-November.
The Bears (18-4-0) received 16 of 17 first-place votes from the
national media panel this week, one more than last Tuesday. Despite
dropping one position to No. 3 in the new poll, behind the UNB
Varsity Reds (18-5-0), the Western Ontario Mustangs (18-4-0) earned
the remaining first-place nod.
Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 4 Saint Mary’s
Huskies (16-5-2) and No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies (15-7-0), who both
stay put; the No. 6 Acadia Axemen (15-6-2) and No. 7 UQTR Patriotes
(15-5-1), who swap positions this week; the No. 9 Carleton Ravens
(16-5-2) and No. 9 Manitoba Bisons (13-5-4), also swapping places;
and the Calgary Dinos (14-8-0), who remain at No. 10.
Top-ranked Alberta, which now holds a comfortable six-point lead
atop the Canada West standings with six games remaining in
conference play, dominated visiting Lethbridge last weekend,
defeating the struggling Pronghorns (1-19-2) 4-1 and 9-1. The Bears
face another provincial rival this weekend as they are set to visit
No. 10 Calgary on Friday before returning to Edmonton to host the
Dinos the following night.
UNB picked up three wins over the last seven days, including a
7-0 domination of cross-town rival St. Thomas (3-19-1) and a pair
of 3-2 overtime thrillers on the road, against UPEI (12-9-2) and
Moncton (9-9-5). The V-Reds, who hold a slim two-point advantage
over Saint Mary’s with five games left on the AUS schedule,
host the Huskies on Friday night and StFX on Saturday.
In the OUA, Western saw its 15-game winning streak come to an
end last Thursday when Laurier goaltender Ryan Daniels turn aside
all 36 shots fired at him en route to a 2-0 Golden Hawks victory.
The Mustangs quickly got back on track two days later with a 3-1
defeat of Guelph and lead the OUA West by six points with six
league contests remaining.
Other key matchups to keep an eye on this week include a trio of
OUA East battles as No. 7 UQTR hosts reigning University Cup
champion McGill (14-6-1) on Tuesday and No. 8 Carleton on Friday,
before McGill pays a visit to Carleton on Sunday.
CIS
MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#12)
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 (18-4-0) / 169 points (16) / (1)
2. UNB (18-5-0) / 150 / (3)
3. Western (18-4-0) / 137 (1) / (2)
4. Saint Mary’s (16-5-2) / 113 / (4)
5. Saskatchewan (15-7-0) / 89 / (5)
6. Acadia (15-6-2) / 70 / (7)
7. UQTR (15-5-1) / 62 / (6)
8. Carleton (16-5-2) / 57 / (9)
9. Manitoba (13-5-4) / 49 / (8)
10. Calgary (14-8-0) / 12 / (10)
Other teams receiving votes: McGill (8), Guelph (7), StFX (7),
UPEI (2), Windsor (2), Lakehead (1).
-CIS-
