OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Alberta Golden Bears
maintain their No. 1 status in the first CIS men’s hockey
rankings of the winter semester.
The Bears (14-4-0) lead the Top 10 for the fifth straight
ranking period after receiving 11 of 17 first-place votes in the
10th national media poll of the season.
The UNB Varsity Reds (14-4-0) and Western Mustangs (15-3-0) both
move up two spots in the new poll and now occupy the second and
third positions, respectively. The V-Reds earn all six remaining
first-place nods.
Rounding out the new rankings are the No. 4 Saskatchewan Huskies
(14-4-0), down one position; No. 5 Saint Mary’s Huskies
(13-4-1), up a pair; No. 6 Acadia Axemen (12-5-1), down four spots;
No. 7 UQTR Patriotes (12-3-1), down one; No. 8 Carleton Ravens
(12-4-2), up two; No. 9 Manitoba Bisons (10-5-3), who stay put; and
previously unranked StFX X-Men (11-5-2).
Alberta, UNB and Western have all kept unblemished records since
the last poll of the fall semester was released on December 4.
The Bears, who are currently tied with archrival Saskatchewan
atop the Canada West standings, beat Team Canada 4-1 back on Dec.
12 as the national junior squad was finalizing its roster for the
IIHF world championship, and added a pair of non-conference wins
over NAIT of the ACAC on Jan. 4-5, defeating the Ooks 3-2 and
3-0.
First place in Canada West will be on the line this weekend when
the Bears host the Huskies for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader in
Edmonton.
The AUS-leading Varsity Reds swept their two-game series
(Peterbilt Atlantic Kelly Cup Challenge) against the Russian Red
Stars over the holiday break, prevailing 7-3 in St. John and 5-2 in
Fredericton, and then resumed league play last weekend with home
wins over Acadia, 4-2, and Dalhousie, 3-0. Things could get
interesting atop the Atlantic conference standings later this week
as UNB (28 points) is set to visit No. 10 StFX (24 pts) on Friday
and No. 5 Saint Mary’s (27 pts) the following night.
For their part, the OUA-leading Mustangs edged Windsor 4-3 in a
shootout in non-conference action on Dec. 30 and kicked off the
second half of their regular schedule last weekend with victories
over Brock, 3-2, and UOIT, 7-1. Western faces Waterloo (9-6-3) and
UOIT (7-10-1) this week.
Another Top-10 battle is on the CIS schedule this week as No. 8
Carleton travels to Trois-Rivières, Que., on Wednesday to
face No. 7 UQTR.
CIS
MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#10)
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) / 163 points (11) / (1)
2. UNB (14-4-0) / 156 (6) / (4)
3. Western (15-3-0) / 118 / (5)
4. Saskatchewan (14-4-0) / 117 / (3)
5. Saint Mary’s (13-4-1) / 102 / (7)
6. Acadia (12-5-1) / 90 / (2)
7. UQTR (12-3-1) / 70 / (6)
8. Carleton (12-4-2) / 47 / (10)
9. Manitoba (10-5-3) / 38 / (9)
10. StFX (11-5-2) / 12 / (NR)
Other teams receiving votes: Calgary (9), Guelph (8), Windsor
(5).
-CIS-
