OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of New Brunswick Varsity
Reds top the CIS men’s hockey rankings for the second
straight week after extending their winning streak to seven
games.
The leading trio remains unchanged in the 14th national poll of
the campaign as UNB (22-5-0) stays ahead of the No. 2 Alberta
Golden Bears (21-4-1) and No. 3 Western Mustangs (21-4-1). The
V-Reds received 13 of 17 first-place votes from the media panel,
with the four remaining nods going to the Bears.
Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 4 Saint Mary’s
Huskies (18-7-2), who move up one position; No. 5 UQTR Patriotes
(19-6-1), down one spot; No. 6 Saskatchewan Huskies (17-8-1), up
one; No. 7 Manitoba Bisons (16-6-4), also up one; No. 8 Acadia
Axemen (16-9-2), down two; No. 9 Carleton Ravens (18-6-2), who stay
put this week; and No. 10 Calgary Dinos (16-10-0), also holding on
to their previous position.
The regular season comes to an end across the country this
weekend, with UNB (AUS), Alberta (Canada West) and Western (OUA
West) having secured first place in their respective conference or
division standings.
The only race still to be determined heading into the final
weekend of league play is in the OUA East division, where
fifth-ranked UQTR holds a slim one-point lead over No. 9 Carleton
with two home games remaining for both teams. The Patriotes host
RMC (3-21-2) and Queen’s (10-10-6) on Friday and Saturday,
while the Ravens battle Nipissing (14-10-2) and Ryerson
(11-15-0).
In the Atlantic conference, UNB has now won 10 of its last 11
contests following victories over St. Thomas, 5-1, and UPEI, 5-2.
The V-Reds, who lead the AUS standings by six points with one game
left, close out the regular schedule Friday night with a home tilt
against Moncton (12-9-6) and then will enjoy a bye in the first
round of the playoffs.
In Canada West, Alberta posted back-to-back shutouts against
Regina over the weekend, 6-0 and 2-0. The Bears, who currently have
a seven-point cushion over Manitoba and lead Saskatchewan by eight,
end league play with a two-game series versus UBC (14-9-3) in
Vancouver.
In Ontario, Western outscored Windsor 7-3 last Friday but was
upset 2-1 in overtime by York on Saturday. The Mustangs still hold
a commanding nine-point advantage atop the OUA West standings as
they get set to wrap up their conference schedule at home against
Brock (8-14-4) and Windsor (16-9-1).
Following a month-long playoff season, the top six teams in the
nation will battle for the University Cup from March 14 to 17 at
the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.
CIS
MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#14)
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. UNB (22-5-0) / 166 points (13) / (1)
2. Alberta (21-4-1) / 156 (4) / (2)
3. Western (21-4-1) / 131 / (3)
4. Saint Mary’s (18-7-2) / 116 / (5)
5. UQTR (19-6-1) / 95 / (4)
6. Saskatchewan (17-8-1) / 69 / (7)
7. Manitoba (16-6-4) / 63 / (8)
8. Acadia (16-9-2) / 60 / (6)
9. Carleton (18-6-2) / 45 / (9)
10. Calgary (16-10-0) / 19 / (10)
Other teams receiving votes: Lakehead (9), StFX (4), McGill (1),
Ottawa (1).
-CIS-
