OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of New Brunswick Varsity
Reds top the CIS men’s hockey rankings for the third
consecutive week.
The leading trio remains unchanged in the 15th national poll of
the campaign as UNB (23-5-0) stays ahead of the No. 2 Alberta
Golden Bears (23-4-1) and No. 3 Western Mustangs (21-5-2). The
V-Reds did lose one first-place vote to the Bears this week,
earning 12 nods from the media panel compared to five for their
Edmonton rivals.
The only change in the new Top 10 sees the UQTR Patriotes
(21-6-1) and Saint Mary’s Huskies (18-7-3) switch positions
at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The sixth-ranked Saskatchewan
Huskies (19-8-1), No. 7 Manitoba Bisons (17-7-4), No. 8 Acadia
Axemen (17-9-2), No. 9 Carleton Ravens (19-7-2) and No. 10 Calgary
Dinos (17-11-0) all hold on to their previous spot.
The regular season came to an end this past weekend in all three
CIS conferences and most playoff-bound teams don’t get much
of a break as the first post-season match-ups are scheduled for
Wednesday night.
Only four Top-10 squads will enjoy a well-deserved rest in the
first-round, including UNB, Alberta, Saint Mary’s and
Saskatchewan.
Top-ranked UNB wrapped up conference play last Friday with a 2-0
shutout against Moncton and finished with a comfortable seven-point
lead atop the AUS standings. The V-Reds are currently riding an
eight-game winning streak and have won 11 of 12 since league play
resumed in January.
Alberta, which prevailed with an eight-point cushion in the
Canada West race, is also red-hot going into the post season having
won four straight and nine of 10 since the December break. The
Bears defeated UBC 2-0 and 5-2 last weekend in Vancouver. With
their 2-0 victory on Friday night, they became the first team in
Canada West history to post three consecutive shutouts in
conference action.
In the OUA, Western and UQTR, who finished first in the West and
East divisions, respectively, ended league play in opposite
fashion. The Mustangs have lost three straight following defeats at
the hands of Brock, 4-3 in a shootout, and Windsor, 3-2. The
Patriotes closed out the regular season with convincing victories
against RMC, 5-2, and Queen’s, 7-3, and have now won three
straight and seven of their last eight contests.
Following a month-long playoff season, the top six teams in the
nation will gather at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon from
March 14 to 17 for the PotashCorp University Cup championship,
presented by Co-op.
Below is a complete post-season schedule for this week (all
times LOCAL).
Wednesday, Feb. 13
19:00 Moncton at Acadia (Game 1 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
19:00 UPEI at StFX (Game 1 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
19:00 Queen’s at Carleton (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:00 McGill at Nipissing (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:00 Windsor at York (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Lakehead at Waterloo (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
19:30 UQTR at Ryerson (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:30 Ottawa at Toronto (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
Thursday, Feb. 14
19:00 UOIT at Western (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Laurier at Guelph (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
Friday, Feb. 15
19:00 Acadia at Moncton (Game 2 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
19:00 StFX at UPEI (Game 2 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
19:00 Toronto at Ottawa (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:00 Regina at Manitoba (Game 1 best-of-3 Canada West
quarter-final)
19:00 UBC at Calgary (Game 1 best-of-3 Canada West
quarter-final)
19:30 York at Windsor (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Carleton at Queen’s (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:30 Waterloo at Lakehead (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
Saturday, Feb. 16
14:00 Ryerson at UQTR (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
18:00 UBC at Calgary (Game 2 best-of-3 Canada West
quarter-final)
19:00 Toronto at Ottawa (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:00 Regina at Manitoba (Game 2 best-of-3 Canada West
quarter-final)
19:30 Nipissing at McGill (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:30 York at Windsor (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
19:30 Western at UOIT (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Waterloo at Lakehead (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
19:30 Guelph at Laurier (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
Sunday, Feb. 17
14:00 Ryerson at UQTR (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:00 Moncton at Acadia (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 AUS
quarter-final)
19:00 UPEI at StFX (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 AUS
quarter-final)
19:00 Queen’s at Carleton (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA
East quarter-final)
19:00 UOIT at Western (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
19:00 Regina at Manitoba (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 Canada
West quarter-final)
19:30 Nipissing at McGill (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA East
quarter-final)
19:30 Laurier at Guelph (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West
quarter-final)
TBA UBC at Calgary (If necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 Canada West
quarter-final)
CIS
MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#15)
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 (23-5-0) / 165 points (12) / (1)
2. Alberta (23-4-1) / 158 (5) / (2)
3. Western (21-5-2) / 117 / (3)
4. UQTR (21-6-1) / 114 / (5)
5. Saint Mary’s (18-7-3) / 109 / (4)
6. Saskatchewan (19-8-1) / 89 / (6)
7. Manitoba (17-7-4) / 62 / (7)
8. Acadia (17-9-2) / 53 / (8)
9. Carleton (19-7-2) / 32 / (9)
10. Calgary (17-11-0) / 13 / (10)
Other teams receiving votes: Windsor (12), StFX (7), Ottawa (2),
Lakehead (1), McGill (1).
-CIS-