OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Calgary Dinos lead the
CIS men’s hockey Top 10 for the fourth consecutive ranking
period after sweeping all first-place votes from the national media
panel for the first time this season.
The Dinos (19-0-1), the only team in the country without a
regulation loss in conference play, tallied 160 points in the 12th
weekly poll of the campaign to maintain a comfortable cushion over
their Canada West archrivals, the Alberta Golden Bears (18-2), who
received 144 points from the panel.
The only change in the new Top 10 sees reigning University Cup
champion UNB (16-3-1) move past Acadia (15-2-3) in third place. The
Varsity Reds and Axemen are tied atop the AUS standings with 33
points apiece with eight games left in the regular season.
Rounding out this week’s national poll are the No. 5
McGill Redmen (16-5-1), No. 6 UQTR Patriotes (16-4), No. 7 Carleton
Ravens (14-5-1), No. 8 Ryerson Rams (15-7), No. 9 Lakehead
Thunderwolves (14-5-1) and No. 10 Queen’s Gaels (13-3-5).
While Calgary swept its two-game set against Manitoba over the
weekend, 5-4 and 4-3 on home ice, the Dinos were seconds away from
suffering their first regulation defeat of the regular schedule in
Saturday’s rematch. The No. 1 team in the nation tied it at
3-3 with 79 second left in the third period before prevailing in
double overtime.
Calgary, which hold a three-point lead over Alberta in the
Canada West race with eight league contests remaining, visits UBC
for a pair this week.
The Golden Bears also kept rolling last weekend, sweeping UBC
4-3 and 5-2 in Vancouver.
Meanwhile in the Maritimes, UNB beat Acadia 5-3 on Friday in a
much-anticipated confrontation between the top two teams in the
AUS. The V-Reds, who had lost twice to the Axemen earlier this
season, added a 4-1 win over Dalhousie on Saturday, while Acadia
lost for the second straight day, this time 6-5 in extra time to
Moncton.
In the OUA conference, Ryerson and Lakehead split their two-game
series in Thunder Bay, with the hometown Thunderwolves taking the
opener 4-3 and the Rams responding with a 7-1 domination in the
rematch.
The lone Top-10 matchup of the coming week in CIS men’s
hockey sees No. 10 Queen’s visit No. 7 Carleton on Friday
night.
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)
1. Calgary (19-0-1) / 160 points (16) / (1)
2. Alberta (18-2-0) / 144 / (2)
3. UNB (16-3-1) / 124 / (4)
4. Acadia (15-2-3) / 107 / (3)
5. McGill (16-5-1) / 87 / (5)
6. UQTR (16-4-0) / 80 / (6)
7. Carleton (14-5-1) / 51 / (7)
8. Ryerson (15-7-0) / 48 / (8)
9. Lakehead (14-5-1) / 27 / (9)
10. Queen’s (13-3-5) / 20 / (10)
Other teams receiving votes: Moncton (18), Saskatchewan (7),
Western (4), UPEI (3).