OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Alberta Golden Bears
remain atop the CIS men’s hockey rankings heading into the
final weekend of the 28-game regular season schedule.
The Bears (23-2-1) top the media poll for the second straight
week and for the 10th time this season after receiving 16 of 17
first-place votes – one more than last week – and 169
points from the national panel.
The reigning University Cup champion UNB Varsity Reds (22-3-1)
earned the remaining first-place nod and 152 points to stay
confortable in second position. The Acadia Axemen (20-3-3) move up
one spot to No. 3, while the Calgary Dinos (21-2-3) fall to No. 4,
one week after dropping out of first place for the first time since
early December.
Rounding out the 15th poll of the campaign are the No. 5 McGill
Redmen (20-5-2 / up one position), No. 6 Carleton Ravens (20-5-1 /
up one), No. 7 UQTR Patriotes (20-6 / down two), No. 8 Western
Mustangs (19-6-1 / up one), No. 9 Saskatchewan Huskies (15-10-1 /
up one) and No. 10 Moncton Aigles Bleus (16-10 / down two).
Alberta, UNB and Acadia all went 2-0 this past weekend, while
Calgary suffered its third straight loss last Thursday before
getting back in the win column on Friday.
The Bears swept Regina 5-0 and 5-2. The V-Reds dominated St.
Thomas 6-1 and Moncton 4-0. The Axemen beat Saint Mary’s 5-2
and Dalhousie 6-1. The Dinos lost 4-3 in overtime against Mount
Royal but won the rematch 5-2.
Heading into the last weekend of league play, only one team, No.
8 Western, has clinched first place in its division or conference.
With two games remaining, the Mustangs hold a six-point lead over
Lakehead in the OUA West.
The three other races could come down to the final day.
In Canada West, Alberta and Calgary battle head-to-head Friday
in Edmonton and Saturday in Calgary, with the Bears entering the
two-game set with a two-point cushion over their provincial rivals.
The first two duels of the campaign – in November - ended
with a 2-0 Dinos victory and a 3-2 Bears win in double
overtime.
In the AUS, where UNB has a two-point advantage over Acadia, the
V-Reds and Axemen are set to take on Dalhousie and Moncton,
respectively, on Friday, before facing each other in their season
finale Saturday in Wolfville, N.S. Acadia prevailed in two of the
first three head-to-head matchups, including a shootout win.
In the OUA East, McGill currently has 42 points, Carleton 41 and
UQTR 40 but the Redmen only have one game left compared to two
apiece for the Ravens and Patriotes. On paper, Carleton seems well
positioned to steal first place away from McGill as the Ravens end
the schedule against RMC (3-20-3) and Laurentian (5-21), who occupy
the last two positions in the ten-team division.
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)
1. Alberta (23-2-1) / 169 points (16) / (1)
2. UNB (22-3-1) / 152 (1) / (2)
3. Acadia (20-3-3) / 129 / (4)
4. Calgary (21-2-3) / 127 / (3)
5. McGill (20-5-2) / 91 / (6)
6. Carleton (20-5-1) / 90 / (7)
7. UQTR (20-6-0) / 55 / (5) *
8. Western (19-6-1) / 55 / (9)
9. Saskatchewan (15-10-1) / 27 / (10)
10. Moncton (16-10-0) / 20 / (8)
* UQTR is ranked higher than Western based on number of
higher-placed votes.
Other teams receiving votes: UPEI (10), Queen’s (8),
Lakehead (1), Ryerson (1).
