CIS Men's Hockey Top Ten
OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds top the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey rankings for the 10th straight week, while the McGill Redmen follow in second place for the ninth week in a row.
The V-Reds (23-5-0 regular season / 4-2 playoffs) received all but one first-place votes from the 18-member national media panel in the new poll for a total of 179 points. The Redmen (24-2-2 / 7-1) earned the remaining first place nod and 158 points.
The Alberta Golden Bears (19-6-3 / 4-0) tallied 147 points to round out the leading trio for the six consecutive week, while the St. Francis Xavier X-Men (17-10-1 / 6-3) move up three positions to No. 4 in the 18th poll of the campaign after eliminating the 2010 national champion Saint Mary’s Huskies from University Cup contention.
Saint Mary’s (18-9-1 / 2-3) drops three spots to No. 7.
The No. 5 Western Ontario Mustangs (20-3-5 / 6-2), No. 6 Calgary Dinos (17-8-3 / 2-3), No. 8 UQTR Patriotes (19-8-1 / 5-4), No. 9 Saskatchewan Huskies (17-11-0 / 1-2) and No. 10 Acadia Axemen (14-11-3 / 3-3) all hold on to their previous rankings.
Only one conference champion remains to be declared before the University Cup championship tournament gets underway in Fredericton on March 24.
Top-ranked UNB and StFX are tied at one game apiece in the best-of-five AUS final, with the first two contests requiring extra time. The V-Reds took the opener 3-2 last Friday and the X-Men responded with a 2-1 double OT win on Saturday.
The series moves to the X-Men’s home in Antigonish, N.S., Tuesday and Wednesday. If necessary, a fifth and decisive game will be played in Fredericton later this week (date TBD).
StFX advanced to the AUS final thanks to an exciting 3-2 double OT victory over Saint Mary’s in Game 5 of their semifinal matchup on March 8.
In the OUA, McGill captured its third conference title in four years Saturday in London, Ont., with an impressive 6-2 road win over Western in the 100th presentation of the Queen’s Cup.
In Canada West, Alberta proved too much for provincial rival Calgary in the best-of-three conference final. The Bears swept the Dinos 3-0 and 8-1 in Edmonton to win their fourth consecutive banner, and their 10th in 11 seasons.
CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#18)
1. UNB
2. McGill
3. Alberta
4. StFX
5. Western Ontario
6. Calgary
7. Saint Mary’s
8. UQTR
9. Saskatchewan
10. Acadia
Other teams receiving votes: Manitoba (4), Guelph (3).
CIS MEN’S HOCKEY SCHEDULE:
University Cup CIS championship
March 24-27, Aitken University Centre, Fredericton, N.B.
