OTTAWA (CIS) – Despite a rare loss over the weekend, the
McGill Redmen managed to hold on to the number one position in the
closest national poll of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport
men’s hockey season.
The Redmen (18-3-2), who last Tuesday moved past the UNB Varsity
Reds for their first No. 1 ranking in five years, received eight
first-place votes and 151 points this week from the 17-member media
panel.
UNB (16-5-2) finished only one point back in the voting, thanks in
part to four first-place nods, while the Western Mustangs (19-2-3)
were a close third with 148 points, despite earning one more
first-place vote than UNB (5).
The V-Reds had led the first 10 polls of the campaign before
sliding to No. 3 last week. The Mustangs are down one spot in the
new Top 10 after reaching a season-high No. 2 a week ago.
Rounding out the 12th media poll of the campaign are Moncton
(16-7-0), which stays put in fourth place; No. 5 Alberta (16-6-2),
No. 6 Saskatchewan (15-5-2) and No. 7 Manitoba (15-5-2), all up one
position; No. 8 Saint Mary’s (15-7-2), up a pair; No. 9
Acadia (15-7-2), down four spots; as well as No. 10 UQTR (17-5-2),
down one.
Top-ranked McGill opened the past weekend with a convincing 7-2
home win over Ottawa on Friday, but was upset 4-2 at Carleton the
following night. The Redmen face a busy schedule this week with
three games in five days, including a visit to archrival UQTR on
Tuesday and home tilts against Concordia (12-10-2) on Friday and
Carleton (13-9-3) on Saturday.
With two weeks to go in the OUA regular season, McGill holds a slim
two-point advantage over UQTR in the East Division standings but
also has one game in hand (5 to 4).
After losing four of its previous five contests, reigning
University Cup champion UNB got back on track last weekend with a
pair of home wins. The V-Reds dominated Acadia 7-1 before edging
Dalhousie 3-2 in overtime. The V-Reds are set to face the same two
opponents this weekend, this time on the road.
UNB currently leads the tight AUS race by two points over Moncton,
Acadia and Saint Mary’s, with UPEI another two points back in
fifth place.
A 3-2 shootout loss to Windsor last Thursday likely cost Western
second place in the new Top 10. The Mustangs rebounded on Saturday
however with a 4-0 shutout against Lakehead.
Western has already secured first place in the OUA West thanks to a
nine-point lead over Lakehead and Waterloo with four games
remaining in conference play.
In Canada West, the three-team race continues between Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Golden Bears currently hold a
two-point advantage on their two rivals but only have four games to
play, compared to six for both the Huskies and Bisons.
Last week, Alberta split a two-game series with UBC, Manitoba split
a doubleheader against Lethbridge, while Saskatchewan enjoyed a
break in the schedule. The Huskies and Bisons will try to make up
ground this weekend when they host Calgary and UBC, respectively,
for two-game sets, while the Bears are inactive.
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) /
(previous rankings)
1. McGill (18-3-2) / 151 pts (8) / (1)
2. UNB (16-5-2) / 150 (4) / (3)
3. Western (19-2-3) / 148 (5) / (2)
4. Moncton (16-7-0) / 98 / (4)
5. Alberta (16-6-2) / 94 / (6)
6. Saskatchewan (15-5-2) / 74 / (7)
7. Manitoba (15-5-2) / 68 / (8)
8. Saint Mary’s (15-7-2) / 57 / (10)
9. Acadia (15-7-2) / 56 / (5)
10. UQTR (17-5-2) / 17 / (9) *
Other teams receiving votes: UPEI (17) *, Nipissing (6), UBC
(1), Lakehead (1).
* UQTR (over UPEI) was awarded the higher ranking based on
number of higher-placed votes.
-CIS-