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CIS Men’s Hockey Top 10 (#11): No. 1 UNB off to best CIS start since 2002-03
OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning University Cup champion New
Brunswick Varsity Reds top the CIS men’s hockey rankings for
the 11th time in as many media polls this year.
The Varsity Reds, who were a unanimous choice at No. 1 for the
tenth straight week thanks to 16 first-place votes, improved to a
remarkable 21-0 in conference play over the weekend with a 3-1
victory over Moncton (6-14-1) and a 9-4 domination of St. Thomas
(7-12-2), a game in which team captain Kyle Bailey exploded for
four goals and one assist.
The V-Reds, who remain on pace to improve on their AUS-record
26-1-1 mark from 2007-08, are off to the best start in CIS
men’s hockey since Western Ontario completed a 24-0 regular
season in 2002-03. Since that impressive Western run, the only team
to go undefeated in conference play was the 2003-04 Alberta Golden
Bears, who finished with 26 wins and two ties.
UNB hopes to extend its winning streak this weekend when the V-Reds
host a pair of Top-10 opponents. The No. 7 Saint Mary’s
Huskies (12-5-4) are in Fredericton on Friday, followed by the No.
4 Acadia Axemen (14-4-2) on Saturday.
Following UNB in this week’s national media poll are No. 2
Alberta (18-1-1), No. 3 Western Ontario (18-4-0), Acadia, No. 5
UQTR (16-3-1), No. 6 McGill (17-4-0), Saint Mary’s, No. 8
Lakehead (15-5-2), No. 9 Manitoba (12-6-2) and No. 10 Waterloo
(15-6-1).
Canada West-leading Alberta is second in the nation for the 11th
consecutive week following a two-game sweep of archrival
Saskatchewan (10-7-3) in Saskatoon. The Golden Bears needed
overtime on both nights, prevailing 5-4 in the series opener and
4-3 on Saturday.
OUA West-leading Western remains at No. 3 for the sixth straight
week. The Mustangs were one of many Top-10 teams to split a
two-game set last weekend, dropping a 6-5 decision to Brock
(9-13-1) before outscoring UOIT (8-13-1) 4-1.
Acadia stays at No. 4 for the fifth consecutive week after a 4-3 OT
loss to Dalhousie (7-11-3) and a 4-0 shutout of StFX (9-10-3).
UQTR moves up one spot this week ahead of OUA East rival McGill
after dominating the Redmen 8-2 last Wednesday and Carleton
(12-9-3) 6-1 over the weekend.
McGill, which holds a one point lead over UQTR in the OUA East
standings but has played one more game than the Patriotes, is down
one position in the new poll. The Redmen rebounded from the
lopsided loss to their archrivals with a 5-3 defeat of Nipissing
(8-13-1) on Sunday.
Saint Mary’s is up two spots to No. 7 thanks to a 4-2 win
over StFX and a 7-3 domination of Dalhousie.
No. 8 Lakehead is also up two positions this week after edging
Brock 2-1 and blanking Laurier (14-6-2) 4-0.
No. 9 Manitoba is down one following a weekend split against
Calgary (10-8-4). The Bisons lost 6-1 and won 3-2.
Finally, Waterloo climbs back into the Top 10 thanks to a 4-3
victory over UOIT and a 3-1 decision over Guelph (9-11-3).
No less than seven Top-10 match-ups are on the CIS schedule this
week. In addition to No. 1 UNB hosting No. 7 Saint Mary’s and
No. 4 Acadia, the Axemen visit the Huskies Wednesday night in
Halifax, No. 2 Alberta visits No. 9 Manitoba for a Friday-Saturday
doubleheader in Winnipeg, and No. 3 Western travels to Thunder Bay
to face No. 8 Lakehead, also on Friday and Saturday.
CIS MEN’S
HOCKEY TOP 10 (#11)
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) / (last
week)
1. UNB (21-0-0) / 160 (16) / (1)
2. Alberta (18-1-1) / 144 / (2)
3. Western Ontario (18-4-0) / 114 / (3)
4. Acadia (14-4-2) / 111 / (4)
5. UQTR (16-3-1) / 98 / (6)
6. McGill (17-4-0) / 85 / (5)
7. Saint Mary’s (12-5-4) / 59 / (9)
8. Lakehead (15-5-2) / 48 / (10)
9. Manitoba (12-6-2) / 33 / (8)
10. Waterloo (15-6-1) / 12 / (NR)
Other teams receiving votes: Wilfrid Laurier (8), Saskatchewan (6),
Calgary (2).
-CIS-
