CIS Men’s Hockey Top 10 (#12): No. 1 UNB five wins away from perfection

OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning University Cup champion New Brunswick Varsity Reds top the CIS men’s hockey rankings for the 12th time in as many media polls this year.

The Varsity Reds, who were a unanimous choice at No. 1 for the 11th straight week thanks to 16 first-place votes, improved to a remarkable 23-0 in conference play over the weekend with a pair of wins over Top-10 opponents. UNB downed the No. 10 Saint Mary’s Huskies (12-8-4) 3-1 on Friday night before defeating the No. 4 Acadia Axemen (15-6-2) 5-2 on Saturday.

The V-Reds, who swept their four-game season series against both Saint Mary’s and Acadia, remain on pace to improve on their AUS-record 26-1-1 mark from 2007-08.

The defending national champions also hope to become the sixth CIS men’s hockey team since 1962-63 (first year of University Cup championship) to finish the regular season with a perfect record following Western Ontario in 2002-03 (24-0), Saint Mary’s (21-0) and Toronto (17-0) in 1972-73, Laurentian in 1970-71 (10-0), as well as St. Francis Xavier in 1965-66 (14-0).

UNB has five duels remaining on the 28-game AUS schedule beginning Wednesday night with a home tilt against Moncton (8-14-1). The V-Reds then visit StFX (10-10-4) and Dalhousie (8-12-3) this Friday and Saturday, before closing out the campaign at home against the same X-Men and Tigers on February 12 and 13.

Following UNB in this week’s national media poll are No. 2 Alberta (19-2-1), No. 3 UQTR (18-3-2), Acadia, No. 5 Western Ontario (18-6-0), No. 6 McGill (18-5-0), No. 7 Lakehead (17-5-2), No. 8 Manitoba (13-7-2), No. 9 Waterloo (17-6-1) and Saint Mary’s.

Alberta, which needs one more point to clinch first place in the Canada West conference, is second in the nation for the 12th consecutive week after splitting a two-game series against No. 8 Manitoba. The Golden Bears took the opener 4-3 on Friday before losing by the same score the following day, marking only their second loss in regulation this season.

The solid efforts against perennial contender Alberta helped the Bisons move up one spot in the new Top 10.

UQTR improves two positions to No. 3 following a five-point week, matching its best national rankings of the campaign. The Patriotes, who hold a two-point lead over McGill in the OUA East standings, beat Concordia (7-15-2) 4-2 and Carleton (13-8-3) 6-3 over the past seven days but were held to a single point against Ottawa (6-16-1) on Friday night as a 51-save performance by Riley Whitlock lifted the Gee-Gees to a 3-2 shootout upset.

Acadia stays at No. 4 for the sixth consecutive week despite suffering two losses in three outings. The Axemen opened the past week with a convincing 4-1 win over No. 10 Saint Mary’s but went 0-2 on the weekend dropping a 5-3 decision to UPEI (10-11-2) before losing for the fourth time this season to top-ranked UNB on Saturday.

Western, which holds a slim one-point lead over both Lakehead and Waterloo in the OUA West standings, drops two spots in the new media poll after being swept by the No. 7 Thunderwolves in Thunder Bay, 4-0 and 8-5.

The Mustangs had spent the last six weeks at No. 3. The T-Wolves move up one position in the rankings.

McGill remains at No. 6 after a two-game split. The Redmen lost 4-2 to Carleton last Friday but rebounded on Sunday with an 11-0 domination of cross-town rival Concordia.

No. 9 Waterloo kept pace with Western and Lakehead in the OUA West with a 4-0 shutout of Brock (9-15-1) and a 4-3 win over cross-town rival Wilfrid Laurier (15-7-2). The Warriors gain one spot in the Top 10.

Saint Mary’s is down three positions in the new poll following a disastrous 0-3 week. In addition to their losses to UNB and Acadia, the Huskies were defeated 5-3 by UPEI.

Perfect regular season records since 1962-63 (first year of University Cup championship)

Western Ontario, 2002-03 (24 wins, 0 loses, 0 ties)
Saint Mary’s, 1972-73 (21-0-0)
Toronto, 1972-73 (17-0-0)
Laurentian, 1970-71 (10-0-0)
St. Francis Xavier, 1965-66 (14-0-0)

Undefeated regular season records since 1962-63 (first year of University Cup championship)

Alberta, 2003-04 (26 wins, 0 losses, 2 ties)
Western Ontario, 2002-03 (24-0-0)
Western Ontario, 2001-02 (22-0-2)
Toronto, 1981-82 (18-0-4)
Concordia, 1975-76 (19-0-1)
Toronto, 1973-74 (18-0-1)
Saint Mary’s, 1972-73 (21-0-0)
Toronto, 1972-73 (17-0-0)
Laurentian, 1970-71 (10-0-0)
St. Francis Xavier, 1965-66 (14-0-0)

SOURCE: Steve Knowles, CIS men’s hockey Top 10 coordinator

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) / (last week)

1. UNB (23-0-0) / 160 (16) / (1)
2. Alberta (19-2-1) / 144 / (2)
3. UQTR (18-3-2) / 112 / (5)
4. Acadia (15-6-2) / 104 / (4)
5. Western Ontario (18-6-0) / 85 / (3)
6. McGill (18-5-0) / 81 / (6) - x
7. Lakehead (17-5-2) / 81 / (8) - x
8. Manitoba (13-7-2) / 50 / (9)
9. Waterloo (17-6-1) / 27 / (10)
10. Saint Mary’s (12-8-4) / 21 / (7)

x - McGill was awarded the higher ranking based on number of higher placed votes.

Other teams receiving votes: Saskatchewan (9), Wilfrid Laurier (6).

-CIS-