CIS Men’s Hockey Top 10 (#14): No. 1 UNB, No. 2 McGill wrap up conference play in style

OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds top the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey rankings for the sixth straight week, while the McGill Redmen follow in second place for the fifth week in a row.
 
The V-Reds (23-5-0) once again received all but one first-place votes from the 18-member media panel for a total of 179 points. The Redmen (24-2-2) earned the remaining first place nod and 150 points.
 
The Alberta Golden Bears (16-5-3) remain at No. 3 for the second consecutive week, while the reigning University Cup champion Saint Mary’s Huskies (18-9-1) and the Saskatchewan Huskies (16-8-0) both move up one spot to complete the new top five.
 
Rounding out the 14th national poll of the campaign are the No. 6 Western Ontario Mustangs (20-3-5), down two positions; the St. Francis Xavier X-Men (17-10-1), who stay put at No. 7; the No. 8 Calgary Dinos (13-8-2), up one spot; the No. 9 UQTR Patriotes (19-8-1), unranked a week ago; and the Carleton Ravens (18-8-2), who drop two places to No. 10.
 
Top-ranked UNB wrapped up the regular season in style over the past week with three victories in four days over St. Thomas, 3-1, Acadia, 4-0, and Dalhousie, 5-2.
 
The Varsity Reds, who finished atop the Atlantic conference standings for the fourth consecutive year, enjoy a bye this week as the AUS playoffs get under way with best-of-three quarter-final series between No. 7 StFX and Dalhousie, and Acadia and UPEI.
 
Defending national champion Saint Mary’s, which is riding a five-game winning streak heading into the playoffs, also gets a first-round bye.
 
In the OUA, No. 2 McGill completed the regular schedule with a 7-0 shutout of Ottawa and a 4-1 defeat of Concordia to secure first place in both the East division and the overall standings.
 
The OUA post-season kicks off with eight best-of-three divisional quart-final series including McGill vs. Ottawa, No. 6 Western vs. Windsor, No. 9 UQTR vs. Concordia, No. 10  Carleton vs. Toronto, Nipissing vs. Queen’s, Laurier vs. UOIT, Lakekead vs. Waterloo, and Guelph vs. Brock.
 
Meanwhile in Canada West, there are two more weekends of regular season action to go before the start of the playoffs.
 
No. 3 Alberta and No. 5 Saskatchewan split a two-game series in Saskatoon last weekend, with the Huskies winning the opener 2-1 in overtime and the Bears taking the rematch by a 4-0 score.
 
Following the results, Alberta holds a three-point lead over Saskatchewan atop the conference standings, with Calgary and Manitoba sharing third place, four points back of the Huskies.
 
Below is a complete CIS men’s hockey schedule for the period of Feb. 16-22.
 
CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#14)
 
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. UNB (23-5-0) / 179 (17) / (1)
2. McGill (24-2-2) / 150 (1) / (2)
3. Alberta (16-5-3) / 135 / (3)
4. Saint Mary’s (18-9-1) / 131 / (5)
5. Saskatchewan (16-8-0) / 105 / (6)
6. Western Ontario (20-3-5) / 85 / (4)
7. StFX (17-10-1) / 83 / (7)
8. Calgary (13-8-2) / 46 / (9)
9. UQTR (19-8-1) / 33 / (NR)
10. Carleton (18-8-2) / 19 / (8)
 
Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (9), Manitoba (8), UPEI (5), Guelph (1), Nipissing (1).
 
CIS MEN’S HOCKEY SCHEDULE: Feb. 16-22 (all times LOCAL)
 
Wednesday, Feb. 16
 
19:00 Ottawa at McGill (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:00 Concordia at UQTR (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:00 Calgary at Lethbridge (regular season)
19:30 Carleton at Toronto (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:30 Nipissing at Queen’s (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:30 Lakehead at Waterloo (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
 
Thursday, Feb. 17
 
19:00 Dalhousie at StFX (Game 1 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
19:30 Windsor at Western (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 UOIT at Laurier (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Brock at Guelph (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
 
Friday, Feb. 18
 
19:00 UPEI at Acadia (Game 1 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
19:00 McGill at Ottawa (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:00 Toronto at Carleton (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:00 Queen’s at Nipissing (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:00 Saskatchewan at Lethbridge (regular season)
19:00 Regina at Calgary (regular season)
19:15 Guelph at Brock (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Western at Windsor (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Laurier at UOIT (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Waterloo at Lakehead (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final)
19:30 Manitoba at Alberta (regular season)
 
Saturday, Feb. 19
 
14:00 StFX at Dalhousie (Game 2 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
14:00 UQTR at Concordia (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final)
19:00 Toronto at Carleton (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final – if necessary)
19:00 Queen’s at Nipissing (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final – if necessary)
19:00 Saskatchewan at Lethbridge (regular season)
19:00 Regina at Calgary (regular season)
19:30 Acadia at UPEI (Game 2 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final)
19:30 Waterloo at Lakehead (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final – if necessary)
19:30 Manitoba at Alberta (regular season)
 
Sunday, Feb. 20
 
19:00 Ottawa at McGill (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final – if necessary)
19:30 Windsor at Western (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final – if necessary)
19:30 UOIT at Laurier (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final – if necessary)
19:30 Brock at Guelph (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA West quarter-final – if necessary)
20:00 Concordia at UQTR (Game 3 best-of-3 OUA East quarter-final – if necessary)
 
Monday, Feb. 21
 
19:00 Dalhousie at StFX (Game 3 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final – if necessary)
 
Tuesday, Feb. 22
 
19:00 UPEI at Acadia (Game 3 best-of-3 AUS quarter-final – if necessary)
 

 
-CIS-