OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning University Cup champion Alberta Golden Bears top the CIS men’s hockey rankings for the 15th time in as many national polls this season.
The Bears (24-3-1) received all 16 first-place votes from the media panel for the fifth straight week after they wrapped up conference play with a pair of road victories against archrival Saskatchewan, 2-1 in a shootout and 4-2. The Canada West regular schedule ended earlier than usual this year as an all-star team from the conference is representing Canada at the Winter Universiade in Spain from Feb. 3 to 14.
Rounding out the new national rankings are the No. 2 UNB Varsity Reds (21-3-2 / up one position), No. 3 Acadia Axemen (19-4-3 / down one), No. 4 Calgary Dinos (20-8 / no change), No. 5 Saint Mary’s Huskies (18-7-1 / up one), No. 6 McGill Redmen (19-5 / up two), No. 7 Windsor Lancers (20-4-1 / no change), No. 8 UQTR Patriotes (18-4-2 / down three), No. 9 Carleton Ravens (19-5 / up one) and No. 10 Mount Royal Cougars (17-10-1 / down one).
Last week’s schedule featured a pair of Top-10 battles and both games lived up to the billing.
Last Wednesday, McGill travelled to Trois-Rivières and overcame a two-goal deficit to beat UQTR 5-2. With two games remaining on their OUA schedules, the Redmen, Patriotes and Carleton are locked in a three-way tie atop the OUA East standings.
Two nights later in Fredericton, UNB edged Acadia 2-1 in overtime to open a three-point cushion over the Axemen in the AUS, also with two league contests remaining. The V-Reds also picked up wins against St. Thomas, 6-1, and Dalhousie, 4-2, for a six-point week.
As the regular season comes to an end in both the OUA and AUS this week, No. 7 Windsor holds a four-point advantage over Western in the OUA West, with three games left.
In Canada West, Alberta, Calgary and Mount Royal took the top three spots.
NOTE: Canada opened the Universiade tournament on Tuesday with an 11-1 win over South Korea. Canada is defending champion thanks to a triumph by an AUS all-star squad in 2013 in Italy.
CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#15)
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 ranking)
1. Alberta (24-3-1) / 160 points (16) / (1)
2. UNB (21-3-2) / 144 / (3)
3. Acadia (19-4-3) / 124 / (2)
4. Calgary (20-8-0) / 107 / (4)
5. Saint Mary’s (18-7-1) / 76 / (6)
6. McGill (19-5-0) / 70 / (8)
7. Windsor (20-4-1) / 66 / (7)
8. UQTR (18-4-2) / 63 / (5)
9. Carleton (19-5-0) / 41 / (10)
10. Mount Royal (17-10-1) / 14 / (9)
Other teams receiving votes: StFX (8), Western (7).