CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#16): No.2-Redmen set to battle No.9 UQTR in OUA East conference final series
OTTAWA (CIS) - The McGill men's hockey team remain the No.2 team in the CIS men's hockey rankings this week. UNB, the reigning national champions, top the for the 13th time in 16 polls this season, and for the third week in a row.
The V-Reds (20-5-3 / 2-0 playoffs) received 14 first-place votes and 167 points this week from the 17-member media panel to remain at No. 1 in front of the McGill Redmen (22-4-2 / 4-0), who earned the remaining first-place nods and 145 points in the new poll.
Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 3 Manitoba Bisons (20-5-3), No. 4 Western Mustangs (21-4-3 / 4-0), No. 5 Alberta Golden Bears (20-6-2), No. 6 Saint Mary's Huskies (18-7-3 / 1-1), No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies (19-6-3 / 2-0), No. 8 Moncton Aigles Bleus (18-9-1 / 3-2), No. 9 UQTR Patriotes (19-7-2 / 4-2) and No. 10 UPEI Panthers (18-10-0 / 2-3).
The only change from last week sees UQTR and UPEI switching positions.
With less than a month remaining before the 2012 University Cup championship in Fredericton (March 22-25), 11 teams are still in the running for five available berths. UNB already has its ticket as host of the tournament.
In the Atlantic conference, the top-ranked V-Reds have taken a comfortable 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series against UPEI thanks to 4-3 and 5-1 wins over the weekend. The series now moves to Charlottetown with Game 3 set for Thursday night.
In the other AUS semifinal, Saint Mary's and Moncton are tied at one game apiece. The Huskies dominated the opener 6-2 last Friday but the Aigles Bleus rebounded Saturday with a 3-1 win. The next two games will be played in Moncton on Wednesday and Saturday.
In addition to UNB, only one AUS team will advance to the University Cup tourney.
In OUA quarter-final action, McGill eliminated Ottawa in two games (5-3, 5-3), Western swept Brock (5-3, 3-2), UQTR needed three games to take care of Carleton (8-1, 1-5, 3-2 2OT), and Windsor upset Lakehead in three contests (2-3, 4-1, 3-2 OT).
The best-of-three conference semifinals kick off Wednesday with the Patriotes visiting the Redmen in Montreal and the Lancers travelling to London to face the Mustangs. Three of the four teams will advance to the CIS championship.
In Canada West, Saskatchewan swept Lethbridge 4-2 and 10-3 in one quarter-final match-up, while the Calgary Dinos edged UBC in the other series thanks to a 3-2 win in Game 3. Manitoba and Alberta enjoyed a bye in the opening round of the playoffs after finishing first and second in conference play.
The best-of-three Canada West semis get under way Friday with the Bisons hosting the Dinos in Winnipeg and the Golden Bears and Huskies resuming their rivalry in Edmonton.
The conference champions will be the only team representing Canada West in Fredericton next month.
CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#16)
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 / playoff records) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)
1. UNB (20-5-3 / 2-0) / 167 pts (14) / (1)
2. McGill (22-4-2 / 4-0) / 145 (3) / (2)
3. Manitoba (20-5-3) / 134 / (3)
4. Western (21-4-3 / 4-0) / 107 / (4) *
5. Alberta (20-6-2) / 107 / (5)
6. Saint Mary's (18-7-3 / 1-1) / 82 / (6)
7. Saskatchewan (19-6-3 / 2-0) / 74 / (7)
8. Moncton (18-9-1 / 3-2) / 55 / (8)
9. UQTR (19-7-2 / 4-2) / 27 / (10)
10. UPEI (18-10-0 / 2-3) / 19 / (9)
* Western (over Alberta) was awarded the higher ranking based on number of higher placed votes.
Other teams receiving votes: Calgary (12), Windsor (6).
CIS MEN'S HOCKEY SCHEDULE: Feb. 29 to March 5 (all times LOCAL)
Wednesday, February 29
19:00 UNB at UPEI (Game 3 best-of-5 AUS semifinal)
19:00 Saint Mary's at Moncton (Game 3 best-of-5 AUS semifinal)
19:00 UQTR at McGill (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA semifinal)
19:30 Windsor at Western (Game 1 best-of-3 OUA semifinal)
Thursday, March 1
19:00 UNB at UPEI (if necessary: Game 4 best-of-5 AUS semifinal)
Friday, March 2
19:00 Calgary at Manitoba (Game 1 best-of-3 Canada West semifinal)
19:00 Saskatchewan at Alberta (Game 1 best-of-3 Canada West semifinal)
19:30 Western at Windsor (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA semifinal)
Saturday, March 3
19:00 Saint Mary's at Moncton (Game 4 best-of-5 AUS semifinal)
19:00 Calgary at Manitoba (Game 2 best-of-3 Canada West semifinal)
19:00 Saskatchewan at Alberta (Game 2 best-of-3 Canada West semifinal)
19:10 McGill at UQTR (Game 2 best-of-3 OUA semifinal)
Sunday, March 4
16:30 UPEI at UNB (if necessary: Game 5 best-of-5 AUS semifinal)
18:00 Saskatchewan at Alberta (if necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 Canada West semifinal)
19:00 UQTR at McGill (if necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA semifinal)
19:00 Calgary at Manitoba (if necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 Canada West semifinal)
19:30 Windsor at Western (if necessary: Game 3 best-of-3 OUA semifinal)
Monday, March 5
19:00 Moncton at Saint Mary's (if necessary: Game 5 best-of-5 AUS semifinal)
-CIS-
For more information contact:
Michel Bélanger
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Off: 613-562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: 613-447-6334
belanger [at] universitysport.ca