Hockey Redmen crack Top 10, ranked 8th in nation's first rankings
OTTAWA (CIS) - A fast 2-0 start by the McGill men's hockey team has resulted in the Redmen being ranked in the first CIS Top 10 poll of the 2009-10 season and for the second time in three years, the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds open the campaign at No. 1 in the CIS men's hockey media poll.
The V-Reds, who captured their second University Cup title in three years last winter thanks to a 4-2 win over Western Ontario in the national final, showed last weekend they meant business once again in 2009-10 when they kicked off conference play with a 10-0 shutout of UPEI and a 9-3 domination of Moncton.
Picked by most experts to finish atop the AUS standings, UNB had previously gone a stellar 8-1 in pre-season action, its lone loss coming at the hands of the AHL's Portland Pirates, 4-2, on Sept. 30. The Varsity Reds were 3-0 against NCAA opponents and 5-0 versus CIS rivals, including two wins apiece over the No. 6-Brock Badgers and the No. 8-McGill Redmen.
UNB, which is back on the ice Friday against Acadia (1-0) and Saturday against the No. 5-Saint Mary's Huskies (1-0), received 16 of the available 17 first-place votes for 166 points in the inaugural media poll, with Brock earning the other first-place nod.
Rounding out the Top 10 are the No. 2-Alberta Golden Bears (3-0-1), No. 3-Manitoba Bisons (4-1-1), No. 4-UQTR Patriotes (3-0), Saint Mary's, Brock (4-0), No. 7-Lakehead Thunderwolves (3-0-1), McGill (2-0), No. 9-UBC Thunderbirds (3-0-1), and No. 10-Waterloo Warriors (3-0-1).
Perennial powerhouse Alberta, which led the first 13 national polls a year ago before falling behind UNB in the final rankings of the campaign, holds the all-time record of 13 University Cup titles.
The 2010 University Cup tournament will be hosted by Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., from March 25-28.
CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#1)
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 (2-0-0) / 166 votes (16) / (-)
2. Alberta (3-0-1) / 135 / (-)
3. Manitoba (4-1-1) / 95 / (-)
4. UQTR (3-0-0) / 80 / (-)
5. Saint Mary's (1-0-0) / 78 / (-)
6. Brock (4-0-0) / 77 (1) / (-)
7. Lakehead (3-0-1) / 76 / (-)
8. McGill (2-0-0) / 61 / (-)
9. British Columbia (3-0-1) / 40 / (-)
10. Waterloo (3-0-1) / 33 / (-)
Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (26), Wilfrid Laurier (25), St. Francis Xavier (18), Saskatchewan (12), Western Ontario (5), Nipissing (4), Carleton (4).
-CIS-
For more information contact:
Michel Bélanger
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
Fax: (613) 562-5669
belanger [at] universitysport.ca