Top-ranked Saskatchewan clinches first place in Canada West
CIS Communications
OTTAWA – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies top the CIS men’s hockey national rankings for the second straight week after clinching first place overall in the Canada West standings for the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign.
The Huskies (21-3-0), winners of nine straight league games including a perfect 8-0 mark in 2016, received 14 first-place votes and 158 points this week from the 16-member media panel.
Rounding out the new Top 10 are the second-ranked UNB Varsity Reds (19-3-2 / 142 points / no change), No. 3UQTR Patriotes (20-3-1 / 127 / up one position), No. 4 Acadia Axemen (17-5-2 / 110 / down one), No. 5 McGill Redmen (20-5-1 / 82 / up one), No. 6 Mount Royal Cougars (15-6-3 / 63 / up four), No. 7 Alberta Golden Bears(15-7-2 / 59 / down two), No. 8 Carleton Ravens (18-6-0 / 46 / no change), No. 9 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (15-6-3 / 34 / down two), as well as the previously unranked Saint Mary’s Huskies (15-7-2 / 31).
UNB and Acadia split the remaining first-place nods with one apiece.
The top-ranked Huskies swept visiting Manitoba 8-3 and 5-2 this past weekend and are now one win away from the program record of 22 regular season victories set in 1987-88 (22-5-1) and matched in 1999-00 (22-3-3). Saskatchewan has a nine-point lead atop the Canada West standings with four league games remaining.
In the AUS and OUA conferences, league leaders UNB and UQTR were also perfect this past week.
The V-Reds extended their own winning streak to 10, including a 9-0 record in the new year, thanks to successes against St. Thomas, 8-2, UPEI, 2-1, and Moncton, 4-3.
The Patriotes, winners of five straight games and 11 of their past 12, dominated archrival McGill 6-1 on home ice last Wednesday in their lone outing.
Saskatchewan and UNB both face a pair of Top-10 battles this weekend, including:
Friday (7 p.m. AST): No. 10 Saint Mary’s at No. 2 UNB (AUStv.ca)
Friday (7 p.m. MST): No. 1 Saskatchewan at No. 7 Alberta (CanadaWest.tv)
Saturday (7 p.m. AST): No. 4 Acadia at No. 2 UNB (AUStv.ca)
Saturday (6 p.m. MST): No. 1 Saskatchewan at No. 7 Alberta (CanadaWest.tv)
CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#13)
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. Saskatchewan (21-3-0) / 158 points (14) / (1)
2. UNB (19-3-2) / 142 (1) / (2)
3. UQTR (20-3-1) / 127 / (4)
4. Acadia (17-5-2) / 110 (1) / (3)
5. McGill (20-5-1) / 82 / (6)
6. Mount Royal (15-6-3) / 63 / (10)
7. Alberta (15-7-2) / 59 / (5)
8. Carleton (18-6-0) / 46 / (8)
9. StFX (15-6-3) / 34 / (7)
10. Saint Mary’s (15-7-2) / 31 / (NR)
Other teams receiving votes: York (19), Queen’s (4), Western (4), Calgary (1).