Hockey Huskies ranked No. 2

The University of Saskatchewan Hockey Huskies opened in the No. 2 spot nationally, as the first rankings of the season were officially released Tuesday for Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey.

And No.1? None other than the defending national championAlberta Golden Bears (3-1-0), who’ll be in Saskatoon on Friday and Saturday night to play the No.2 Huskies (5-2-1) in both a CanadaWest and CIS national showdown.Game time is 7 p.m. both nights.

U of S coach Dave Adolph, whose team has suffered a pair of uncharacteristic, atypical lopsided losses, downplayed the rankings Tuesday afternoon prior to practice.
“I tell you what, rankings are a joke,” he said.“We got beat 8-1 by a very good Regina team and we got beat 7-2 by a very good Lethbridge team.We lost in a shootout to a very good Manitoba team, 7-6, and there’s no friggin’ way we’re No. 2 in the country.

“I think we’re a top 10 team — I plan to be a top 10 team every year — but you know what the rankings mean? Nothing.Absolutely zip.It means that somebody can go and brag about or they’ll asked,‘are you worried about it?’ Rankings mean as much as a sale on friggin’ popcorn.”

TheAcadiaAxemen are No.3,followed by the New BrunswickVarsity Reds at No. 4. Eastern-based teams round out the top 10.