Top 10: Leading trio stays on track
OTTAWA (CIS) The Saskatchewan Huskies, Alberta Golden Bears and McGill Redmen hold the top three positions in the CIS men's hockey national poll for the third consecutive week.
The top-ranked Huskies (11-2-3, 25 pts) rounded out the fall portion of their regular-season schedule with a 4-0, 5-2 weekend sweep of Manitoba, opening a 10-point lead over the Bisons (7-8-1) in the Canada West Great Plains Division going into the December break. Forward Dean Beuker of Watson, Sask., the 2004-05 CIS scoring champion with 46 points in 28 outings, added two goals and a pair of assists in the two-game series and leads the CIS with 28 points (13-15-28) in 16 regular-season games.
Saskatchewan will resume its regular campaign on January 6 against Regina.
The No. 2 Golden Bears (8-3-1) edged UBC 6-4 and 6-5 in Vancouver this weekend. Alberta, holding a three-point lead over Calgary in the Mountain Division with two games in hand, hosts the Lethbridge Pronghorns (3-9-2) for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader.
The No. 3 Redmen (9-0-2), the only undefeated team in the country, couldn't get their CIS record-breaking eighth shutout of the regular season this past weekend but still tallied three out of a possible four points with a 4-1 victory over York and a 2-2 draw against Guelph. McGill wraps up its fall schedule on Tuesday night with a visit to the Ottawa Gee-Gees (7-4-1-1).
The Acadia Axemen (11-4-0) and UQTR Patriotes (9-2-1) round out this week's top 5.
Acadia moves up two spots following a 4-0 shutout of No. 10 Saint Mary's and a 6-1 win over StFX. UQTR drops one position following a 2-1 loss to Brock, the team's first defeat against the Badgers since 1994. The No. 5 Patriotes rebounded on Saturday with a 5-3 win over Laurier.
RANK TEAM CONFERENCE (Overall) RECORD PTS (1st Place) LAST WEEK
1. SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 11-2-3 (18-3-3) 80 (8) 1
2. ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 8-3-1 (13-5-1) 66 2
3. McGILL REDMEN 9-0-2 (13-3-2) 62 3
4. ACADIA AXEMEN 11-4-0 (12-5-1) 60 6
5. UQTR PATRIOTES 9-2-1 (12-4-1) 41 4
6. UNB VARSITY REDS 9-3-3 (11-6-3) 38 5
7. MONCTON AIGLES BLEUS 9-5-1 (12-8-1) 31 10
8. WESTERN ONTARIO MUSTANGS 7-1-1 (10-6-1) 30 7
9. ST. THOMAS TOMMIES 8-6-1 (9-8-1) 10 8
10. SAINT MARY'S HUSKIES 8-5-1 (10-7-1) 9 9
Other teams receiving votes:
Waterloo Warriors (8), Lakehead Thunderwolves (5)
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.
CIS Men's Ice Hockey Top Ten Committee Chairman: Steve Knowles
For all the info on CIS (standings, results, news, etc.), visit: www.universitysport.ca
Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 19 National Championships in 11 different sports.
-CIS-
