Redmen hit all-time high, Bears hit six-year low
OTTAWA (CIS) The McGill Redmen move into second position past the Alberta Golden Bears in this week's CIS men's hockey national poll, marking an all-time high for the oldest program in Canadian university men's hockey, and a six-year low for the reigning CIS champions.
The Saskatchewan Huskies (11-2-3), which completed the fall portion of their regular schedule a week ago, hold the top spot in the rankings for the sixth consecutive week.
The red-hot Redmen (10-0-2), in their 130th year of competition, remained the only undefeated team across the CIS in regular-season play this week with a 5-4 victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees. McGill, which moves up from No. 3, had never been ranked higher than fourth prior to this season.
Meanwhile, the defending champion Golden Bears (9-3-2) drop to third place following a 2-2 tie and a 6-4 win against Lethbridge, marking the first time in 105 national polls that Alberta finds itself out of the top two positions. The Bears had been ranked either first or second nationally since they occupied the No. 3 spot for three consecutive weeks to open the 1999-00 campaign (Oct. 18, Oct. 25, Nov. 1st).
New to the CIS rankings this week are the No. 10 Waterloo Warriors (9-1-2), which took three out of a possible four points to OUA Far West rival Lakehead over the past weekend.
Only one game remains in the first half of the CIS men's hockey regular-season schedule. The No. 6 Western Ontario Mustangs (9-1-1) host the Windsor Lancers (5-5-2-1) on Thursday night with a chance to move past the Warriors atop the OUA Far West.
RANK TEAM CONFERENCE (Overall) RECORD PTS (1st Place) LAST WEEK
1. SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 11-2-3 (18-3-3) 80 (8) 1
2. McGILL REDMEN-x 10-0-2 (14-3-2) 65 3
3. ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS-x 9-3-2 (14-5-2) 65 2
4. ACADIA AXEMEN 11-4-0 (12-5-1) 59 4
5. UNB VARSITY REDS 9-3-3 (11-6-3) 43 6
6. WESTERN ONTARIO MUSTANGS 9-1-1 (12-6-1) 36 8
7. UQTR PATRIOTES 10-3-1 (13-5-1) 31 5
8. MONCTON AIGLES BLEUS 9-5-1 (12-8-1) 28 7
9. ST. THOMAS TOMMIES 8-6-1 (9-8-1) 11 9
10. WATERLOO WARRIORS-x 9-1-2 (11-5-2) 10 NR
x - McGill and Waterloo are awarded the higher ranking based on number of higher place votes.
Other teams receiving votes:
Saint Mary's Huskies-x (10), Lakehead Thunderwolves (1), Manitoba Bisons (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.
CIS Men's Ice Hockey Top Ten Committee Chairman: Steve Knowles
-CIS-
