Top 10 : Redmen alone at the top for first time in history
OTTAWA (CIS) - For the first time in history, the oldest hockey team in the world stands alone at the top of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's hockey national poll.
The McGill Redmen had reached the top of the rankings for the first time in school history for a brief one-week period on January 31st, but were tied for No. 1 with reigning CIS champion Alberta at the time. Fittingly, McGill's first ever No. 1 ranking came exactly 129 years following their first game, played on January 31st, 1877.
The Golden Bears drop one position in the new Top 10 while No. 3 Saskatchewan, No. 4 Western Ontario, No. 5 Acadia, No. 6 Moncton, No. 7 Saint Mary's and No. 8 UQTR still follow in order behind the two leaders. The only other change in the new national rankings sees UNB move ahead of Waterloo in ninth place.
No. 1 McGill (20-1-3), which established new CIS defensive records in the regular season with 12 shutouts in 24 outings and a 1.21 goals against average, enjoyed a bye this past week as the OUA playoffs got under way by virtue of its first-place finish in the OUA Far East Division. The Redmen, which have never advanced to the CIS University Cup tournament, open their post-season with a best-of-three conference quarter-final series against the Ottawa Gee-Gees (13-8-2-1), starting on Wednesday in Montreal. Ottawa ousted Concordia in three games in the opening round.
No. 2 Alberta (21-5-2), which had already clinched first place in the Canada West combined standings for the sixth consecutive season, rounded out conference play with a weekend split against the Calgary Dinos (13-13-2). The Bears dropped a 4-2 decision on Thursday before prevailing 5-2 on Saturday in the regular-season finale. Alberta has a bye in the first round of the playoffs, and will face the winner of the Calgary-UBC series next week in the Canada West Mountain Division final.
The No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies (17-7-4) also completed conference play with a doubleheader split, winning 4-2 and losing 5-4 against Regina. The Huskies get to rest this week while they wait to face the winner of the Regina-Manitoba opening-round series in the Canada West Great Plains Division final.
The No. 4 Western Ontario Mustangs (21-2-1), regular-season champion in the OUA Far West, jump into playoff action this week after a one-week break. Western faces division arch-rivals, the Lakehead Thunderwolves (13-9-2) in a best-of-three OUA quarter-final series, starting on Wednesday. The two teams meet in the playoffs for the fifth straight campaign. Lakehead swept York in two games in the opening round.
In the Maritimes, this week's best-of-three AUS semi-finals will see the No. 5 Acadia Axemen (19-7-1-1) take on the No. 7 Saint Mary's Huskies (16-9-3), and the No. 6 Moncton Aigles Bleus (18-8-1-1) face-off against the No. 9 UNB Varsity Reds (15-8-4-1). Saint Mary's and UNB both needed three games to make it to the second round, eliminating St. Thomas and StFX, respectively, in the quarterfinals.
Here is a complete CIS men's hockey playoff schedule for this week.
Tuesday, Feb. 21
19:00 UNB at Moncton, AUS Semi-Final (best-of-3)
Wednesday, Feb. 22
19:00 Ottawa at McGill, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
19:30 Toronto at UQTR, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
19:30 Western at Lakehead, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
19:30 Laurier at Waterloo, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
19:30 Saint Mary's at Acadia, AUS Semi-Final (best-of-3)
Thursday, Feb. 23
19:00 Moncton at UNB, AUS Semi-Final (best-of-3)
Friday, Feb. 24
19:30 UQTR at Toronto, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
19:00 McGill at Ottawa, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
19:00 Lakehead at Western, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
19:00 Acadia at Saint Mary's, AUS Semi-Final (best-of-3)
19:00 UBC at Calgary, CW Div Semi-Final (best-of-3)
19:05 Regina at Manitoba, CW Div Semi-Final (best-of-3)
19:30 Waterloo at Laurier, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3)
Saturday, Feb. 25
19:00 Lakehead at Western, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3, if necessary)
19:00 UBC at Calgary, CW Div Semi-Final (best-of-3)
19:05 Regina at Manitoba, CW Div Semi-Final (best-of-3, if necessary)
Sunday, Feb. 26
14:30 Regina at Manitoba, CW Div Semi-Final (best-of-3, if necessary)
19:00 Ottawa at McGill, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3 if necessary)
19:00 UBC at Calgary, CW Div Semi-Final (best-of-3, if necessary)
19:30 UQTR at Toronto, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3, if necessary)
19:30 Waterloo at Laurier, OUA Quarter-Final (best-of-3, if necessary)
RANK TEAM CONFERENCE (Overall) RECORD PTS (1st Place) LAST WEEK
1. McGILL REDMEN 20-1-3 (25-5-3) 76 (5) 2
2. ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 21-5-2 (27-8-2) 75 (3) 1
3. SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 17-7-4 (24-8-4) 60 3
4. WESTERN ONTARIO MUSTANGS 21-2-1 (26-7-1) 56 4
5. ACADIA AXEMEN 19-8-1 (21-10-2) 53 5
6. MONCTON AIGLES BLEUS 18-9-1 (22-12-1) 39 6
7. SAINT MARY'S HUSKIES 16-9-3 (23-12-3) 26 7
8. UQTR PATRIOTES 16-6-2 (21-10-2) 22 8
9. UNB VARSITY REDS 15-9-4 (21-14-4) 15 10
10. WATERLOO WARRIORS 15-6-3 (22-11-3) 12 9
Other teams receiving votes: Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (3), Ottawa Gee-Gees (2), St. Thomas Tommies (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
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.
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