X-Men hockey ranked No. 10 in nation

X-Men hockey retained their No. 10 ranking in the CIS top ten for the second consecutive week.

February 24, 2015

CIS TOP TEN TUESDAY (#22)
Reigning champs Windsor, Carleton top final hoops rankings

OTTAWA (CIS) – The Windsor Lancers (women) and Carleton Ravens (men), both four-time reigning national champions, remain at No. 1 in the final coaches' polls of the CIS basketball season.

In other CIS sports, Alberta (men's hockey), Toronto (women's track & field) and Windsor (men's track & field) also hold on to the pole position this week.

In women's hoops, Windsor (19-1) secured first place overall in the OUA on Saturday thanks to a 77-68 road win over No. 6 Laurier (17-3) in the regular season finale for both teams. The Lancers, who topped all 13 weekly polls this year, will host a conference quarter-final versus an opponent still to be determined on Saturday.

In men's basketball, Carleton (17-2) wrapped up league play this past weekend with convincing victories against Laurentian, 85-39, and Nipissing, 97-53. The Ravens, who led nine of 13 rankings this season, finished second behind No. 2 Ottawa (18-1) in the OUA East and will also open the playoffs at home on Saturday.

The CIS winter championship season resumes this week with men's volleyball in Saskatoon (Feb. 26-28), women's volleyball in Toronto (Feb. 26 – March 1) and wrestling in Edmonton (Feb. 27-28).

The inaugural Sportsnet U Championship Weekend, will follow on March 12-15, including women's basketball in Quebec City, men's basketball in Toronto, women's hockey in Calgary and men's hockey in Halifax. All eight semifinals on Saturday, March 14 and the four national finals on Sunday, March 15 will be televised live on Sportsnet 360 and/or Sportsnet ONE.

The CIS indoor track and field championships are also set for that same weekend in Windsor (March 12-14) and championship season wraps up the following week with curling in Waterloo (March 18-21).

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (final ranking of season)

(regular season / playoff records) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous ranking)

1. Windsor (19-1) / 564 points (47) / (1)
2. UBC (17-3) / 513 / (2)
3. Saskatchewan (17-3 / 2-0) / 469 / (3)
4. McGill (14-1) / 418 / (4)
5. Alberta (16-4) / 371 / (5)
6. Wilfrid Laurier (17-3) / 325 / (6)
7. Ryerson (16-3) / 299 / (7)
8. McMaster (15-4) / 232 / (9)
9. Lakehead (14-5) / 179 / (8)
10. Thompson Rivers (18-2) / 91 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Regina (51), UQAM (50).

MEN'S BASKETBALL (final ranking of season)

(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous ranking)

1. Carleton (17-2) / 445 points (40) / (1)
2. Ottawa (18-1) / 410 (5) / (2)
3. Ryerson (17-2) / 360 / (3)
4. McMaster (16-3) / 315 / (4)
5. Windsor (15-5) / 266 / (5)
6. Saskatchewan (15-5) / 224 / (6)
7. Victoria (15-5) / 175 / (7)
8. UNB (16-4) / 136 / (8)
9. UBC (14-6) / 93 / (9)
10. Alberta (14-6) / 47 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: UPEI (2), Calgary (2).

MEN'S HOCKEY

(regular season / playoff records) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous ranking)

1. Alberta (24-3-1) / 160 points (16) / (1)
2. UNB (22-4-2 / 2-2) / 144 / (2)
3. Saint Mary's (20-7-1 / 4-2) / 113 / (5)
4. Calgary (20-8-0) / 104 / (4)
5. Acadia (20-5-3 / 1-2) / 94 / (3)
6. McGill (21-5-0 / 4-1) / 78 / (6)
7. Windsor (22-4-1 / 4-1) / 68 / (8)
8. UQTR (19-4-3 / 4-0) / 59 / (7)
9. Mount Royal (20-5-1 / 2-1) / 27 / (NR)
10. StFX (17-9-2 / 4-2) / 26 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: Carleton (5), Guelph (2).

NOTE: Voting took place before Game 4 of the UNB-StFX semifinal (4-2 StFX win / series tied).

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

(points) / (previous ranking)

1. Toronto 152.5 points / (1)
2. Trinity Western 78.66 / (2)
3. Western 63.5 / (3)
4. Guelph 61 / (4)
5. York 60.5 / (5)
6. Saskatchewan 44 / (6)
7. Windsor 40 / (7)
8. Sherbrooke 33.5 / (8)
9. Alberta 24.33 / (9)
10. Calgary 21.5 / (10)

MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

(points) / (previous ranking)

1. Windsor 100 points / (1)
2. Toronto 78.5 / (3)
3. Guelph 76.5 / (2)
4. York 76 / (4)
5. Laval 51.5 / (5)
6. Western 46 / (6)
7. Victoria 43 / (7)
8. Trinity Western 42 / (8)
9. Sherbrooke 25 / (9)
10. Lethbridge 21 / (10)

CIS Men's Hockey Top 10 (#18)
No. 1 Alberta set to open playoffs against UBC

OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning University Cup champion Alberta Golden Bears top the CIS men's hockey rankings for the 18^th time in as many national polls this season.

The Bears (24-3-1), who enjoyed a bye last week as the Canada West playoffs got underway, swept the first-place votes from the media panel for the eighth straight week.

There is plenty of movement in the new poll behind Alberta and the UNB Varsity Reds (22-4-2 regular season / 2-2 playoffs), who hold on to the No. 2 spot for the fifth consecutive week.

Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 3 Saint Mary's Huskies (20-7-1 / 4-3 / up two positions), No. 4 Calgary Dinos (20-8 / no change), No. 3 Acadia Axemen (20-5-3 / 2-2 / down two), No. 6 McGill Redmen (21-5 / 4-1 / no change), No. 7 Windsor Lancers (22-4-1 / 4-1 / up one), No. 8 UQTR Patriotes (19-4-3 regular season / 4-0 / down one), No. 9 Mount Royal Cougars (17-10-1 / 2-1 / previously unranked) and No. 10 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (17-9-2 / 4-2 / no change).

NOTE: The voting took place before the fourth games of the best-of-five AUS semifinals between UNB and StFX on Monday (4-2 StFX win / series tied) and Acadia and Saint Mary's on Tuesday (2-1 Acadia win / series tied).

Only 11 teams are still in contention to join tournament host StFX at the University Cup national championship next month in Halifax (March 12-15). In addition to the X-Men, the eight-team competition will include the two Canada West finalists, the top three squads from the OUA, as well as the top two AUS contenders other than StFX.

In Canada West, the top-ranked Bears and No. 4 Dinos finally kick off their post-season and will host UBC and Mount Royal, respectively, in the best-of-three conference semis starting on Friday. UBC (vs. Manitoba) and Mount Royal (vs. Saskatchewan) both needed three games to win their opening-round series.

In the AUS, both best-of-five semis are going the distance. StFX came back from two games down to tie its series against UNB, while the Saint Mary's-Acadia series has been going back-and-forth with three of the four contests decided by a single goal. The fifth and deciding matches are scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. AST.

In the OUA East, archrivals McGill and UQTR will face off once again in the best-of-three division final, with Game 1 set for Wednesday night in Montreal. While both teams swept their previous round series against Queen's and Carleton, respectively, the Patriotes needed overtime in both contests to eliminate the pesky Ravens.

In the OUA West, the best-of-three final will pit defending conference champion Windsor against the surprising Guelph Gryphons, beginning Wednesday evening in Windsor. The Lancers beat Lakekead in two straight in the previous round, while the Gryphons, who finished sixth in the division in league play with an 11-13-3 mark, came back to defeat Toronto after being dominated 8-3 in the opener.

CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#18)

Voting is based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with a 1^st 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)

Other teams receiving votes: Carleton (5), Guelph (2).