X-Men hockey ranked 8th nationally

The X-Men hockey team is ranked No. 8 in the nation as the CIS released their latest top ten rankings today.

X-Men hockey ranked 8th nationally
March 3, 2015

CIS Men's Hockey Top 10 (#19)
No. 1 Alberta one of 7 teams qualified for University Cup championship

OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning University Cup champion Alberta Golden Bears top the CIS men's hockey rankings for the 19th time in as many national polls this season.

The Bears (24-3-1 regular season / 2-0 playoffs) received all first-place votes from the media panel for the ninth straight week following a two-game sweep of UBC in the Canada West conference semifinals.

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

Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 3 Acadia Axemen (20-5-3 / 3-3 / up two positions), No. 4 Calgary Dinos (20-8 / 2-1 / no change), No. 5 UQTR Patriotes (19-4-3 / 6-0 / up three), No. 6 Guelph Gryphons (11-13-3 / 6-2 / previously unranked), No. 7 McGill Redmen (21-5 / 4-3 / down one),  No. 8 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (17-9-2 / 4-3 / up two). No. 9 Saint Mary's Huskies (20-7-1 / 4-4 / down six) and No. 10 Windsor Lancers (22-4-1 / 4-3 / down three).

NOTE: The voting took place before the opening game of the best-of-three AUS final between UNB and Acadia on Monday (8-2 UNB win).

Seven teams have now punched their ticket for next week's eight-team University Cup national championship in Halifax (March 12-15), including tournament host StFX, as well as Alberta, UNB, Acadia, Calgary, UQTR and Guelph. The eighth and final berth will go to either McGill or Windsor, who face off in the OUA bronze-medal game Saturday at 8 p.m. on the Lancers' home ice.

The three conference finals are also scheduled for this week and, while all contenders have already qualified for the CIS tourney, the results will influence the Final 8 seeding.

In Canada West, Alberta hosts Calgary in a best-of-three series in Edmonton starting on Thursday. In the conference semifinals this past weekend, the Golden Bears swept UBC 3-1 and 4-3, while the Dinos needed three games to eliminate cross-town rival Mount Royal, winning the decisive contest 6-3.

In the AUS, both best-of-five semis went the distance with UNB doubling StFX 6-3 and Acadia defeating Saint Mary's 3-2 in the decisive duels. The best-of-three league championship series got underway Monday as the V-Reds dominated the Axemen 8-2 in Fredericton.

In the OUA, UQTR visits Guelph on Saturday in the 104th Queen's Cup. The Patriotes swept archrival McGill 3-0 and 4-2 in the OUA East final, while in the West division, the sixth-seeded Gryphons upset defending conference champion Windsor 3-1 and 5-4.

CONFERENCE FINAL SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL)

AUS best-of 3 final (all games on AUStv.ca)
Monday, March 2, 19:00: UNB 8, Acadia 2 (UNB leads series 1-0)
Wednesday, March 4, 19:00: UNB at Acadia (Game 2)
Friday, March 6, 19:00: Acadia at UNB (Game 3 if necessary)

Canada West best-of-3 final (all games on CanadaWest.tv)
Thursday, March 5, 19:00: Calgary at Alberta (Game 1)
Friday, March 6, 19:00: Calgary at Alberta (Game 2)
Saturday, March 7, 19:00: Calgary at Alberta (Game 3 if necessary) 

OUA final & bronze (both games on OUA.tv)
Saturday, March 7, 19:30: UQTR at Guelph (final)
Saturday, March 7, 20:00: McGill at Windsor (bronze) 

UNIVERSITY CUP SCHEDULE (all times ATLANTIC TIME)

Thursday, March 12
13:00 Quarter-final 1 (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv) 
19:00 Quarter-final 2 (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv)  

Friday, March 13
13:00 Quarter-final 3 (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv) 
19:00 Quarter-final 4 (Eastlink TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv)  

Saturday, March 14
12:00 Semifinal 1 (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv)  
16:00 Semifinal 2 (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) 

Sunday, March 15
14:00 Bronze (www.CIS-SIC.tv) 
18:30 Final (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv)    

CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#19)

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.

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

1. Alberta (24-3-1 / 2-0) / 160 points (16) / (1)
2. UNB (22-4-2 / 4-2) / 144 / (2)
3. Acadia (20-5-3 / 3-3) / 121 / (5)
4. Calgary (20-8-0 / 2-1) / 113 / (4)
5. UQTR (19-4-3 / 6-0) / 96 / (8)
6. Guelph (11-13-3 / 6-2) / 57 / (NR)
7. McGill (21-5-0 / 4-3) / 48 / (6)
8. StFX (17-9-2 / 4-3) / 47 / (10)
9. Saint Mary's (20-7-1 / 4-4) / 44 / (3)
10. Windsor (22-4-1 / 4-3) / 32 / (7) 

Other teams receiving votes: Mount Royal (16), Carleton (2).

NOTE: The voting took place before the opening game of the best-of-three AUS final between UNB and Acadia on Monday (8-2 UNB win).