CIS Men's Hockey Top 10 (#11)
Axemen remain No. 1 despite rare loss

OTTAWA (CIS) – The Acadia University Axemen are still the team to beat in CIS men's hockey despite suffering a rare loss this past weekend.

The Axemen (15-2-2) lead their third consecutive national poll after receiving 10 first-place votes and 151 points from the 16-member media panel.

The Saskatchewan Huskies (17-3-0) move past the McGill Redmen (18-3-1) in second place thanks to five first-place nods and 142 points. McGill, which earned the remaining vote of confidence, drops to No. 3 with 118 points.  

Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 4 UNB Varsity Reds (14-3-2 / 115 points), No. 5 UQTR Patriotes (18-3-1 / 102), No. 6 Alberta Golden Bears (13-5-2 / 80), No. 7 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (13-3-3 / 59), No. 8 Mount Royal Cougars (13-5-2 / 57) and No. 9 Carleton Ravens (14-5-0 / 33), all of whom hold on to their previous spot, as well as the previously unranked Western Mustangs (13-8-0 / 7) at No. 10.

Top-ranked Acadia extended its winning streak to nine league games last Friday thanks to a 3-2 victory over St. Thomas but was handed its first conference loss since Nov. 6 the following day, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision against Moncton. The AUS-leading Axemen will be busy this week with three contests in five nights versus Dalhousie (Tuesday), UPEI (Friday) and No. 4 UNB (Saturday), all live on AUStv.ca at 7 p.m. AST.  

In Canada West, conference leader Saskatchewan, which has now won five straight, continued to roll with a 4-3, 8-3 sweep of Calgary. The series opener was decided in double OT.

In the OUA, McGill beat RMC 3-1 last Friday but was defeated 6-3 at Carleton on Saturday night, leaving the Redmen in a deadlock with archrival UQTR atop the ultra-competitive East division.

In addition to the much-anticipated Acadia-UNB clash, another Top-10 battle takes place on Saturday in Montreal, where Western visits McGill (5 p.m. live on the McGill Sports Network).

NOTE: Also highlighting this week's schedule is the annual Crowchild Classic between cross-town rivals Calgary and Mount Royal Thursday at 7:45 p.m. MST, live on CanadaWest.tv. Last year's attendance of 8,882 at the Scotiabank Saddledome set a CIS record for a regular season hockey game.

CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#11)

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)

1. Acadia (15-2-2) / 151 points (10) / (1)
2. Saskatchewan (17-3-0) / 142 (5) / (3)
3. McGill (18-3-1) / 118 (1) / (2)
4. UNB (14-3-2) / 115 / (4)
5. UQTR (18-3-1) / 102 / (5)
6. Alberta (13-5-2) / 80 / (6)
7. StFX (13-3-3) / 59 / (7)
8. Mount Royal (13-5-2) / 57 / (8)
9. Carleton (14-5-0) / 33 / (9)
10. Western (13-8-0) / 7 / (NR) * 

* Western is ranked higher than York based on number of higher placed votes

Other teams receiving votes: York (7), Saint Mary's (6), Waterloo (3).

CIS TOP TEN TUESDAY (#17)
Ottawa men's basketball, UBCO women's volleyball back to No. 1

In men's hoops, the Gee-Gees (8-0) overcame an eight-point deficit with five minutes left in regulation to edge Carleton (7-1) 75-73 on Saturday night at the Ravens' Nest in the first of two regular season matchups between the cross-town rivals, who have met in the last two national finals.

Ottawa had topped the first five coaches' polls of the campaign before dropping to No. 3 last Tuesday. Carleton falls back to No. 2 after climbing to the top a week ago.

The much anticipated rematch is set for Feb. 5 at the Canadian Tire Centre, where the Gee-Gees and Ravens will square off in the 10^th annual MBNA Capital Hoops Classic. Last year's event drew 10,780 fans, an all-time record for a CIS basketball league game.

In women's volleyball, UBC Okanagan (15-1) moves up two positions following a two-game home sweep against the Alberta Pandas (13-3), who had been ranked No. 1 in six consecutive polls. Alberta drops to No. 3 this week behind Trinity Western (15-1).

The Heat, who had topped the first three polls of the campaign, beat the Pandas in four sets last Friday and 3-2 on Saturday, after erasing a two-set-to-one deficit.

UBCO will be tested again over the next two weekends as they host No. 9 UBC before travelling to Langley, B.C., to face the No. 2 Spartans.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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

1. Saskatchewan (12-0) / 540 points (45) / (1) 
2. McGill (5-1) / 493 / (3) 
3. Regina (9-1) / 426 / (4)
4. Ryerson (6-2) / 414 / (2)
5. Saint Mary's (9-1) / 372 / (5)
6. McMaster (7-2) / 284 / (7)
7. Alberta (10-1) / 267 / (8)
8. Laval (5-3) / 212 / (6)
9. Queen's (8-1) / 184 / (10)
10. Ottawa (7-1) / 175 / (9) 
Other teams receiving votes: Windsor (86), Acadia (30). 

MEN'S BASKETBALL

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

1. Ottawa (8-0) / 446 points (41) / (3)
2. Carleton (7-1) / 393 (2) / (1)
3. Brock (8-1) / 349 (1) / (4)
4. McGill (5-1) / 327 (1) / (2)
5. Ryerson (6-1) / 281 / (5)
6. McMaster (7-2) / 223 / (6)
7. Calgary (10-3) / 170 / (8)
8. UBC (9-3) / 129 / (7)
9. Thompson Rivers (10-2) / 65 / (10)
10. UPEI (8-2) / 49 / (NR)  

Other teams receiving votes: Dalhousie (30), Manitoba (6).

WOMEN'S HOCKEY

(regular season record) / (previous ranking)

1. Guelph (14-2-1) / (1)
2. Montreal (10-3-1) / (2)
3. McGill (8-3-1) / (3)
4. Western (11-4-0) / (4)
5. Saint Mary's (12-4-0) / (5)
6. Toronto (8-4-3) / (7)
7. St. Thomas (10-5-1) / (8)
8. Saskatchewan (11-6-3) / (6)
9. Ottawa (8-4-1) / (9)
10. UBC (12-6-2) / (NR)  

MEN'S HOCKEY

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

1. Acadia (15-2-2) / 151 points (10) / (1)
2. Saskatchewan (17-3-0) / 142 (5) / (3)
3. McGill (18-3-1) / 118 (1) / (2)
4. UNB (14-3-2) / 115 / (4)
5. UQTR (18-3-1) / 102 / (5)
6. Alberta (13-5-2) / 80 / (6)
7. StFX (13-3-3) / 59 / (7)
8. Mount Royal (13-5-2) / 57 / (8)
9. Carleton (14-5-0) / 33 / (9)
10. Western (13-8-0) / 7 / (NR) * 

* Western is ranked higher than York based on number of higher placed votes

Other teams receiving votes: York (7), Saint Mary's (6), Waterloo (3).

WOMEN'S SWIMMING

(points) / (previous ranking)

1. UBC 604 points / (1)
2. Toronto 568 / (2)
3. Laval 277 / (6)
4. Calgary 237 / (3)
5. Montreal 195 / (5)
6. Dalhousie 180 / (4)
7. Western 163 / (8)
8. McGill 136 / (7)
9. UQAM 85 / (10)
10. Victoria 84 / (9)  

MEN'S SWIMMING

(points) / (previous ranking)

1. Toronto 522 points / (1)
2. UBC 427 / (2)
3. Calgary 331 / (3)
4. Alberta 302 / (4)
5. Ottawa 162 / (5)
6. Dalhousie 152 / (6)
7. Laval 124 / (NR)
8. Guelph 121 / (7)
9. Western 118 / (10)
10. Victoria 114 / (T8)  

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

(points) / (previous ranking)

1. Western 85.5 points / (1)
2. Windsor 72 / (5)
3. York 70 / (4)
4. Guelph 69.5 / (2)
5. Toronto 67.5 / (3)
6. Alberta 61.5 / (NR)
7. Dalhousie 41 / (8)
8. Sherbrooke 36 / (9)
9. Calgary 34 / (10)
10. Laval 29 / (6)  

MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

(points) / (previous ranking)

1. Windsor 104.08 points / (1)
2. Guelph 92.83 / (3)
3. Western 75.25 / (2)
4. York 65.5 / (4)
5. Toronto 60.33 / (6)
6. Laval 58 / (5)
7. Dalhousie 44.5 / (7)
8. McMaster 29 / (NR)
9. Sherbrooke 23.75 / (NR)
10. Ottawa 20 / (NR)  

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

(regular season record) / votes / (previous ranking)

1. UBC Okanagan (15-1) / 58.5 points / (3)
2. Trinity Western (15-1) / 57.5 / (2)
3. Alberta (13-3) / 51 / (1)
4. Toronto (10-0) / 49 / (4)
5. Montreal (12-3) / 43 / (6)
6. McMaster (9-1) / 36 / (7)
7. Dalhousie (8-2) / 35.5 / (T8)
8. Sherbrooke (11-5) / 32.5 / (10)
9. UBC (11-3) / 32 / (5)
10. McGill (11-4) / 24 / (T8) 

Next highest votes: Ryerson (20), Brandon (17), Western (9.5), Memorial (6), Thompson Rivers (3).

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

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

1. McMaster (13-0) / 274 points (22) / (1)
2. Alberta (16-0) / 259 (7) / (2)
3. Manitoba (12-2) / 225 / (3)
4. Calgary (13-3) / 191 / (4)
5. UBC (10-4) / 143 / (5)
6. Winnipeg (11-5) / 141 / (6)
7. Laval (9-1) / 112 / (7)
8. Queen's (8-3) / 79 / (8)
9. Saskatchewan (8-8) / 45 / (9)
10. Ryerson (10-2) / 44 / (NR) 

WOMEN'S WRESTLING

(previous ranking)

1. Brock (1)
2. Saskatchewan (2)
3. Regina (3)
4. Alberta (4)
5. Calgary (5)
6. Winnipeg (6)
7. Guelph (7)
8. Concordia (8)
9. Western (9)
10. Lakehead (10) 

MEN'S WRESTLING

(previous ranking)

1. Brock (1)
2. Alberta (2)
3. McMaster (3)
4. Winnipeg (4)
5. Calgary (5)
6. Saskatchewan (6)
7. Guelph (7)
8. Regina (8)
9. Concordia (9)
10. Western (10)