CIS Men's Hockey Top 10 (#13)
Top-ranked Saskatchewan clinches first place in Canada West
The Huskies (21-3-0), winners of nine straight league games including a perfect 8-0 mark in 2016, received 14 first-place votes and 158 points this week from the 16-member media panel.
Rounding out the new Top 10 are the second-ranked UNB Varsity Reds (19-3-2 / 142 points / no change), No. 3 UQTR Patriotes (20-3-1 / 127 / up one position), No. 4 Acadia Axemen (17-5-2 / 110 / down one), No. 5 McGill Redmen (20-5-1 / 82 / up one), No. 6 Mount Royal Cougars (15-6-3 / 63 / up four), No. 7 Alberta Golden Bears (15-7-2 / 59 / down two), No. 8 Carleton Ravens (18-6-0 / 46 / no change), No. 9 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (15-6-3 / 34 / down two), as well as the previously unranked Saint Mary's Huskies (15-7-2 / 31).
UNB and Acadia split the remaining first-place nods with one apiece.
The top-ranked Huskies swept visiting Manitoba 8-3 and 5-2 this past weekend and are now one win away from the program record of 22 regular season victories set in 1987-88 (22-5-1) and matched in 1999-00 (22-3-3). Saskatchewan has a nine-point lead atop the Canada West standings with four league games remaining.
In the AUS and OUA conferences, league leaders UNB and UQTR were also perfect this past week.
The V-Reds extended their own winning streak to 10, including a 9-0 record in the new year, thanks to successes against St. Thomas, 8-2, UPEI, 2-1, and Moncton, 4-3.
The Patriotes, winners of five straight games and 11 of their past 12, dominated archrival McGill 6-1 on home ice last Wednesday in their lone outing.
Saskatchewan and UNB both face a pair of Top-10 battles this weekend, including:
Friday (7 p.m. AST): No. 10 Saint Mary's at No. 2 UNB (AUStv.ca)
Friday (7 p.m. MST): No. 1 Saskatchewan at No. 7 Alberta (CanadaWest.tv)
Saturday (7 p.m. AST): No. 4 Acadia at No. 2 UNB (AUStv.ca)
Saturday (6 p.m. MST): No. 1 Saskatchewan at No. 7 Alberta (CanadaWest.tv)
CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#13)
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 record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous ranking)
1. Saskatchewan (21-3-0) / 158 points (14) / (1)
2. UNB (19-3-2) / 142 (1) / (2)
3. UQTR (20-3-1) / 127 / (4)
4. Acadia (17-5-2) / 110 (1) / (3)
5. McGill (20-5-1) / 82 / (6)
6. Mount Royal (15-6-3) / 63 / (10)
7. Alberta (15-7-2) / 59 / (5)
8. Carleton (18-6-0) / 46 / (8)
9. StFX (15-6-3) / 34 / (7)
10. Saint Mary's (15-7-2) / 31 / (NR)
Other teams receiving votes: York (19), Queen's (4), Western (4), Calgary (1).