CIS – OTTAWA (CIS) – The Acadia University Axemen hold on to the pole position in the first CIS men’s hockey national rankings of 2016.  

 

The Axemen (14-2-1), who reached No. 1 for the first time since 1997 in the final poll of the fall semester, received 15 first-place votes and 159 points this week from the 16-member media panel. The other first-place nod went to the McGill Redmen (17-2-1), who remain at No. 2 thanks to a 144-point tally.

 

Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies (15-3-0 / 125 points / up one position), No. 4 UNB Varsity Reds (12-3-2 / 99 / up three), No. 5 UQTR Patriotes (16-3-1 / 95 / no change), No. 6 Alberta Golden Bears (12-5-1 / 81 / down three), No. 7 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (12-3-2 / 73 / down one), No. 8 Mount Royal Cougars (11-5-2 / 45 / up one), No. 9 Carleton Ravens (13-5-0 / 35 / down one) and No. 10 York Lions (11-5-3 / 16 / no change).

 

Conference play resumed this past weekend with the Big Four all going a perfect 2-0.

 

Top-ranked Acadia dominated on home ice against St. Thomas, 7-2, and Moncton, 8-2; McGill picked up a pair of road wins, edging Laurentian 4-3 in double overtime and skating past Nipissing 5-1; Saskatchewan travelled to Lethbridge and swept the Pronghorns 3-1 and 7-2; UNB outscored Dalhousie 4-0 and StFX 6-2 in Fredericton.

 

Meanwhile, two-time defending University Cup champion Alberta is the big loser in the first poll of the new year following a two-game sweep at the hands of Manitoba in Winnipeg, 7-4 and 3-2.

 

A pair of Top-10 matchups highlights this week’s schedule, both on Saturday night. UNB visits StFX at 7 p.m. AST (live on AUStv.ca) while McGill visits Carleton at 7 p.m. EST.

 

The No. 1 Axemen, who currently hold a three-point lead over UNB and STFX in the AUS standings, are at St. Thomas (1-15-1) on Friday and at Moncton (7-8-2) on Saturday.

 

CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#10)

 

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 (14-2-1) / 159 points (15) / (1)

2. McGill (17-2-1) / 144 (1) / (2)

3. Saskatchewan (15-3-0) / 125 / (4)

4. UNB (12-3-2) / 99 / (7)

5. UQTR (16-3-1) / 95 / (5)

6. Alberta (12-5-1) / 81 / (3)

7. StFX (12-3-2) / 73 / (6)

8. Mount Royal (11-5-2) / 45 / (9)

9. Carleton (13-5-0) / 35 / (8)

10. York (11-5-3) / 16 / (10)

 

Other teams receiving votes: Manitoba (5), Waterloo (2), Saint Mary’s (1).

 

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

 

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:

 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CIS_SIC  

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cissports

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/universitysport

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/CIS_SIC

 

-CIS-

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Michel Bélanger        

Communications & Media Relations

Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Off: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25

Cell: (613) 447-6334

belanger@universitysport.ca