(Editor's note: Lakehead remains out of Top 10 for fourth consecutive week despite being on five game unbeaten streak and playing with multiple injuries.)
OTTAWA (CIS) The Saskatchewan Huskies top the CIS mens hockey national poll for the fourth consecutive week but the story of the past weekend was the No. 3 McGill Redmen, which continue to set new CIS defensive standards.
Top-ranked Saskatchewan improved its regular-season record to 9-2-3 with a pair of 5-2 road victories over the Calgary Dinos (5-5-2). The Huskies visit the Manitoba Bisons (7-6-1) for a two-game series on Friday and Saturday. Saskatchewan holds a six-point lead over Manitoba atop the Canada West Great Plains Division standings at the midway point of the regular campaign.
The reigning CIS champion Alberta Golden Bears (6-3-1) hold on to the No. 2 spot for a fourth straight week after picking up two wins of their own against Regina (5-7-2). The Bears had an easy time on Friday defeating the Cougars 8-1 but needed an overtime goal by Chris Ovington to prevail 5-4 on Saturday. Alberta plays a doubleheader at UBC (4-7-1) this weekend.
No. 3 McGill (8-0-1) holds on to its highest rankings ever for a second week in a row after blanking Laurier and Brock on the road by identical scores of 5-0. The Redmen have posted an astounding seven shutouts in their first nine regular-season outings, good for a number of CIS and team records.
Only nine games into the schedule, the Redmen have already tied the CIS record for most shutouts in a regular season (7) established by the UQTR Patriotes in 1997-98. The Redmen six shutouts on the road, including five consecutive, are a new CIS regular-season mark. 2004-05 CIS rookie of the year Mathieu Poitras has tied his own school single-season record with four whitewashes. Freshman Jean-Michel Filiatrault is the first goaltender in CIS history to post shutouts in each of his first three regular-season starts.
The Redmen, which have allowed only six goals in conference play, will try to add to these impressive defensive statistics when they host York (5-4-1-1) on Friday and Guelph (4-4-2) on Saturday.
Rounding out the top five in this weeks national poll are the No. 4 UQTR Patriotes (8-1-1), which move up one position following wins over York and Guelph, and the No. 5 UNB Varsity Reds (8-2-3), up one spot following victories over No. 6 Acadia and No. 9 Saint Marys.
RANK TEAM CONFERENCE (Overall) RECORD PTS (1st Place) LAST WEEK
1. SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 9-2-3 (16-3-3) 80 (8) 1
2. ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 6-3-1 (11-5-1) 66 2
3. McGILL REDMEN 8-0-1 (12-3-1) 64 3
4. UQTR PATRIOTES-x 8-1-1 (11-3-1) 51 5
5. UNB VARSITY REDS-x 8-2-3 (10-5-3) 51 7
6. ACADIA AXEMEN 10-5-1 (9-4-0) 44 4
7. WESTERN ONTARIO MUSTANGS 6-1-1 (9-6-1) 23 10
8. ST. THOMAS TOMMIES 7-5-1 (8-7-1) 18 NR
9. SAINT MARYS HUSKIES 7-4-1 (9-6-1) 14 8
10. MONCTON AIGLES BLEUS 7-5-1 (10-8-1) 11 NR
x UQTR was awarded the higher ranking based on number of higher place votes.
Other teams receiving votes:
Calgary Dinos (7), Waterloo Warriors (4), StFX X-Men (4), Lakehead Thunderwolves (3)
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 Mens Ice Hockey Top Ten Committee is made up of media members from across Canada.