OTTAWA (CIS) After waiting in the wings for more than five years, the Saskatchewan Huskies are finally back in first place of the CIS mens hockey Top 10.
The West Huskies had been ranked second in the last 17 national polls, going back to the third Top 10 of the 2004-05 season, and had not topped the rankings since the last week of the 1999-00 campaign.
The reigning TELUS University Cup champion Alberta Golden Bears had led the last 18 polls, and 54 of the past 55. The only other team to lead the CIS mens hockey Top 10 since the start of the 2002-03 season was the UNB Varsity Reds, who opened at No. 1 a year ago.
Saskatchewan (5-2-1), which holds a two-point lead over Regina in Canada Wests Great Plains division, picked up three points this weekend during a road trip to Vancouver, notching a 4-1 win and a 4-4 tie against UBC.
Alberta (4-2-0), leading the Mountain division by one point over UBC and Calgary, beat Manitoba 3-2 on Friday night but suffered its second loss of the regular season 24 hours later as the Bisons prevailed 2-1 in the second end of the weekend doubleheader.
No. 1 Saskatchewan hosts No. 2 Alberta in Saskatoon on Friday and Sunday, in a rematch of last years University Cup final won 4-3 in overtime by the Bears.
A trio of AUS teams round out the top 5 this week.
The Saint Marys Huskies (4-1-0) move up one position to No. 3 after defeating St. Thomas 5-2 in their lone outing of the week.
The UNB Varsity Reds (4-1-1) climb all the way from ninth to fourth position following a 4-2 win over Dalhousie and a 9-4 domination of the StFX X-Men.
StFX (4-2-0), which had outscored UPEI 7-5 in its first duel of the weekend, drops two spots to No. 5 following the one-sided defeat to UNB.
The AUS standings are as close as ever after three weeks of play with UNB holding a one-point lead over Saint Marys, StFX and the Acadia Axemen (4-2-0).
Acadia is one of two new teams to enter the Top 10 this week, along with the York Lions (4-1-0).
Also of note, the McGill Redmen (2-0-0) blanked OUA Far East arch-rival UQTR 2-0 on Friday night, and move past the Patriotes (2-1-1) in this weeks poll.
RANK TEAM CONFERENCE (Overall) RECORD PTS (1st Place) LAST WEEK
1. SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES 5-2-1 (12-3-1) 78 (6) 2
2. ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS 4-2-0 (9-4-0) 73 (2) 1
3. SAINT MARYS HUSKIES 4-1-0 (6-3-0) 56 4
4. UNB VARSITY REDS 4-1-1 (6-4-1) 45 9
5. StFX X-MEN 4-2-0 (7-5-0) 42 3
6. CALGARY DINOS 3-2-1 (7-4-1) 37 5
7. McGILL REDMEN 2-0-0 (6-3-0) 30 8
8. UQTR PATRIOTES 2-1-1 (5-3-1) 25 6
9. ACADIA AXEMEN 4-2-0 (5-3-1) 16 NR
10. YORK LIONS 4-1-0 (4-6-1) 14 NR
Other teams receiving votes:
Brock Badgers (13), Western Ontario Mustangs (4), Lakehead Thunderwolves (4), St. Thomas Tommies (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.