Two X-Women teams ranked in CIS Top 10

CIS TOP TEN TUESDAY (#6)
McGill, Alberta top first hockey rankings of season

OTTAWA (CIS) – The McGill women and Alberta men top the first national rankings of the 2013-14 CIS hockey season, with reigning champions Montreal and UNB having to settle for second place.

In other CIS sports, UBC regains the pole position in men’s soccer, while Ottawa (women’s soccer), Alberta (women’s rugby) and Guelph (women’s & men’s cross country) all maintain their No. 1 status.

In women’s hockey, McGill opens the campaign at No. 1 for the sixth time in eight years. The Martlets, who missed the CIS championship tournament for the first time in 11 seasons last winter, have been impressive so far this fall with four wins in six exhibition matches, including a 5-3 success over third-ranked Laurier and a 2-1 victory over No. 6 Queen’s in their only confrontations against CIS opponents. 

McGill has pre-season games left against the NWHL’s Montreal Stars as well as Dartmouth and Harvard of the NCAA before hosting Carleton for its RSEQ opener on Oct. 25.

Meanwhile, reigning national champion Montreal shows a pre-season record of 2-2, including a win and a loss against Laurier, a 6-1 domination of fourth-ranked StFX and a 5-2 loss to Queen’s. The Carabins, who captured the first CIS banner in program history last winter after upsetting McGill in the RSEQ final, kick off league play on Oct. 18 against Ottawa.

Archrivals Montreal and McGill square off on Oct. 27.

Rounding out the first Top 10 of the year are Laurier, StFX, Regina, Queen’s, Calgary, Western, Guelph and UBC.

In men’s hockey, Alberta has won 11 of 13 games this fall, including 5-0 and 4-0 shutouts against Manitoba last weekend to start their Canada West schedule. The Golden Bears had last opened the season at No. 1 in 2010-11.

UNB has to wait until Oct. 18 to kick off its AUS schedule. The V-Reds, who claimed their fourth University Cup title in seven years last March, are 5-2 in pre-season action, including a perfect 4-0 mark against CIS competition.

Following in order in the first men’s hockey media poll of the campaign are Western, Calgary, Waterloo, Saskatchewan, UPEI, Saint Mary’s, Carleton and UQTR.

In men’s soccer, UBC moves up one position in the new Top 10 to reclaim the No. 1 spot. The Thunderbirds improved to 9-1 in Canada West play last weekend with 4-1 and 3-0 wins over UNBC.

The York Lions (9-2), who had topped the coaches’ poll each of the last two weeks, drop to third place following a 1-0 loss to No. 6 McMaster, which marked their second defeat in as many duels against the Marauders this season.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Guelph 100 points / (1)
2. Queen’s 80 / (3)
3. Western 77 / (2)
4. Victoria 63 / (5)
5. Toronto 57 / (4)
6. McMaster 51 / (6)
T7. Dalhousie 29 / (7)
T7. McGill 29 / (8)
9. Calgary 18 / (9)
10. Laurentian 15 / (10)

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Guelph 100 points / (1)
2. Laval 87 / (2)
3. Victoria 77 / (4)
4. Windsor 75 / (3)
5. McMaster 49 / (5)
6. Lakehead 48 / (7)
7. Queen’s 46 / (6)
8. Western 22 / (8)
T9. Regina 14 / (T9)
T9. Trinity Western 14 / (T9)

WOMEN’S HOCKEY
(regular season record)

1. McGill (0-0-0)
2. Montreal (0-0-0) 
3. Wilfrid Laurier (1-1-0) 
4. StFX (0-0-0) 
5. Regina (2-0-0) 
6. Queen’s (0-0-1)
7. Calgary (0-1-1)
8. Western (2-0-0)
9. Guelph (2-0-0)
10. UBC (1-1-0)

MEN’S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes)

1. Alberta (2-0-0) / 162 points (9)
2. UNB (0-0-0) / 160 (8)
3. Western (0-0-0) / 86
4. Calgary (2-0-0) / 80
5. Waterloo (0-0-0) / 70 
6. Saskatchewan (1-1-0) / 68
7. UPEI (0-0-0) / 60
8. Saint Mary’s (0-0-0) / 56
9. Carleton (0-0-0) / 54
10. UQTR (0-0-0) / 46

Other teams receiving votes: StFX (32), McGill (19), Brock (15), Windsor (8), Ottawa (7), Manitoba (4), Queen’s (4), York (2), Acadia (1), Dalhousie (1).

WOMEN’S RUGBY
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Alberta (4-0) / 99 points (4) / (1)
2. Guelph (5-0) / 88 (3) / (2)
3. Concordia (6-0) / 75 / (3)
4. Queen’s (5-0) / 73 (1) / (4)
5. Acadia (6-0) / 62 (1) / (5)
6. StFX (6-1) / 53 / (6)
7. McGill (5-1) / 36 / (8)
8. Calgary (2-1-1) / 24 / (7)
9. McMaster (3-2) / 20 / (9)
10. Lethbridge (1-2-1) / 11 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Ottawa (9), Waterloo (5), Western (5).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Ottawa (10-0-2) / 49 points / (1)
2. Alberta (8-0-2) / 44 / (3)
3. Laval (8-1-1) / 42 / (2)
4. Western (6-0-5) / 31 / (5)
5. Montreal (7-1-2) / 28 / (4)
6. UBC (5-0-3) / 20 / (6)
7. Saskatchewan (6-1-2) / 17 / (8)
8. Cape Breton (5-0-4) / 11 / (NR)
9. Dalhousie (6-2-1) / 10 / (9)
10. Toronto (8-2-2) / 7 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Trinity Western (6), Victoria (5), Wilfrid Laurier (5).

MEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UBC (9-1-0) / 60 points / (2)
2. Ryerson (9-0-1) / 52 / (3)
3. York (9-2-0) / 48 / (1)
4. Montreal (6-1-2) / 40 / (4)
5. Guelph (8-1-4) / 39 / (5)
6. McMaster (8-2-2) / 26 / (8)
7. UNB (5-2-2) / 20 / (7)
8. Saskatchewan (7-3-0) / 17 / (NR)
9. Saint Mary’s (5-2-3) / 13 / (10)
10. Victoria (6-2-0) / 10 / (NR)

CIS Men’s Hockey Top 10 (#1)
Alberta opens at No. 1, national champ UNB ranked second

OTTAWA (CIS) – The Alberta Golden Bears top the first CIS men’s hockey national rankings of the 2013-14 season, while the reigning University Cup champion New Brunswick Varsity Reds were a very close second in the inaugural media poll.    

Alberta received nine out of a possible 17 first-place votes and 162 points from the selection committee, compared to eight first-place nods and 160 points for UNB, which captured its fourth CIS title in seven years last winter. The Golden Bears had last opened the campaign at No. 1 in 2010-11.

Rounding out the first Top 10 of the fall are the No. 3 Western Mustangs (86 points), No. 4 Calgary Dinos (80), No. 5 Waterloo Warriors (70), No. 6 Saskatchewan Huskies (68), No. 7 UPEI Panthers (60), No. 8 Saint Mary’s Huskies (56), No. 9 Carleton Ravens (54) and No. 10 UQTR Patriotes (46).

The regular season got under way this past weekend with six games in Canada West and two in the OUA.

Alberta (2-0), Calgary (2-0) and Saskatchewan (1-1) were all in action out West. The defending conference champ Bears blanked Manitoba 5-0 and 4-0. The Dinos swept Regina 5-2 and 4-1. The Huskies settled for a split against Mount Royal, winning 5-2 before dropping a 5-1 decision.

Alberta shows an impressive 11 wins in 13 outings so far in ‘13-14, including a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers rookies on Sept. 10. The Bears’ two pre-season losses came against archrival Calgary, which they also beat twice in non-conference action.

With back-to-back whitewashes last weekend, senior U of A netminder Kurtis Mucha, who was named CIS goalie of the year last season, extended his shutout streak in league play to a Canada West record 214 minutes and 20 seconds going back to last winter. The CIS mark of 292:39 was set in 2008-09 by Travis Fullerton of UNB.

Alberta plays a home-and-away series against Mount Royal Friday and Saturday.

In the AUS conference, the regular schedule only starts two weekends from now, including University Cup champion UNB hosting StFX on Oct. 18 and eighth-ranked Saint Mary’s the following night. The V-Reds downed the Huskies 2-0 in last year’s CIS championship final.

UNB won five of its seven pre-season contests, including a perfect 4-0 mark against CIS competition.

NOTES: Laurentian returns to CIS men’s hockey this season after a 13-year hiatus. The Voyageurs open their OUA schedule at York on Thursday... The University of Saskatchewan will host the PotashCorp University Cup tournament for the second straight year from March 20-23. The tourney will once again be held at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.

CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#1)

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)

1. Alberta (2-0-0) / 162 points (9)
2. UNB (0-0-0) / 160 (8)
3. Western (0-0-0) / 86
4. Calgary (2-0-0) / 80
5. Waterloo (0-0-0) / 70 
6. Saskatchewan (1-1-0) / 68
7. UPEI (0-0-0) / 60
8. Saint Mary’s (0-0-0) / 56
9. Carleton (0-0-0) / 54
10. UQTR (0-0-0) / 46

Other teams receiving votes: StFX (32), McGill (19), Brock (15), Windsor (8), Ottawa (7), Manitoba (4), Queen’s (4), York (2), Acadia (1), Dalhousie (1).

FRC – CIS Football Top 10 (#7)
No. 1 Western, Big Four remain undefeated

OTTAWA (CIS) – The top four teams in CIS football remained undefeated this past weekend including the high-scoring Western Mustangs, who lead the Football Reporters of Canada national poll for the second straight week.

The Mustangs (7-0) received 20 first-place votes and 290 points in the new Top 10 to slightly increase their advantage over reigning Vanier Cup champion Laval (6-0), which had led the first five media polls of the campaign before Western took over last Tuesday. The Rouge et Or earned the remaining 10 first-place nods and 280 points from the FRC panel.

Rounding out the new rankings are the No. 3 Calgary Dinos (6-0 / no change), No. 4 Guelph Gryphons (6-0 / no change), No. 5 Queen’s Gaels (5-1 / no change), No. 6 Montreal Carabins (4-2 / up one),  No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies (4-2 / down one), No. 8 Bishop’s Gaiters (4-2 / no change), No. 9 McMaster Marauders (3-3 / no change), as well as the No. 10 Windsor Lancers (4-3), making their first Top-10 appearance of the season.

Western, Laval and Guelph were all easy winners over the weekend, while Calgary defeated archrival Saskatchewan for the second time this fall to secure first place in the Canada West conference.

The Mustangs crushed Windsor 51-23 on the strength of 362 yards through the air from CIS passing leader Will Finch. With one game left in league play, Western is 15 points away from breaking the single-season OUA scoring record set by McMaster in 2003 (424), while fifth-year kicker Lirim Hajrullahu needs nine points in his final regular season outing to shatter the individual CIS career mark of 410 established by former Ottawa great Neil Lumsden in the 1970s. 

The Rouge et Or scored touchdowns on offence, defence and special teams in a 65-9 domination of Concordia. The Gryphons took a 20-0 lead into the fourth quarter and cruised to a 33-7 victory over York. The Dinos outscored the Huskies 18-0 in the final 27 minutes to prevail 24-12 at Saskatoon.

Meanwhile, a pair of Top-10 teams survived a scare. Queen’s needed overtime to down Laurier 40-34, while Bishop’s registered its third one-point win of the season, this time 30-29 over McGill.

Montreal avenged a loss to Sherbrooke the previous week with a 30-24 win against the Vert & Or. McMaster downed Waterloo 66-3 to get back to .500. Windsor replaces Manitoba at No. 10 despite the one-sided loss to top-ranked Western.

Only six games are on the Thanksgiving schedule across the country. Guelph (at 0-6 Carleton), Queen’s (at 1-5 Waterloo) and McMaster (at 1-6 Laurier) are the only ranked teams in action.

The leading trio of Western, Laval and Calgary gets back on the field the following weekend against York (2-4), Sherbrooke (2-4) and Regina (2-4), respectively. 

FRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#7)

                                                Pts (1st place)  Last week
1. Western (7-0)           290 (20)           1
2. Laval (6-0)               280 (10)           2
3. Calgary (6-0)           233                  3
4. Guelph (6-0)                        212                  4
5. Queen’s (5-1)          202                  5
6. Montreal (4-2)         138                  7
7. Saskatchewan (4-2) 119                  6
8. Bishop’s (4-2)          97                    8
9. McMaster (3-3)        53                    9
10. Windsor (4-3)        20                    NR

Other teams receiving votes: UBC (9), Manitoba (8), Saint Mary’s (6), Sherbrooke (5), Ottawa (5), McGill (1).

WEEK 7 RESULTS

Bishop’s 30, McGill 29 (at McGill)
Guelph 33, York 7 (at Guelph)
Calgary 24, Saskatchewan 12 (at Saskatchewan)
StFX 30, Mount Allison 9 (at StFX)
Saint Mary’s 17, Acadia 10 (at Saint Mary’s)
Montreal 30, Sherbrooke 24 (at Sherbrooke)
Queen’s 40, Laurier 34 OT (at Queen’s)
McMaster 66, Waterloo 3 (at McMaster)
Ottawa 35, Carleton 10 (at Ottawa)
Western 51, Windsor 23 (at Windsor)
UBC 28, Manitoba 24 (at Manitoba)
Regina 25, Alberta 20 (at Regina)
Laval 65, Concordia 9 (at Laval)

WEEK 8 SCHEDULE (all times local)

NOTE: Click HERE for the complete 2013 regular season schedule.

October 10 
19:00   Toronto (2-4) at York (2-4) (Rogers TV Toronto & video webcast)

October 11
19:00   Saint Mary’s (3-2) at Acadia (2-3) (video webcast)
19:00   No. 4 Guelph (6-0) at Carleton (0-6)
19:00   No. 5 Queen’s (5-1) at Waterloo (1-5) (video webcast)

October 12
13:00   No. 9 McMaster (3-3) at Laurier (1-6) (Rogers TV Waterloo – tape delay & video webcast)
14:00   StFX (3-2) at Mount Allison (1-4) (Eastlink TV & video webcast)