StFX women's hockey ranked No. 4 in nation

Windsor, Carleton open at No. 1 in basketball

OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning national champion Windsor Lancers (women) and Carleton Ravens (men) top the first CIS basketball rankings of the 2013-14 season.

In other sports, Guelph (women's & men's cross country), Alberta (men's hockey & men's volleyball) and UBC (men's soccer & women's volleyball) maintain their No. 1 status, while McGill and Western climb to the top in women's hockey and women's soccer, respectively.

In women's hockey, the Martlets beat defending CIS champ Montreal 5-3 on Sunday in a battle of the top two teams in the country. While the final score was close, McGill outshot its archrivals 57-19.

In women's soccer, the Mustangs take over from Ottawa, which was upset in the OUA quarter-finals. Western (12-0-5 overall) is undefeated heading into the conference Final Four.

In women's basketball, Windsor received 44 of 45 first-place votes in the first coaches' poll of the campaign to open ahead of Alberta and Saint Mary's, which earned the remaining No. 1 nod. The Lancers, who have captured three straight Bronze Baby trophies and will host the CIS championship in March, debut at No. 1 for the second straight year and for the third time in four seasons.

The OUA powerhouse went 6-0 against CIS opponents in pre-season action, including wins over Bishop's (55-30), Concordia (60-52 & 72-58), Alberta (57-50), UBC (80-43), as well as Regina (70-60) in a rematch of last winter's national final. The champs kick off conference play this weekend with visits to Carleton on Friday and No. 10 Ottawa on Saturday.

In men's hoops, Carleton also narrowly missed a unanimous coronation as second-ranked Alberta merited one of 41 first-place votes. The Ravens, who claimed their third consecutive W.P. McGee trophy and their record ninth overall last March, will also have a chance to defend their crown on home court in a few months. They open at No. 1 for the eighth year in a row and for the 11th time in 12 campaigns.  

Like the Windsor women, the Ravens posted a perfect 6-0 mark against CIS competition in the pre-season, including victories versus Dalhousie (97-47), Saint Mary's (90-87), UQAM (87-51), Bishop's (87-55), Victoria (82-62), as well as Lakehead (79-61) in a rematch of the 2012 CIS gold-medal game. Carleton's OUA schedule begins with home tilts against Windsor and Western, Friday and Saturday.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Windsor (0-0) / 539 points (44) / (-)
2. Alberta (0-0) / 449 / (-)
3. Saint Mary's (0-0) / 405 / (-)
4. Fraser Valley (0-0) / 388 / (-)
5. Saskatchewan (0-0) / 306 / (-)
6. Regina (0-0) / 292 / (-)
7. Brock (0-0) / 291 / (-)
8. Concordia (0-0) / 193 / (-)
9. McGill (0-0) / 182 / (-)
10. Ottawa (0-0) / 112 / (-)

Other teams receiving votes: UBC (72), StFX (67).

MEN'S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Carleton (0-0) / 490 points (40) / (-)
2. Alberta (0-0) / 429 (1) / (-)
3. Ottawa (0-0) / 394 / (-)
4. Ryerson (0-0) / 311 / (-)
5. Victoria (0-0) / 282 / (-)
6. Windsor (0-0) / 245 / (-)
7. Saskatchewan (0-0) / 241 / (-)
8. UBC (0-0) / 206 / (-)
9. Saint Mary's (0-0) / 177 / (-)
10. McGill (0-0) / 125 / (-)

Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (83), Laurentian (51).

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

1. Guelph 100 points / (1)
2. Western 85 / (3)
3. Toronto 73 / (5)
4. Queen's 72 / (2)
5. Victoria 57 / (4)
6. Trinity Western 40 / (8)
7. Dalhousie 30 / (7)
T8. McMaster 27 / (6)
T8. McGill 27 / (9)
10. Windsor 17 / (NR)

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

1. Guelph 99 points / (1)
2. Laval 90 / (2)
3. McMaster 74 / (6)
4. Windsor 63 / (T3)
5. Victoria 62 / (T3)
6. Queen's 39 / (5)
7. Alberta 23 / (NR)
8. Toronto 22 / (NR)
T9. Lakehead 17 / (7)
T9. Trinity Western 17 / (10)

WOMEN'S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (previous rankings)

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

Other teams receiving votes: Alberta.

MEN'S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Alberta (8-0-0) / 158 points (14) / (1)
2. UNB (4-0-0) / 146 (2) / (2)
3. Calgary (8-0-0) / 127 / (3)
4. UPEI (3-1-0) / 91 / (4)
5. Carleton (4-1-0) / 81 / (9)
6. McGill (3-1-1) / 56 / (5)
7. Western (3-1-0) / 55 / (6)
8. Acadia (3-1-0) / 53 / (NR)
9. York (5-1-0) / 39 / (8)
10. Lakehead (5-1-0) / 31 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Saskatchewan (18), Waterloo (9), Windsor (8), Queen's (5), Moncton (4), StFX (2), Ryerson (1).

WOMEN'S SOCCER (final Top 10 of season)
(regular season / playoff records) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Western (11-0-5 / 1-0 playoffs) / 46 points / (2)
2. Montreal (11-1-2) / 43 / (3)
3. Alberta (9-1-2 / 1-0) / 38 / (4) *
4. Victoria (10-2-0 / 1-0) / 38 / (5)
5. Cape Breton (9-0-4) / 25 / (6)
6. Ottawa (12-1-3 / 0-1) / 24 / (1)
7. UBC (8-1-3 / 1-0) / 15 / (8)
8. Trinity Western (8-1-3 / 1-0) / 11 / (10)
9. Laval (9-3-2) / 9 / (9)
10. Wilfrid Laurier (9-3-4 / 1-0) / 7 / (NR)

* Alberta is ranked higher than Victoria based on its higher ranking a week ago.
Other teams receiving votes:  Sherbrooke (6), Toronto (6), Dalhousie (4), Carleton (3).

MEN'S SOCCER (final Top 10 of season)
(regular season / playoff records) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UBC (12-1-0) / 59 points / (1)
2. Ryerson (12-0-2 / 1-0 playoffs) / 54 / (2)
3. York (13-2-1 / 1-0) / 49 / (3)
4. Montreal (8-2-2) / 41 / (5)
5. UNB (8-2-3) / 32 / (6)
6. Victoria (10-3-1) / 28 / (9)
7. Saskatchewan (8-5-2) / 24 / (7)
8. Laval (7-1-4) / 13 / (NR)
9. Carleton (8-3-3 / 1-0) / 11 / (NR)
10. Windsor (7-3-6 / 2-0) / 7 / (NR)

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UBC (2-0) / 60 points / (1)
2. Trinity Western (0-2) / 55 / (2)
3. Montreal (4-0) / 53 / (3)
T4. UBC Okanagan (2-0) / 43 / (4)
T4. York (4-0) / 43 / (T5)
T6. Brandon (2-0) / 40 / (T5)
T6. Manitoba (2-0) / 40 / (8)
8. Ottawa (2-0) / 30 / (10)
9. Dalhousie (1-0) / 18 / (NR)
10. Sherbrooke (3-1) / 16 / (7)

Next highest votes: Mount Royal (12), Ryerson (11), Winnipeg (10), Laval (10), Saskatchewan (9).

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Alberta (2-0) / 268 points (25) / (1)
2. McMaster (2-0) / 240 (2) / (2)
3. Trinity Western (2-0) / 214 / (3)
4. Brandon (2-0) / 201 / (4)
5. UBC (0-2) / 143 / (5)
6. Saskatchewan (0-2) / 125 / (7)
7. UNB (2-1) / 81 / (8)
8. Dalhousie (30) / 50 / (NR)
9. Laval (1-2) / 49 / (6)
10. Western (1-1) / 40 / (NR)

CIS Men's Hockey Top 10 (#4)
Leading trio remains undefeated

Oct. 29, 2013

OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Alberta Golden Bears top the CIS men's hockey national rankings for the fourth time in as many polls this season but are not the only undefeated team in the country heading into November.    

For the fourth consecutive week, Alberta and reigning University Cup champion UNB were the only teams to receive first-place consideration from the media panel, with 14 number one nods going to the Bears (158 total points) and the remaining two to the Varsity Reds (146 points). 

Alberta (8-0), UNB (4-0) and the Calgary Dinos (8-0), ranked third for the second week in a row, all maintained their unblemished conference records over the past weekend.

Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 4 UPEI Panthers (3-1 / no change), No. 5 Carleton Ravens (4-1 / up four positions), No. 6 McGill Redmen (3-1-1 / down one), No. 7 Western Mustangs (3-1 / down one), No. 8 Acadia Axemen (3-1 / previously unranked), No. 9 York Lions (5-1 / down one) and No. 10 Lakehead Thunderwolves (5-1 / previously unranked).

Top-ranked Alberta was tested on home ice by UBC (1-5) last Friday, winning 5-3 after scoring in an empty net, but dominated Saturday's rematch 6-2.

UNB was successful on its first road trip of the young campaign, defeating Saint Mary's (1-3) and StFX (1-3) by identical 4-2 scores.

Calgary was also on the road last weekend and got all it could handle from Manitoba, taking the first duel 4-3 in overtime and the second contest 5-3, including an empty-netter.

The Bears and Dinos enjoy a break this week, while the V-Reds face St. Thomas (2-2) on Friday and Moncton (2-2) on Saturday.

CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#4)

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 (8-0-0) / 158 points (14) / (1)
2. UNB (4-0-0) / 146 (2) / (2)
3. Calgary (8-0-0) / 127 / (3)
4. UPEI (3-1-0) / 91 / (4)
5. Carleton (4-1-0) / 81 / (9)
6. McGill (3-1-1) / 56 / (5)
7. Western (3-1-0) / 55 / (6)
8. Acadia (3-1-0) / 53 / (NR)
9. York (5-1-0) / 39 / (8)
10. Lakehead (5-1-0) / 31 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Saskatchewan (18), Waterloo (9), Windsor (8), Queen's (5), Moncton (4), StFX (2), Ryerson (1).

FRC – CIS Football Top 10 (#10 - final)
Leading trio undefeated heading into playoffs

OTTAWA (CIS) – The Western Mustangs top the tenth and final CIS football national rankings of the season. The OUA powerhouse led the last five media polls of the campaign after moving past the Laval Rouge et Or, who held the pole position for the first five weeks.

Western (8-0) and second-ranked Laval (8-0) once again received 20 and 10 first-place votes from the Football Reporters of Canada panel, respectively, with the Mustangs earning 290 total points in the poll compared to 278 for the reigning Vanier Cup champions.

The Calgary Dinos (8-0), the only other team in the country to finish the regular season with an unblemished record, remain at No. 3 for the fifth straight week.

Rounding out the final Top 10 of 2013 are the No. 4 Queen's Gaels (7-1), No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (7-1 / 1-0 playoffs), No. 6 Bishop's Gaiters (6-2), No. 7 Montreal Carabins (5-3), No. 8 McMaster Marauders (5-3 / 1-0), No. 9 Manitoba Bisons (5-3) and No. 10 Saskatchewan Huskies (5-3).

The only change from last Tuesday sees Bishop's and Montreal swapping positions.

The playoffs got under way this past weekend in Ontario, while league play came to an end in the three other CIS conferences. Seven league semifinals are on the schedule this week.

In the OUA quarter-finals, McMaster dominated Ottawa 41-7 and Guelph defeated Windsor 31-21. Western and Queen's enjoyed first-round byes.

In Saturday's OUA semis, the two-time conference champ Marauders visit the top-ranked Mustangs (1 p.m. - Sportsnet 360), while the Gryphons hit the road to battle the Gaels (4:30 p.m. – Sportsnet 360). In the regular season, Western crushed Mac 58-15 (Sept. 7) and Queen's outscored Guelph 37-23 (Oct. 19).

In Quebec, Laval scored 27 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to claim a 30-11 road win against Montreal and put an exclamation point on a perfect league schedule. Meanwhile in Sherbrooke, Bishop's and record-setting quarterback Jordan Heather prevailed 40-21 over McGill to leapfrog Montreal in the standings and secure their first home playoff date since 1994.  

Saturday's RSEQ Final Four will see the Rouge et Or host unranked Sherbrooke (1 p.m. – Radio-Canada TV) and the Gaiters host the Carabins. Earlier this fall, Laval swept its two-game series against Sherbrooke, 20-0 (Sept. 7) and 38-3 (Oct. 20), while Montreal dominated Bishop's 44-18 on home turf in the lone meeting between the two teams (Sept 6). 

In Canada West, league action came to an end with Calgary doubling UBC 34-17 to complete its 8-0 campaign, Manitoba rolling over Alberta 60-18 to clinch second place, and Saskatchewan defeating Regina 33-15.
 
In the CWUAA semis, the Huskies visit the Bisons on Friday night (7 p.m. CT – SHAW TV) and the Dinos host UBC for the second straight week, on Saturday (3 p.m. MT – SHAW TV). In regular season matchups, Calgary had also beat UBC 41-31 in its opener back in August (Aug. 31), while Manitoba and Saskatchewan split their two-game series, the Huskies prevailing 36-34 in Winnipeg (Sept. 7) and the Bisons winning 33-26 in Saskatoon (Oct. 18). 

Finally, the lone AUS semifinal will see Acadia visit Mount Allison on Saturday in a battle of unranked rivals (2 p.m. AT – Eastlink TV), with the winner advancing to the Loney Bowl final against first-place Saint Mary's on Nov. 9. The Axemen and Mounties are 1-1 this season in head-to-head competition, Acadia triumphing 40-9 (Sept. 28) and Mount A responding taking the rematch 23-14 (Oct. 26), both on home field.

NOTES: All four conference finals are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9... The Uteck Bowl (RSEQ at AUS) and Mitchell Bowl (OUA at Canada West) are set for Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12:30 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET, respectively, live nationally on Sportsnet 360 and Radio-Canada... The TELUS Vanier Cup will be staged in Quebec City on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. ET, live on Sportsnet 360 and Radio-Canada. 

FRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#10 - final)

Pts (1st place)  Last week
1. Western (8-0)                       290 (20)           1
2. Laval (8-0)                           278 (10)           2
3. Calgary (8-0)                       235                  3
4. Queen's (7-1)                      216                  4
5. Guelph (7-1 / 1-0)                167                  5
6. Bishop's (6-2)                      128                  7
7. Montreal (5-3)                     125                  6
8. McMaster (5-3 / 1-0)            103                  8
9. Manitoba (5-3)                     66                    9
10. Saskatchewan (5-3)           29                    10

Other teams receiving votes: Saint Mary's (6), UBC (3), Sherbrooke (1).

WEEK 10 RESULTS

OUA quarter-final: McMaster 41, Ottawa 7 (at McMaster)
OUA quarter-final: Guelph 31, Windsor 21 (at Guelph)
Laval 30, Montreal 11 (at Montreal)
Calgary 34, UBC 17 (at Calgary)
Bishop's 40, McGill 21 (at Bishop's)
Manitoba 60, Alberta 18 (at Alberta)
Saskatchewan 33, Regina 15 (at Regina)
Saint Mary's 12, StFX 6 (at StFX)
Mount Allison 23, Acadia 14 (at Mount Allison)
Sherbrooke 28, Concordia 21 (at Sherbrooke)

WEEK 11 SCHEDULE: CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (all times local)

NOTE: Click HERE for the complete 2013 playoff schedule.

November 1
19:00   No. 10 Saskatchewan (5-3) at No. 9 Manitoba (5-3) (SHAW TV & video webcast)

November 2
13:00   Sherbrooke (3-5) at No. 2 Laval (8-0) (Radio-Canada TV & video webcast)
13:00   No. 5 Guelph (7-1 / 1-0) at No. 4 Queen's (7-1) (Sportsnet 360)
13:00   No. 7 Montreal (5-3) at No. 6 Bishop's (6-2) (video webcast)
14:00   Acadia (3-5) at Mount Allison (4-4) (Eastlink TV & video webcast)
15:00   UBC (4-4) at No. 3 Calgary (8-0) (SHAW TV & video webcast)
16:30   No. 8 McMaster (5-3 / 1-0) at No. 1 Western (8-0) (Sportsnet 360)