LONDON, Ont. – For the first time in a decade, the Western Mustangs men’s hockey team is ranked No. 1 in the country.
Western (21-2-3) topped the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national rankings this week, receiving a total of 152 points from the 17-member media panel (including six first-place votes), to finish nine points ahead of UNB and earn the No. 1 spot for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
The Mustangs went 2-0 last week,
beating Waterloo 5-1 on Friday night (Feb. 3), and
downing Lakehead 7-4 on Saturday night (Feb. 4) to move 11 points ahead of the Thunderwolves in the OUA West. Western had already clinched first place in the division with a
4-0 win over Lakehead the previous weekend.
Ranked No. 3 a week ago, the Mustangs jumped ahead of both UNB (17-5-3) and McGill (20-4-2), who fell two spots to No. 3. For the third time in four weeks, a different team found itself at No. 1 this week.
The last time the Mustangs were No. 1 in the country, they earned the nod in 11 of 16 media polls, including the final eight of the 2001-02 season. That year, the team went on to capture the lone University Cup title in school history.
The Western men will close out the 2011-12 regular season with a road game against UOIT (5-20-1) on Thursday (Feb. 9) and a home game against York (12-10-4) on Saturday (Feb. 11), where they will be looking to go a perfect 14-0-0 at home this season. For tickets,
click here. That game will also be available via Live Stream at:
http://www.ssncanada.ca/game/2969/
CIS MEN’S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#13)
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) / (previous rankings)
1. Western (21-2-3) / 152 pts (6) / (3)
2. UNB (17-5-3) / 143 (4) / (2)
3. McGill (20-4-2) / 142 (6) / (1)
4. Manitoba (17-5-2) / 108 (1) / (7)
5. Alberta (16-6-2) / 93 / (5)
6. Saint Mary’s (17-7-2) / 89 / (8)
7. Moncton (16-8-1) / 62 / (4)
8. UPEI (17-8-0) / 49 / (NR)
9. Saskatchewan (15-6-3) / 41 / (6)
10. UQTR (18-6-2) / 34 / (10)
Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (11), Lakehead (6), Calgary (4), Nipissing (1).
