X-Men hockey hang onto No. 5 national ranking

CIS Men's Hockey Top 10 (#17)
No. 1 UNB dominates in playoff debut

OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds top the CIS men's hockey rankings for the fourth straight week after qualifying for the AUS championship series and the University Cup national tournament.

Thanks to an impressive playoff debut against UPEI, the V-Reds (23-3-2 regular season / 3-0 playoffs) became the first team this season to receive all 16 first-place votes and 160 points from the national media panel.

The rest of the top five also remains unchanged in the 17^th poll of the campaign, including the second-ranked UQTR Patriotes (24-3-1 / 4-0 / 140 points), No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies (22-6-0 / 2-0 / 126), No. 4 Alberta Golden Bears (19-7-2 / 2-0 / 118) and No. 5 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (18-6-4 / 2-1 / 92).

Rounding out the new rankings are the No. 6 Carleton Ravens (20-7-1 / 4-0 / 80 / up two positions), No. 7 Saint Mary's Huskies (17-8-3 / 3-2 / 48 / up two), No. 8 Western Mustangs (18-10-0 / 4-1 / 44 / previously unranked), No. 9 Guelph Gryphons (16-11-1 / 4-2 / 29 / previously unranked), as well as the No. 10 McGill Redmen (19-7-2 / 2-2 / 17), down four positions after being eliminated by Carleton in the OUA quarter-finals.

After enjoying a bye in the first round of the post-season, top-ranked UNB made quick work of UPEI in its AUS semifinal, sweeping the best-of-three series 4-1, 5-2 and 4-0. The V-Reds now await the winner of the StFX-Saint Mary's semifinal but have already booked their ticket for the eight-team CIS championship set for March 17-20 in Halifax. 

StFX currently leads Saint Mary's two games to one, with Game 4 set for Wednesday night. The Huskies already have their spot in the University Cup tourney as hosts of the competition.

Saskatchewan and Alberta also clinched University Cup berths over the weekend thanks to two-game sweeps against Calgary and Mount Royal, respectively, in the Canada West semis. The archrivals now face off in the best-of-three conference final in Saskatoon, starting on Friday. 

In the OUA, which will send three teams to the national championship, UQTR, Carleton, Western and Guelph have advanced to the Final Four. The best-of-three divisional finals will see the Patriotes take on the Ravens (Game 1 on Wednesday) and the Mustangs battle the Gryphons (Game 1 on Thursday). 

A complete third-round playoff schedule is included below. 

NOTE: Voting for this week's Top 10 closed on Monday before the start of two AUS playoff games (UNB 4, UPEI 0 / Saint Mary's 4, StFX 0). In order to avoid confusion however, the playoff records of UNB, StFX and Saint Mary's include those results from Monday night.

CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#17)

Voting is based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with a 1^st 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 / playoff records) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous ranking)

1. UNB (23-3-2 / 3-0) / 160 points (16) / (1)
2. UQTR (24-3-1 / 4-0) / 140 / (2)
3. Saskatchewan (22-6-0 / 2-0) / 126 / (3)
4. Alberta (19-7-2 / 2-0) / 118 / (4)
5. StFX (18-6-4 / 2-1) / 92 / (5)
6. Carleton (20-7-1 / 4-0) / 80 / (8)
7. Saint Mary's (17-8-3 / 3-2) / 48 / (9)
8. Western (18-10-0 / 4-1) / 44 / (NR)
9. Guelph (16-11-1 / 4-2) / 29 / (NR)
10. McGill (21-6-1 / 2-2) / 17 / (6) 

Other teams receiving votes: Mount Royal (13), UPEI (8), Acadia (5).

CIS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES LOCAL)

AUS: Best-of-5 semifinal (AUStv.ca)

Game 1: Thursday, Feb. 25 – StFX 2, Saint Mary's 0
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 27 – StFX 5, Saint Mary's 1
Game 3: Monday, Feb. 29 – Saint Mary's 4, StFX 0
Game 4: Wednesday, March 2 – StFX at Saint Mary's (19:00)
Game 5: Friday, March 4 – Saint Mary's at StFX (19:00 - if necessary) 

Note: UNB swept UPEI in three games in the other AUS semifinal.

OUA WEST: Best-of-3 final (OUA.tv)

Game 1: Thursday, March 3 - Guelph at Western (19:00)
Game 2: Saturday, March 5 - Western at Guelph (19:30)
Game 3: Sunday, March 6 - Guelph at Western (19:30 - if necessary) 

OUA EAST: Best-of-3 final (OUA.tv)

Game 1: Wednesday, March 2 - Carleton at UQTR (19:00)
Game 2: Saturday, March 5 - UQTR at Carleton (19:00)
Game 3: Sunday, March 6 - Carleton at UQTR (16:00 - if necessary)

CANADA WEST: Best-of-3 final (CanadaWest.tv)

Game 1: Friday, March 4 - Alberta at Saskatchewan (19:00)
Game 2: Saturday, March 5 - Alberta at Saskatchewan (19:00)
Game 3: Sunday, March 6 - Alberta at Saskatchewan (19:00 - if necessary)