V-Reds retain No. 1 hockey ranking

UNB | Begins semifinal Friday against UPEI

The reigning national champion University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds top the CIS men's hockey rankings for the 12th time in 15 polls this season.

The V-Reds (20-5-3) received 15 first-place votes and 167 points this week from the 17-member media panel to remain at No. 1 in front of the McGill Redmen (22-4-2 / 2-0 playoffs), who earned the remaining first-place nods and 143 points in the new poll.

The only changes in the new Top 10 are at No. 3 and No. 4, with the Manitoba Bisons (20-5-3) moving ahead of the Western Mustangs (21-4-3 / 2-0 playoffs).

The No. 5 Alberta Golden Bears (20-6-2), No. 6 Saint Mary's Huskies (18-7-3), No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies (19-6-3), No. 8 Moncton Aigles Bleus (18-9-1/ 2-1 playoffs), No. 9 UPEI Panthers (18-10-0 / 2-1 playoffs) and No. 10 UQTR Patriotes (19-7-2 / 2-1 playoffs) all maintain their positions from last week.

UNB and Saint Mary's both enjoyed a bye in the first round of the AUS post-season after finishing first and second, respectively, in the league standings.

The best-of-five AUS semifinals open Friday night. The V-Reds take on the Panthers at 7 p.m. at the Aitken University Centre. Game 2 goes Saturday, same time and place, before the teams head to Charlottetown for Game 3 next Wednesday. A fourth game would be played on the Island next Thursday with a fifth and deciding game, if necessary, set for 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4 at the AUC.

The Huskies and Aigles Bleus meet Friday and Saturday in Halifax.

UPEI and Moncton survived a scare in the AUS quarter-finals as both bestof-three series went the distance. The Panthers edged Acadia 6-5 in double overtime in Game 3, while the Aigles Bleus blanked St. FX 1-0 in the decisive match. The X-Men had the apparent tying goal waved off with 2:26 left. The best-of-three OUA East and West semifinals kick off tonight, including Ottawa at McGill, Carleton at UQTR, Brock at Western and Lakehead at Windsor.

In Canada West, Manitoba and Alberta will enjoy a first-round bye. The best-of-three semis open Friday with Saskatchewan hosting Lethbridge and Calgary hosting UBC.