The first top 10 poll is out today, despite the AUS not starting conference play until this coming weekend:
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) / (previous rankings)
24 different teams getting a vote...I know the first poll always has a lot of parity but that is pretty impressive when there is only 35 teams. Regina getting 3 votes is kind of shocking though.
McGill might be National Champs but they have lost a few of their top players and lost two Conference games to start the season...not sure how someone can pick them #1.
I also think each school should have their overall record included.
Stauffer
McGill might be National Champs but they have lost a few of their top players and lost two Conference games to start the season...not sure how someone can pick them #1.
I also think each school should have their overall record included.
Stauffer
Good point Bob. Counting preseason Alberta is 10-0-0 (2-0-0 in CanWest) while UNB is 4-2-1. McGill is 3-3-0 (0-2-0 in OUA) while UQTR is 5-2-0 (2-0-0 in OUA).
You can't read too much into early polls. Teams need to get more conference games under belt so we can start getting real assessments.
Interesting list to say the least. I would have imagined Alberta would have been number 1. They would have had my vote, and I agree that McGill being defending champs has some ring to it, but certainly not enough for a first place vote after their preseason.
As a fan of Laurier, it is nice to see them pick up 2 votes. However, I am not 100% convinced they are a top ten team in the OUA alone.
24 different teams getting a vote...I know the first poll always has a lot of parity but that is pretty impressive when there is only 35 teams. Regina getting 3 votes is kind of shocking though.
That latter point is enough to invalidate the poll.
No team that is 0-2 should be ranked.
No team that has yet to play a game should be ranked.
No team that gets outshot by 20+ shots per game should be ranked.
I could go on, but instead I say wait until the OHT34 rankings come out about a week from now.
It will be interesting to see how the committee punishes the top three as each of them split their weekends. However, only UNB lost to a seeded team (#8 UdeM).
Alberta lost to Mount Royal which has to be the biggest upset of the weekend or possibly #21 Ottawa winning over #3 UQTR and #5 McGill (tied with Guelph for the worst GA with 19 in 4 games).
The only teams in the top 10 not to split their weekends were #6 Western (wins over #13 Windsor and #21 Laurier) and #9 St. FX (wins over #11 Acadia and #14 SMU)
Big Games Next Weekdend
Alberta-USask double header at USask
UNB's games vs SMU and SFX
UPEI's games vs SFX and SMU
(Friday's game is the battle of the undefeated)
Too may voters stuck in the status quo game. There was obviously little consideration that the team they picked at #21 - Ottawa is coached by Real Paiment and they finished at #16 last season after the OUA took away 3 points and knocked off Nipissing in the first round. I know that these rankings are just produced for media interest and discussion but they should be realistic.
Bears outshot Mount Royal 36-21 in Calgary in the 2-1 loss, but didn't piss a drop on the PP going 0-6 on the PP.
PP woes last season cost the Bears top spot overall in the Conference in regular season.
Alberta also lost their captain Greg Gardner with a concussion on a nasty elbow to the head in the second period. I doubt he will available next weekend in 'Toon Town.
I watched most of the second and third period last night.
Bears dominated but couldn't beat a hot Mount Royal goaltender.
Nonetheless, this appears to be a more committed Bears team this season then the past few seasons.
Through 4 CW games Alberta is outshooting their opposition 44-25...a significant improvement...
Bears outshot Mount Royal 36-21 in Calgary in the 2-1 loss, but didn't piss a drop on the PP going 0-6 on the PP.
PP woes last season cost the Bears top spot overall in the Conference in regular season.
Alberta also lost their captain Greg Gardner with a concussion on a nasty elbow to the head in the second period. I doubt he will available next weekend in 'Toon Town.
I watched most of the second and third period last night.
Bears dominated but couldn't beat a hot Mount Royal goaltender.
Nonetheless, this appears to be a more committed Bears team this season then the past few seasons.
Through 4 CW games Alberta is outshooting their opposition 44-25...a significant improvement...
i think that now Robert thinks the average Bears are more committed they should be considered for the number one spot!
Really that is a criteria
Heck they beat the heck out of a very tough group of ACAC opponents in the preseason and only lost to a third place ACAC (now CIS opponent) one time in the real season,sounds like they get a mulligan for that one.
Pretty sure that Steve Knowles guy who is on the top 10 committee is responsible for Alberta's considerable shots for and against advantage that robert refers to...is that a criteria. how does he always get a vote?? what a homer he is geez! Sirant is forever telling people what a homer trigger finger he is on the old shot clock!
Also Holley i didnt get to the Bison Huskies games this weekend but have been told that the second game was all huskies but the refereeing was incredibly bias? i mean if we have 4 PP's in the third we better win! we are 1-3 and toooooo early to know who is a top ten team. I mean Regina Cougars are 3-1 and sit on top of canada west and really out scoring their opposition!! Are they going to stay there??... they are certainly surprising some so far??
League stats and who beat who should be the only criteria used in the rankings not come blow your horn bob telling us how committed his boys are
i think that now Robert thinks the average Bears are more committed they should be considered for the number one spot!
Really that is a criteria
Heck they beat the heck out of a very tough group of ACAC opponents in the preseason and only lost to a third place ACAC (now CIS opponent) one time in the real season,sounds like they get a mulligan for that one.
Pretty sure that Steve Knowles guy who is on the top 10 committee is responsible for Alberta's considerable shots for and against advantage that robert refers to...is that a criteria. how does he always get a vote?? what a homer he is geez! Sirant is forever telling people what a homer trigger finger he is on the old shot clock!
Also Holley i didnt get to the Bison Huskies games this weekend but have been told that the second game was all huskies but the refereeing was incredibly bias? i mean if we have 4 PP's in the third we better win! we are 1-3 and toooooo early to know who is a top ten team. I mean Regina Cougars are 3-1 and sit on top of canada west and really out scoring their opposition!! Are they going to stay there??... they are certainly surprising some so far??
League stats and who beat who should be the only criteria used in the rankings not come blow your horn bob telling us how committed his boys are
nothing eh. you all seem to be projecting who is going to be there in the end, at least holleys top 34 factors in who played who cant wait for it
Also receiving votes: Ottawa (30), McGill (28), Regina (13), Brock (12), Manitoba (6), Concordia (2), Acadia (1).
My two cents: With all the splits it was expected that the top 4 wouldn't shuffle too much. Not surprisingly Moncton is the big climber for beating UNB.
I'm not overly surprised UNB fell down to 2nd but they did lose to a top-10 team, while Alberta lost to a much lower ranked team. Although UNB got outplayed and from all accounts Alberta ran into a hot goalie against MRU.
What did surprise me is that even though both UNB and Alberta had the same number of first place votes Alberta had 22 more points.
I'm not overly surprised UNB fell down to 2nd but they did lose to a top-10 team, while Alberta lost to a much lower ranked team. Although UNB got outplayed and from all accounts Alberta ran into a hot goalie against MRU.
I find a loss 'on the road' is less of a penalty compared to a loss 'at home'. You're not expected to win every game on the road, but you are suppose to win at home (14 wins at home, split on the road for 7 wins for 21 of 28 and a .750 record).
Quote:
Originally Posted by UNB Bruins Fan
What did surprise me is that even though both UNB and Alberta had the same number of first place votes Alberta had 22 more points.
Yeah - 7 first place votes and a bunch of 3, 4, 5s compared to 2 and 3s for Alberta. I guess our per-seasson wasn't strong enough.
Mind you, they've lost twice to Moncton, albeit one of them the preseason opener, and were smoked by Boston College. I guess the game everyone clings to is the shootout loss to Portland. But the goalie who played half the Portland game was shipped out the next day, and probably that decision was made before the game. So playing against an ECHL goalie...I suspect that result has been overrated.
Mind you, they've lost twice to Moncton, albeit one of them the preseason opener, and were smoked by Boston College. I guess the game everyone clings to is the shootout loss to Portland. But the goalie who played half the Portland game was shipped out the next day, and probably that decision was made before the game. So playing against an ECHL goalie...I suspect that result has been overrated.
[QUOTE/] Yeah - 7 first place votes and a bunch of 3, 4, 5s compared to 2 and 3s for Alberta. I guess our per-seasson wasn't strong enough.[/QUOTE]
But what looks better? A bunch of blowout wins over CIS teams or wins against teams like UQTR, Carelton, and McGill (although that looks less of a big deal now than it did at the time).
Last edited by UNB Bruins Fan: 10-17-2012 at 05:56 AM.
Dont think the top 10 is a issue to get worked up about, seems every top team has lost a game, so really who do you pick number.
Alberta being voted #1 doesnt surprise me they are 3-1 and were 10-0 at one point overall.
Maybe UPEI should have gotten higher consideration. How bout St FX at number 7, getting outshot by Acadia 19-0 in one period
Lots of hockey to go before the rankings have any relevance, and as the past 6 seasons have gone, Ive learned to care less what UNB is ranked, I would rather see them go 14-14 in the regular season and lift the University cup in Saskatoon in March than go 27-1 and get upset by someone along the way.
Yeah the first of the season is always a bit of a clusterf*** as some voters base their votes some on the games played and some on reputation, while others seem to base it solely on what has happened in the handful of games that have played.
Yeah the first of the season is always a bit of a clusterf*** as some voters base their votes some on the games played and some on reputation, while others seem to base it solely on what has happened in the handful of games that have played.
CIS Top 10 voters are NOT told how to vote. They're all given the same weekly stats package, which include that week's results, updated standings, and updated team-by-team results (including non-conference and exhibition games). Voters have to do their own research if they want to read game capsules (such as grouped on the CIS website) or check box scores online to see if one team had a huge shot discrepancy over another.
I think it is safe to assume that some voters take reputation/recent history more into account while others appear to focus on what happened last week. Unfortunately some voters appear to look only at the standings and not at who-beat-whom, and where.
Brock University (2-0) has got off to a great start this year and looks to continue their winning ways this week with back-to-back-to-back games this week with York, Windsor, and Cornell.
Brock beat Guelph 3-2 in OT in a hard fought battle to claim their first win of the season. On a short 2 days rest Brock hosted Guelph this time beating them in a convincing 5-2 win with over 700+ fans in attendance.
If Brock can string together a couple big wins this week it should be sure in get them some votes and move them up the CIS rankings.
Brock University (2-0) has got off to a great start this year and looks to continue their winning ways this week with back-to-back-to-back games this week with York, Windsor, and Cornell.
Brock beat Guelph 3-2 in OT in a hard fought battle to claim their first win of the season. On a short 2 days rest Brock hosted Guelph this time beating them in a convincing 5-2 win with over 700+ fans in attendance.
If Brock can string together a couple big wins this week it should be sure in get them some votes and move them up the CIS rankings.
Hmmm speaking of Murray Nystrom, any UNB fan out there ever wonder what would have happen if Murray Nystrom took the UNB Varsity Reds Job, actually I should say kept the job, he accepted the position and came to Fredericton only to have a change of heart right away and return to Ontario, before UNB went to their backup plan at that time unknown to Fredericton Gardiner MacDougall
I really don't think they would have had the success they've had in the 2000's if not for Gardiner getting the program going like he has, its not just the Varsity Hockey team either the whole thing, Vreds Prospects etc etc.
Ever wonder if Murray Nystrom wonders what could have been? He really hasn't done anything in Brock one year they are decent next year not so great, one Nationals appearance and I think they got slammed by both UNB and Saskatchewan
