Axemen grab No. 1 spot in CIS Top Ten

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen hockey team will hold onto the CIS Top Ten ranking as the number one team in country until the Holiday Break ends and play resumes on Friday, Jan. 8 against St. Thomas.

The Axemen take the top spot with a 12-2-1 overall record, attracting 147 points in the weekly poll, including seven first place votes. The No. 2 ranked McGill Redmen (15-2-1) pulled in 135 points and slip from the No. 1 spot.

Other AUS schools including StFX (11-2-2) sit at the No. 6 position, while the 10-3-2 UNB Varsity Reds hold onto the seventh spot for the second week in a row.

The AUS first place Axemen are the fifth team to lead the CIS Top Ten this season after nine weeks of the Top Ten poll. The Axemen's two losses came at the hands of the StFX X-Men who spoiled Acadia's season opener with a 3-1 loss on October 10 followed by a 4-2 loss in Antigonish on November 6. The Axemen lost to the second last place Dalhousie Tigers in an overtime shootout scenario on October 21.

The last time the Axemen were ranked as the No. 1 team in the CIS Top Ten was the following year of a CIS championship in 1996. The Axemen were last ranked No. 1 during the 1996-97 season in Poll No. 1 (Oct. 22) and poll No. 11 (Jan. 20).

With 15 of a 28 game season completed, fifteen year veteran Darren Burns knows a lot lies ahead in one of the toughest conferences in the CIS.

"Our team needs to be focused on returning from the break in the best shape possible. Everyone knows the intensity and magnitude of games in the second half elevates dramatically", said Burns. Adding, "It is vital for our team to now focus on the second half."

The Axemen resume the AUS regular season on the January 8-9 weekend with St. Thomas and Moncton visiting Acadia's Andrew H. McCain Arena.

CIS MEN'S HOCKEY TOP 10 (#9)

(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous ranking)

1. Acadia (12-2-1) / 147 points (7) / (2)
2. McGill (15-2-1) / 135 (8) / (1)
3. Alberta (12-3-1) / 124 (1) / (3)
4. Saskatchewan (13-3-0) / 113 / (4)
5. UQTR (15-2-1) / 97 / (6)
6. StFX (11-2-2) / 90 / (5)
7. UNB (10-3-2) / 72 / (7)
8. Carleton (12-4-0) / 44 / (8)
9. Mount Royal (9-5-2) / 28 / (9)
10. York (10-4-3) / 14 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: Western (3), UOIT (3), UBC (3), UPEI (2), Guelph (2), Queen's (1), Windsor (1).