- UNB (27-1, 1st RPI): The only team to beat them this year did so again in Game 1: St. F-X won 3-2 on a Brennan Wray goal with three minutes left. It sounds like the X-Men trapped their way to victory against a UNB team that hadn't played in nearly two weeks.
And in Game 2, surely the biggest win of the CIS hockey season so far: St. F-X won 3-2 again in what had to be frustrating for the Reds: only six shots all game from the X-Men, and none in the third. St. F-X had a two-goal lead for most of the second and a 3-0 lead for about eight minutes. Phil Mangan scored twice for X, Bryan Gillis stopped 29 of 31 shots, and Ben Shutron had two points for UNB.
This series continues Tuesday.
- Alberta (23-5, 2nd RPI): Idle.
- UQTR (25-6, 4th RPI): Won 6-3 at Ryerson to start their series Thursday. Then they're at home Friday and Saturday if necessary (which it isn't). The Rams actually outshot them by one in Game 1 but they were down three goals at three different points in the game. UQTR won Game 2 6-3 as well. There's not really much to say here.
- Acadia (20-9, 6th RPI): Already beat SMU 2-1 in the first game of their semifinal; they lost 4-1 on Friday. Lots of penalties in this one: the Axemen's only goal came on the powerplay in the second period.
- McGill (24-6, 3rd RPI): Upset by Carleton at home in Game 1, 5 to 2; the Ravens had a 3-0 lead after two and scored four powerplay goals. Game 2 was a 5-1 win for McGill and doesn't sound like it was close at all once McGill tied it at 1 with six minutes to go in the first. Alexandre Picard-Hooper had a three-point night. The rubber match is Sunday night at McGill.
- Western (23-8, t-4th RPI): Beat Windsor 5-2; second game was Friday in Windsor and Western won 3-1 behind goals from Aaron Snow and Geoff Killing (two headline-friendly last names, there), and then Yashar Farmanara iced the game late in the third. Seems like good effort from Windsor, but they're eliminated.
- Lakehead (21-10, 7th RPI): In Game 1, beat Guelph in Guelph in overtime; Andy Hyvarinen scoring the winner. Game 2 is in Thunder Bay on Friday and should be a raucous one, and it should have been: Scott Dobben tied it with 1:02 in the third and then Matt Dias took a break from slugging .488 with the Atlanta Braves to complete a hat trick 4:19 into overtime.
Lakehead and Western play each other starting Wednesday in Thunder Bay in the OUA West final. Yet another great series that you should all pay attention to.
- Saint Mary's (18-12, t-10th RPI): Down 1-0 in best-of-five to Acadia, with another game in Wolfville on Friday. SMU won this one, though, 3 to 1 plus an empty-netter. First Star Cody Thornton had two goals.
- Saskatchewan (15-11, t-12th RPI): At Lethbridge for two to finish the season, starting Friday. They lost the first 4-3; their two third-period goals not being enough to offset the four Lethbridge goals in periods 1 and 2. A point from the U of S in Saturday's game gives them second-place, but a regulation loss and a Manitoba win puts them in third. And they beat Lethbridge 3-2 in overtime. Steven Gillin had a hand in all three goals.
- Manitoba (14-12, 9th RPI): Host Regina Friday and Saturday. They beat Regina 4-1 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday, outshooting them nearly 2 to 1 over the weekend, and outscoring them 7-1 after the first period. Kyle Howarth scored three times in the two games.
Hockey: Men's Top 10 tracker; Teams on the rink at the brink
This week: the #1 team finds itself down 2-0 in a best of five, five #1 teams have other playoff series going on, and three finish their season (or await the finishing of it) admist uncertainty surrounding the Canada West playoff seedings.
Should the X hockey team be ranked at least 10th if they beat #1 in their home barn 3 straight times ?
ReplyDeleteProbably. They're up to 13th in RPI now, having contributed to UNB's fall to 2nd. And they're at +1.1 in SRS, behind only UNB, SMU, Acadia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
ReplyDelete