The Rundown - Week 10

As we enter December, I am reminded of the Counting Crows song "A Long December" since there will be no games until January after today's update. In fact, there's only one game to mention since everyone else is already off with exams approaching. I will give kudos to the CIS for providing a full month off for its athletes to study and enjoy the holiday break. They truly believe in putting students first when it comes to student-athletes! With that, let's get to the lone game on the CIS schedule in this week's Rundown!

Maritime Results

ST. THOMAS at DALHOUSIE: This was one heckuva game to end the first-half of the CIS schedule on. There were eleven goals scored in this game! Dalhousie got the jump early when Corinne Desjardins beat Abby Clarke just 3:35 in for the early 1-0 lead for the Tigers. It would be 2-0 in a matter of seconds as Lisa MacLean scored 28 seconds later. St. Thomas would escape the period down just a goal, though, when Kelty Apperson beat Mati Barrett with 70 seconds left in the period to put the Tommies down just one goal.

The second period would follow the same scoring script. Dalhousie's Courtney Sheedy scored on the power-play at 1:22 before Bianca Canade scored ten seconds later to make it 4-1 for the Tigers. However, St. Thomas' Becky Conner would score at 2:45, and this game had the Tigers ahead 4-2 after 40 minutes.

Taylor Reichheld would make it a 5-2 game with a power-play goal at 2:31. Lauren Henman would bring the Tommies within two as she scored at 10:41, but Kenzie MacPhee would restore the three-goal lead with her goal at 11:50. Becky Conner would make it a 6-4 game when she scored for St. Thomas at 18:07, and the Tommies would get a power-play goal that didn't really matter from Apperson at 19:59 of the third period. After the final second ticked off the clock, the Tigers celebrated the 6-5 victory! Barrett picked up the win while Clarke took the loss.

AUS WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
Saint Mary's	10-2-0	18	39	19	W10	JANUARY
Moncton	7-5-0	14	38	28	W2	JANUARY
St. Thomas	6-5-1	13	30	29	L4	JANUARY
StFX	6-5-1	13	30	30	W2	JANUARY
Dalhousie	6-6-0	12	31	35	W1	JANUARY
Mount Allison	5-7-0	10	26	37	L1	JANUARY
UPEI	2-8-2	6	17	33	L10	JANUARY

Top Ten

Let's be honest when we look at the CIS Top Ten that those who are voting have little to no grip on reality when it comes to these votes. There are some excellent teams that aren't ranked while a few terrible teams make the rankings. Here are the current CIS Top Ten results as of December 1.

CIS TOP TEN

School	Record	Rank	Previous	Conference	Position
Guelph	10-2-1	1	1	OUA	1st
McGill	6-3-0	2	2	RSEQ	3rd
Montreal	6-3-1	3	3	RSEQ	2nd
Western	9-4-0	4	4	OUA	2nd
Saint Mary's	10-2-0	5	6	AUS	1st
Toronto	8-3-1	6	5	OUA	5th
Saskatchewan	9-5-2	7	7	CWUAA	4th
St. Thomas	6-4-1	8	8	AUS	3rd
StFX	6-5-1	9	9	AUS	4th
Ottawa	7-4-0	10	10	RSEQ	1st

Ok, so I wanna call out the fact that there are two fourth-place teams and a fifth-place team in the Top Ten. The top-three teams in Canada West aren't even in the Top Ten. That's bloody ridiculous. It's time to do this up right. Here are Teebz's Unofficial Top Ten Teams!

TEEBZ'S MORE ACCURATE TOP TEN

School	Record	My Rank	CIS Rank	Conference	Position
Saint Mary's	10-2-0	1	5	AUS	1st
Guelph	10-2-1	2	1	OUA	1st
Alberta	9-6-1	3	NR	CWUAA	1st
Western	9-4-0	4	4	OUA	2nd
Ottawa	7-4-0	5	10	RSEQ	1st
Manitoba	9-6-1	6	NR	CWUAA	2nd
McGill	6-3-0	7	2	RSEQ	3rd
Queen's	9-3-1	8	NR	OUA	3rd
UBC	9-5-2	9	NR	CWUAA	3rd
Montreal	6-3-1	10	3	RSEQ	2nd

If you notice, there's only one AUS team on the list right now. Until someone emerges from the pack, there's no sense in trying to determine who is better than whom outside of Saint Mary's who have won ten games in a row. McGill gets ranked ahead of Montreal based on the fact that they've played nine games compared to Montreal's ten games, and there's a belief that McGill will eventually win the RSEQ.

You may also note that any team not in the RSEQ has a minimum of nine wins. That's because winning actually means something in this top-ten ranking. Again, I'm not sure who is doing the voting for the CIS Top Ten, but the December 1 rankings are a complete joke. And you can quote me on that if anyone asks.

Rest Of December

For the remainder of this month, I will attempt to pick some award winners from each school based on performance thus far. The three categories will be Best Rookie, Best Goaltender, and MVP. I will fully admit that I haven't seen every game by every team, but I believe stats and a few games watched for each of the teams should help me pick a few winners. If I'm way off, you're welcome to weigh in with your thoughts.

I'll also try to do a feature on some of the international players that call the CIS home. The CIS is becoming a solid alternative to the NCAA for players looking to improve their skills, and there are some excellent players from around the globe in Canadian collegiate hockey right now. I'll have a few pieces on those players.

With all of the CIS teams now on break, it's time to wish everyone good luck on their exams and to extend the warmest holiday greetings to each and every CIS women's hockey player. They have provided us with a ton of entertainment in the first half of this school year, and there's still a pile of hockey to be played.

If you're looking for a holiday gift this year, get you and your loved ones some passes to see CIS women's hockey. The ladies put on one heckuva show, and you won't see better women's hockey played anywhere in Canada outside the CWHL on a regular basis! Do yourself a favour, and come down to your local university in January to see the next stars of Canadian women's hockey!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!