MHKY: Golden Bears take top spot in preseason poll
Alberta leads the way in annual coaches preseason voting
VANCOUVER - With the puck set to drop on the conference season Friday night, the Canada West released the results of its preseason coaches poll.
The Alberta Golden Bears garnered 62 overall points in the poll, including six first-place selections. Alberta finished atop the conference standings in 2019-20 at 23-5, but were denied a fourth-straight Canada West title after being upset in the semifinal round by the UBC Thunderbirds.
The defending champion Saskatchewan Huskies came in second in the poll with 54 points and a pair of first-place picks. Saskatchewan finished its last campaign 22-4-2 and won its 11th CW banner in 2019-20.
Crowchild Classic rivals the Mount Royal Cougars (49 points) and Calgary Dinos (44 points) slot in at third and fourth, respectively, with Mount Royal picking up one first-place nod.
UBC, the reigning CW silver medalists, collected 40 points in the poll. The Thunderbirds finished the 2019-20 season in fifth-place at 9-14-5 before a magical run to the CW Finals.
The Manitoba Bisons (28 points), MacEwan Griffins (21 points), Regina Cougars (17 points), and Trinity Western Spartans (9 points) round out poll.
For the Griffins and Spartans, their long awaited conference debuts will finally arrive on Friday night. The two programs were officially accepted as hockey members in May of 2019.
The 2021-22 season opens this weekend with a full slate of games Friday night, with only the Saskatchewan Huskies idle in Week 1. For a complete look at the conference schedule, click here.
Every men's hockey game will once again be available exclusively this season on Canada West TV Presented by Co-op. You can purchase your all-access, or sport pass by clicking here.
To read more about all nine conference teams, visit CanadaWest.org for the conference's complete team-by-team preview.
2021 CW MHKY PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Team - Points (First-place votes)
- Alberta Golden Bears - 62 (6)
- Saskatchewan Huskies - 54 (2)
- Mount Royal Cougars - 49 (1)
- Calgary Dinos - 44
- UBC Thunderbirds - 40
- Manitoba Bisons - 28
- MacEwan Griffins - 21
- Regina Cougars - 17
- Trinity Western Spartans - 9
NOTE: Coaches ranked all opponents 1-8. First-place votes worth 8 pts., second-place worth 7 pts. etc.