Totem Poll No. 3

The most action of the season this week on the Totem Poll, including some shuffling near — but not at — the top of the list.

Teams have one more weekend of action before breaking for the holidays and a glance at this coming weekend's schedule suggests there might not be much more shuffling happening before the focus turns to 2008.

Here then, is your dose of Totem Poll.

1. (1) UBC Thunderbirds (9-1) — Granted it came against Thompson Rivers, but yet another pair of thorough beatings (by 20 on Friday, 28 on Saturday) and the T-Birds are once again an intimidating regular season team. The post-season? Well, that’s a different story.
2. (4) Calgary Dinos (7-1) — Made a serious, SERIOUS statement at home this weekend by absolutely pumping an Alberta Golden Bears team that had started to assert itself in the conference.
3. (3) Brandon Bobcats (7-1) — Held serve at home against rival Regina and played some of their better basketball of the season in doing so while also playing without two starters. They are far from flawless, but they’re still getting it done.
4. (2) Alberta Golden Bears (5-3) — Alright, just settle down. The people at the Totem Poll Head Office are well aware of the fact Alberta has beaten the team directly ahead of it in this week’s rankings. Sincerest apologies, but barely competing in your biggest rivalry game is grounds for a drop.
5. (5) Victoria Vikes (8-2) — Still not convinced that the glossy record is completely indicative of how good the Vikes are, but they can’t be blamed for their schedule to date. Leaving them here in the middle of the pack and expecting a slide when some of the tougher games finally hit their sked.
6. (6) Saskatchewan Huskies (5-3) — Not everyone is excited about spending a November weekend in Lethbridge. Unless, of course, you get to play its men’s basketball team. The Huskies were the beneficiaries of what we’ll here on out refer to as “The Lethbridge Twwo.” Yes, in this case, there’s two Ws in two.
7. (7) Regina Cougars (4-4) — With Yuri Whyms hurt and Tarik Tokar sitting out Saturday after receiving a Jamal Williams elbow on Friday, the Cougars had a glorious chance to grab a split against the ailing Bobcats. Instead we’re sitting here essentially crowning a Great Plains Division champion in November.
8. (10) Simon Fraser Clan (5-5) — The Clan were dealt a tough opening to their season with three of their first four games on the road and two of them coming against ranked opponents. Now, however, they’ve won five of their last six and it’s no surprise that Greg Wallis has led them in scoring in each of those victories.
9. (9) Winnipeg Wesmen (4-4) — A true middle-of-the-road team and suddenly finding themselves with a chance to grab second place in the Great Plains before the end of the semester. Any measure of success in a big home-and-home against Brandon this week could move that process along.
10. (8) Fraser Valley Cascades (4-6) — Had a shot at moving up the chain by stealing a roady in Victoria, but the winless weekend means UCFV has now lost six of its last seven and early-season excitement has been been washed out by a nasty slump.
11. (11) Trinity Western Spartans (3-7) — Still trying to find their way, they’ve been off and on in the past three weeks after starting the season 0-4. Suddenly they’re in a spot to jump into the Pacific’s final playoff spot with a pivotal doubleheader against UCFV in Abbottsford starting Friday.
12. (12) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-9) — Falling further and further out of the picture in the Pacific but in-division clashes with Simon Fraser this weekend might give the Wolfpack at least the appearance of a pulse.
13. (13) Manitoba Bisons (0-8) — The same cannot be said for these guys who are four games out of third place and continually losing close games. Including non-conference, they're 0-4 in one-possession games and 0-6 — half of their games — in games decided by five points or less.
14. (14) Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-8) — Dating back to last season, the Horns have now lost 13 straight games and only two of those games have been decided by less than 10 points. It will take an act from heaven to keep that streak from running to 15 this weekend when they host Alberta.