(Image Credit: Red Deer Vipers/Supplied)

By Ian Gustafson

High expectations

Red Deer Vipers head into HJHL playoffs as regular season champs

Feb 13, 2026 | 2:24 PM

Playoff time has officially arrived for the Red Deer Vipers after a successful Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL) season.

The Vipers, who finished first in the league following the end of the regular season, have all the tools to complete a deep playoff run.

That’ll all start this weekend when they face the Airdrie Techmation Thunder in the North Division semi-finals.

The best-of-five series begins on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Servus Arena in Red Deer at 8 p.m., followed by Game 2 in Airdrie on Monday at 8 p.m.

Game 3 will return to Red Deer on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and if needed, Game 4 will be played in Airdrie on Friday, Feb. 20 and Game 5 in Red Deer on Saturday, Feb. 21.

Changing of the Guard

Lacombe County appoints new District Fire Chief for Eckville Fire Department

21m ago

Feb. 12, 2026 incidents

Multiple stolen vehicles and collision under investigation in Lacombe

1h ago

Feb. 16

Construction on Gaetz Avenue bridge begins Monday

22h ago

Head coach Matt Michalezki said it should be a tight series as Red Deer’s strengths are similar to Airdrie’s, regardless of regular-season records.

“I think we have the upper hand,” he said, adding that the Vipers won every regular-season matchup against the Thunder. “Our overall skill level at the top and all the way through should be the edge. They do play a similar style, but I think we’re just better built for it.”

The third-year bench boss said their biggest strength is their depth throughout the lineup.

“Other teams trying to match up against us is a tough feat. If you manage to shut down one of our lines or even play even with them, there’s a second and third line that are going to come and give you all you can handle,” he said, indicating they also play with a lot of speed.

This season, the Vipers finished on top with a 26-8-2 record; meanwhile, the Thunder claimed fourth in the North Division with a 16-16-4 record.

Airdrie ultimately booked their ticket to the playoffs after beating the Rocky Rams 2-1 in a best-of-three division qualifier series last week.

“We’ve talked about winning the HJHL, but our ultimate goal is to make it to provincials and win that,” Michalezki said. “We’ve had that chat from the start of the year, and that’s been our goal right from the top.”

The Vipers have been crowned HJHL champions five times in the team’s history, with the last title coming in 2018.

Michalezki said it would mean a lot to the team and community to win it again.

“I think it would be massive. Even when I was growing up as a player, the expectation was that Red Deer would be competing for the final or in the hunt,” he said. “We had a couple of down years after COVID-19, and even the first year I took on the team, we fought for 12 wins that year. I think just getting the program back to where it’s expected to be helps for recruiting and keeping that tradition going.”

If the Vipers beat the Thunder, they’ll advance to the division finals and then the league finals.

“We’ve got a really great group of guys who are leaders in the community, all going to school or working, and they’re a really impressive group of young men. They’ve practiced hard all year, and the success they’ve had is a testament to their hard work. I’m very proud of them.”