(Image Credit: Hockey Canada/Facebook)

By Ian Gustafson

First time since 2015

Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs win Pacific Regional Championship, advance to Esso Cup

Apr 6, 2026 | 11:11 AM

The U18 AAA Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs are headed to the 2026 Esso Cup.

They booked their ticket to the U18 Women’s National Club Championship tournament after defeating the Greater Vancouver Comets in the 2026 Pacific Regional Championship.

Red Deer sealed the deal with a 3-1 victory in Game 3 of the best-of-three series on Sunday at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre. Vancouver won Game 1 on Friday 3-1, before Red Deer responded on Saturday with a shutout.

In Sunday’s win, Ceder Thorburn, Rylee Cruse, and Peyton Stephenson all found the back of the net for the Chiefs. Meanwhile, goaltender Brylee Hull made 16 saves on 17 shots.

It marks the first time in program history that the Chiefs came out on top in the Pacific Regional Championship.

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The Chiefs got to this point after winning the Alberta Female Hockey League U18 AAA provincial title, defeating the St. Albert Raiders Slash in three games.

Next up, the Chiefs will play in the Esso Cup tournament which takes place in Dieppe, New Brunswick from Sunday, April 19 to Saturday, April 25.

While there, they’ll face the top five U18 AAA female hockey teams from across the country.

This includes the Northern Selects representing the Atlantic region, the Winnipeg Ice representing the West region, and the host Moncton Rockets.

The representatives from the Quebec and Ontario regions still have yet to be announced.

The Chiefs will begin tournament play against Quebec at 3 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time on April 19 followed by a 7 p.m. game against Moncton on April 20, and a 3 p.m. game against Winnipeg on April 21. They’ll then face the Northern Selects at 11 a.m. on April 22 before wrapping up round robin play against Ontario at 11 a.m. on April 23.

The playoff rounds begin on Friday, April 24, before the bronze and gold medal games on Saturday, April 25 at 2 and 6 p.m. AST.

The last time the Chiefs played in the Esso Cup was as hosts in 2015 where they earned a silver medal after losing 2-1 to the Sudbury Wolves in the gold medal game. They finished the tournament with a 5-2-1-0-2 record.