The Medicine Hat College Rattlers women's hockey team celebrates a goal during a Nov. 9, 2025, game at the Moose Rec Centre. (Image Credit: Medicine Hat College Rattlers)

By Jesse Gill

Sports

Medicine Hat College Rattlers women’s hockey team face Lakeland College Rustlers in first playoffs

Feb 12, 2026 | 12:25 PM

The Medicine Hat College Rattlers women’s hockey team has made the playoffs for the first time in team history.

A pair of victories over the SAIT Trojans on the weekend secured the Rattlers’ spot in the postseason.

Rattlers head coach James King said the accomplishment didn’t sink in for the team right away.

“I think it kind of hit them maybe a little bit later, even myself, but it was actually their team goal that we talked about when we first met in September,” King said.

“They wanted to make playoffs, and they worked hard, and they did a lot of the heavy lifting early, which we kept driving towards that goal,” he added.

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“For them to actually clinch it, they still have two games remaining in the regular season, but to clinch a playoff spot at that time of year, I mean, that’s a big success for them.”

The Rattlers have won nine games this season. A huge improvement for a program that had two wins last season and a single win in its first season.

A Rattlers team that returned 13 of 24 players from the 2024-25 season, and six from the inaugural season in 2023-24.

Before the playoffs, two games remain against Olds College.

The postseason will be a tough matchup against the top seed, Lakeland College Rustlers, who are 21-2 on the season, compared to the Rattlers’ nine wins, 10 regulation losses, two overtime losses, and two shootout losses.

The best-of-three series will be played in Lloydminster, starting with the first game on Friday, Feb. 27. Game two will be played on Saturday, Feb. 28. If necessary, game three is scheduled to be played on Sunday, Feb. 29.

This season, the teams have played each other five times, with the Rustlers winning all five games.

A three game set hosted by the Rattlers in November had scores of 3-1, 4-0, and 4-3.

A pair of games hosted by the Rustlers in late January had scores of 4-2 and 3-2.

The Rattlers had 10 different skaters find the scoresheet, with eight goals scored over those five games.

Forward Zayda Summach factored in on half of those goals with a pair of goals and a pair of assists.

The 18-year-old is the Rattlers’ offensive leader with 16 points and 10 goals over 23 games.

The Rattlers have played strongly since the Christmas break, winning five of nine games since, including a shootout loss.

King said the Rattlers really started to figure out how to be successful as a team.

“They bought into the small details, responsibility in our D zone, and just that team mentality. And then obviously the success has shown itself,” King said.

The Rustlers scored 18 goals over the five contests against the Rattlers, 16 different skaters providing offence.

Forward Keyra Buziak led the Rustlers’ offence against the Rattlers with 10 points, including three goals over the five games.

The 21-year-old is also the leading scorer in the ACAC with 35 points and 23 goals in 20 games.

King said that most of the games have stayed close against Lakeland this season.

“They don’t blow us out of the arena by any means. They’re a very good team. I will give them that,” King said.

“It is definitely a challenge for our players. But I think they look forward to the challenge, and they generally pick up their game when they play Lakeland. So it’ll be an interesting weekend for sure,” he added.

“One of the things we talk about on a regular basis is the small details. And it only takes a couple small details to add up to one big one, which could be the difference of a game.”

Even though all the games will be played in Lloydminster the Rattlers will be the home team for game two.

“We don’t travel back and forth just due to the distance of how far they are. But they do alternate who has home team last change advantage,” King said.

The Rattlers don’t return to action until Feb. 21 when they host the Olds College Broncos for the first of two games, concluding the regular season with an afternoon contest on Feb. 22.

Even with the Broncos sitting at the bottom of the standings, the Rattlers head coach expects strong competition to close out the regular season.

“They’re a very good team. I fully expect to have two good games. It‘s another opportunity for us to sharpen up on a few things. And we’ll see how those two games go,” King said.

The head coach is impressed by the season the Rattlers have had so far.

“They’ve done really well. They’ve worked hard, and they’ve earned every inch that they’ve gotten. I can’t say more about how hard they’ve worked this season,” King said.