(Image Credit: Heritage Junior Hockey League)

By Jesse Gill

Sports

Schedule set for Heritage Junior Hockey League final between Medicine Hat and Red Deer

Mar 9, 2026 | 11:59 AM

The Medicine Hat Cubs and Red Deer Vipers will begin the 2026 Heritage Junior Hockey League finals on Saturday in Red Deer.

The best-of-five series will alternate games back and forth throughout, with Red Deer holding home ice advantage.

The Servus Arena in Red Deer will be home to games one, three, and five (if necessary), the next three Saturdays.

Medicine Hat’s Kinplex One Arena will host games two and four (if necessary), the next two Sundays.

• Game One – Saturday, March 14 – Cubs at Vipers at 8 p.m.
• Game Two – Sunday, March 15 – Vipers at Cubs at 5 p.m.
• Game Three – Saturday, March 21 – Cubs at Vipers at 8 p.m.
• Game Four – Sunday, March 22 – Vipers at Cubs at 5:15 p.m. (if necessary)
• Game Five – Saturday, March 28 – Cubs at Vipers at 8 p.m. (if necessary)

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The Cubs, the top team from the South, last won a Junior B league title in 2001 when they competed in the IJHL, joining the HJHL the next season, and have not won a title in 25 years.

The Vipers, the North winners, are looking for their fifth HJHL title, and first since 2018. They also won in 1999, 2004, and 2017.

During the regular season, the teams played twice; the Nov. 23 contest in Medicine Hat was a 7-4 win for the Cubs. The game in Red Deer on Jan. 24 went to the Vipers 7-2.

The Cubs’ offence over those two contests was led by captain Kyle Woolridge and alternate Austin Derzaph, who each had four points over the two games. Woolridge with two goals and two assists, and Derzaph with four assists.

Vipers also had a pair of players register four points across the two games. Forward Mason Hastings scored four times, and forward Brady Leroux scored two goals with two assists.

Each team used different goaltenders in both contests.

To reach the finals, the Cubs defeated the Carstar Okotoks Bisons in five games and then swept the Cannex Cochrane Generals.

The Vipers defeated the Airdrie Techmation Thunder in four games before doing the same to the Sylvan Lake Wranglers.

Each team won their division during the 36-game regular season.

The Cubs had 24 wins, nine losses, and three overtime losses for 51 points in the South.

The Vipers had 26 wins, eight losses, and two overtime losses for 54 points in the North.