Medicine Hat Tigers goaltending prospect and the South Alberta Hockey Academy are in Quebec for the CSSHL East West Challenge. (Image Credit: Jesse Gill/CHAT News)

By Jesse Gill

Sports

South Alberta Hockey Academy starts CSSHL East West Challenge on Thursday

Feb 5, 2026 | 8:25 AM

The South Alberta Hockey Academy U18 Prep team is in Quebec for the inaugural Canadian Sport School Hockey League East West Challenge.

The tournament has seven top teams from the East and West set to battle for a championship.

SAHA comes into the event as the second seed in the West, sitting only behind Edge School out of Calgary in the Western rankings.

The Dunmore-based team takes on the seventh seed in the East, Okanagan Hockey Ontario of Whitby, Ont., on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m.

On Friday, SAHA will play the East’s sixth seed, the Fort Erie International Academy out of Fort Erie, Ont., at 2:30 p.m. and Saturday they take on the East’s third seed, Bourget College out of Rigaud, Que., at 8:45 a.m.

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All games are being played at the Complexe JC Perreault in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan, Que.

On Sunday, the top four teams in the round robin will advance to the semi-finals at 7 and 7:15 a.m.

The winners of each game will head to the Championship finals at 3 p.m.

Teams at the challenge are from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta, BC, and Manitoba.

A breakdown of the 14 teams competing was done by the CSSHL.

In 25 CSSHL games this season, SAHA has 18 wins, six losses, one shootout loss, and two overtime losses.

The SAHA team includes three Medicine Hat Tigers prospects in goaltender Cash Christie, and defencemen Kayne Wright and Hunter Saddleback.

Ten players from southern Alberta are on the team’s 22-player roster.

Medicine Hat area players include six forwards: Ty Hynes, Carson Ward, Kingston Chisholm, Karter Kurpjuweit, Ty Wasyluk, and Brennan Finke.

Four players are also from the Lethbridge area: Kutcher Aquila, Damen Vanderberg, and Ryker Klassen on forward, and Picture Butte’s Grady McLeod on defence.