The Red Deer Vipers are a Junior "B" Ice Hockey team based in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL). They played their home games at Red Deer Arena until 2016 when it was torn down to be rebuilt. The Vipers played home games out of Red Deer's Collicutt Centre which only sat about 500 with standing room for a season & a half. In January 2018, the Vipers returned to downtown Red Deer to play in the new Servus Arena which seats about 1,300.

Red Deer Vipers
CityRed Deer, Alberta, Canada
LeagueHeritage Junior B Hockey League
DivisionNorth
Founded1987 (1987)–88
Home arenaServus Arena (formerly Red Deer Arena)
ColoursRed, Grey, Black, White
       
General managerCanada Dale Scott[when?][citation needed]
Head coachCanada Matt Michalezki[when?][citation needed]
Websitewww.reddeervipers.com/
Franchise history
1987-9xRed Deer Cowboys
199x-PresentRed Deer Vipers
Championships
Playoff championshipsHJHL Champions:

6 (1988-89, 1989-90, 1998-99, 2003-04, 2016-17, 2017-18)

Provincial Champions: 2 (2003-04, 2005-06)

Western Canadian Champions:

1 (2005-06)

History

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The Red Deer Vipers are an original Heritage Junior B Hockey League team, named as the Red Deer Cowboys beginning in the 1987–88 HJHL season. Shortly after, the Red Deer Cowboys were renamed as the Red Deer Vipers. The Vipers are the 1989, 1999, 2004, 2017 & 2018 HJHL champions, the 2004 and 2006 Russ Barnes Trophy champions, and the 2006 Keystone Cup champions.

The Vipers historical rivals have been the Blackfalds Wranglers who reside a mere 10 minutes north of Red Deer.[citation needed] In recent years[when?] the Vipers have developed an intense rivalry with the Airdrie Thunder.[citation needed] The Vipers and Thunder have met in each of the last three[when?] post-seasons. In 2016 the Thunder beat the Vipers in seven games in the north semi-final. In 2017 the Vipers beat Airdrie in the north semi-final in six games. The Vipers beat Airdrie in six again in the 2018 north final.

Media

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Since the 2016 HJHL playoffs, the Red Deer Vipers have taken it upon themselves to broadcast road games via internet radio. The first ever Vipers play-by-play broadcast was game five of the 2016 HJHL north semi-final against the Airdrie Thunder. Red Deer native Brady Sim called the game using an iPhone with a wifi connection, Periscope & an Xbox gaming headset.[citation needed] The Vipers defeated Airdrie in game five 2–1, but ultimately lost the series to Airdrie 4 games to three.

The Vipers would arrange to have Sim broadcast that year's provincial championships which the Vipers hosted. The Vipers then began broadcasting games on Mixlr.com, where the broadcasts can still be found today[when?].[1]

The 2023-24seasonmarked the first season since the 2002-03 season (no records prior to 2003-04 season) that the Vipers failed to make the playoffs.




Season-by-season record

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Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
2003–04 36 24 12 0 0 48 225 96 2nd, Central no data
2004–05 40 32 4 1 3 68 302 79 1st, North no data
2005–06 38 37 0 0 1 75 281 67 1437 1st, North Lost in HJHL Semifinals, 0–2 (Bisons)
Russ Barnes Trophy Champions
Keystone Cup Champions
2006–07 36 24 7 3 2 53 192 88 978 2nd, North Lost in Division Finals, 0–4 (Wranglers)
2007–08 36 20 9 6 1 47 151 111 781 4th, North Lost in Division Finals, 1–3 (Wranglers)
2008–09 36 18 14 3 1 40 181 120 1111 4th, North Lost in Division Finals, 2–3 (Wranglers)
2009–10 36 24 9 1 2 51 216 114 1450 2nd, North Lost in Finals, 0–2 (Wranglers)
2010–11 36 25 9 2 0 52 220 111 950 2nd, North Lost in HJHL Semifinals, 1–3 (Bisons)
2011–12 38 26 9 0 3 55 183 106 1412 1st, North Lost in HJHL Quarter Finals, 1–4 (Colts)
2012–13 38 24 5 6 3 57 203 134 2nd, North Lost in HJHL Finals, 0–3 (Bisons)
2013–14 36 18 17 1 37 155 156 4th, North Lost in Elimination Round, 1–2 (Thrashers)
2014–15 38 18 18 2 38 176 164 4th, North Won Division Qualifier, 2–1 (Thrashers)
Lost in Div. semi-finals, 0–4 (Wranglers)
2015–16 38 25 9 4 54 162 113 3rd, North Won Division Qualifier, 2–0 (Stampeders)
Lost Div. semi-finals, 3–4 (Thunder)
2016–17 38 25 12 1 51 171 123 3rd of 7, North
5 of 14, League
Won Division Qualifier, 2–0 (Stampeders)
Won Div. Semi-finals, 4–2 (Thunder)
Won Div. Finals, 4–3 (Colts)
Won League Finals, 3–1 (Generals)
advance to RUSS BARNES TROPHY
2017–18 36 30 5 1 61 198 96 1st of 7, North
1st of 13, League
Won Div. Semi-finals, 3–1 (Colts)
Won Div. Finals 4–2 (Thunder)
Won League Finals, 2–1(Copperheads)
advance to RUSS BARNES TROPHY
2018–19 38 29 8 1 59 185 102 2nd of 7, North

3rd of 14, League

Lost Div. Semi-finals, 4-3 (Colts)
2019–20 38 24 13 1 49 156 125 2nd of 7, North
6th of 14, League
Lost Div. Semi-finals, 3–4 (Wranglers)
2020–21 4 4 0 0 8 15 5 Remaining season lost to COVID-19 pandemic

Generals|Generals]])

2022-23 38 12 24 2 26 128 218 5th of 6, North

10th of 12, League

Lost Division Qualifier 1-2 (Rams)
2023–24 38 12 26 x 24 96 192 6th of 7, North
12th of 13, League
Did Not Qualify

Russ Barnes Trophy

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Alberta Jr B Provincial Championships

Year Round Robin Record Standing SemiFinal Bronze Medal Game Gold Medal Game
2004 T, Edmonton Riv Kings 2–2
W, Calgary Stampederes 4–3
W, Vermilion 14–1
2–0–1 1st of 4 Pool W, Okotos 3–2 n/a W, Calgary
Russ Barnes Champions
2006 T, Saddle Lake 5–5
L, Edmonton Royals 3–6
W, Ft. St John 5–4
1–1–1 2 of 4 Pool W, Okotos 3–2 n/a W, Edmonton Royals 3–2
Russ Barnes Champions
2010 T, North Peace 3–3
L, Lloydminster 2–5
?, Beverly
?-?-? ? of 4 Pool n/a n/a n/a
2013 W, Grand Prairie 6–4
L, Cold Lake 4–5
W, Wetaskiwin 5–3
2–1–0 2 of 4 Pool L, Okotos 2–7 L, Cold Lake 3–5 n/a
2016* L, North Peace 0–3
W, North Edmonton 4–2
W, Killam 2–1
2–1–0 2nd of 4 Pool L, Wainwright 1–3 L, Wetaskiwin 2–3 n/a
2017 W, St. Paul, 4–2
L, Wetaskiwin, 1–2
L, CBHA Rangers, 2–3
1–2–0 4th of 4 Pool did not qualify n/a n/a
2018 W, Calgary Royals Gold, 4–1
W, North Peace Navigators, 5–4
W, Beverly Warriors, 6–2
3–0–0 1st of 4 Pool A W, Wetaskiwin 3–1 n/a L, Wainwright 1–5
  • 2016 Hosts

Keystone Cup

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Western Canadian Jr. B Championships(Northern Ontario to British Columbia)
Six teams in round robin play. 1st vs 2nd for gold/silver & 3rd vs. 4th for bronze.

Year Round Robin Record Standing Bronze Medal Game Gold Medal Game
2004 L, Richmond 3–4
W, Regina 4–3
W, Norway House 5–4
W, Aguasabon 10–1
L, Thunder Bay 1–3
3–2–0 3 of 6 W, Thunder Bay 4–3
Bronze Medal
n/a
2006 W, Saskatoon 6–2
L, Campbell River 1–2
W, Delta 4–0
W, Thunder Bay 6–0
T, N Winnipeg 0–0
3–1–1 2 of 6 n/a OTW, Campbell River 3–2
KEYSTONE CUP CHAMPIONS

NHL alumni

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Awards and trophies

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Keystone Cup

  • 2005–06

Russ Barnes Trophy

  • 2003–04, 2005–06

HJHL Championship

  • 1988–89, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2016–17, 2017–18

See also

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References

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  1. ^ RedDeerVipers on Mixlr, retrieved 2020-07-22
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