Red Deer Vipers
| Red Deer Vipers | |
|---|---|
| File:VIPERS PRIMARYLOGO copy.png | |
| City | Red Deer, Alberta, Canada |
| League | Heritage Junior B Hockey League |
| Division | North |
| Founded | 1987–88 |
| Home arena | Servus Arena (formerly Red Deer Arena) |
| Colours | Red, Grey, Black, White |
| General manager |  Michelle Skilnick |
| Head coach | JD Morrical |
| Website | www.reddeervipers.com/ |
| Franchise history | |
| 1987-9x | Red Deer Cowboys |
| 199x-Present | Red Deer Vipers |
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.
History
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. In recent years the Vipers have developed an intense rivalry with the Airdrie Thunder. The Vipers and Thunder have met in each of the last three 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
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. 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 the more well equipped Mixlr.com, where the broadcasts can still be found today.
The Vipers now broadcast all regular season & playoff away games. Sim still does play-by-play for the Vipers and also serves as the club's public address announcer at home games.
Season-by-season record
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 1 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 |
Russ Barnes Trophy
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, 3-2 Wetaskiwin Icemen |
n/a | Lost, 1-5 Wainwright Bisons Silver Medalists |
- 2016 Hosts
Keystone Cup
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
Awards and trophies
- 2005–06
- 2003–04, 2005-06
HJHL Championship
- 1988–89, 1998-99, 2003-04, 2016-17, 2017-18
See also
External links
- Official website of the Red Deer Vipers
- Official website of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League
- Official website of the Keystone Cup
- Vipers Mixlr live page
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