The Red Deer Vipers’ first-round matchup for the Heritage Junior B Hockey League playoffs has been set.
The Vipers know they’ll meet the Rocky Rams in a three-game series next week in the qualifying round of the postseason.
However, Red Deer sits in fifth place in the North Division, three points behind the fourth-place Rams.
Director of hockey operations Brady Sim said no matter what they’ll be playing the Rams but depending how the games shape up this weekend will determine who has the home-ice advantage.
“As of right now, we’ve tentatively booked game one in Rocky on Tuesday but if that were to flip I imagine game one would switch to being in Red Deer on Wednesday,” he said.
In the rest of the North Division, the Airdrie Thunder and Sylvan Lake Wranglers get a first-round bye into the semi-finals. However, the Mountainview Colts and Three Hills Thrashers meet in the qualifying round which starts next Wednesday.
This season the Vipers have struggled to make their way up the standings posting a 12-22-2 record but against the Rams, they’ve been successful.
They’ll face off in the final regular season game this Saturday in Red Deer at Servus Arena but overall Red Deer is 4-0 against Rocky this season.
“We’ve had a lot of competitive games with them but we’ve been able to win them all,” Sim said.
“The season has been a bit trying at times but lately we’ve been playing well. We’ve been hitting our stride in the new year and despite not always getting the result we’ve been in some really competitive games against some really good teams.”
The Vipers are coming off an important 2-1 win on the road against the third-place Mountainview Colts on Monday. The Vipers will play Three Hills and Rocky this weekend with a chance to enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak.
“We have a chance to really set ourselves up to put a tough regular season behind us and go into the playoffs feeling good about ourselves,” Sim explained.
At the end of the day, Sim said their mindset is anything can happen in a hockey game, especially in the postseason. When they have team success he added it’s because the players commit to playing to their structure.
“That should be our focus heading into the playoffs is focusing on the structure from the net out and limiting the opposition’s chances,” he said. “For whatever reason, we’ve had opportunities but struggled to score all year.”
The name of the game in the playoffs is a more physical style of play as the intensity rises. Sim explained they struggled early on shying away from physical play but have improved in the second half.
“We want to play with a pack mentality, not necessarily fighting all the time, just not shy away from it. I’ve actually been really proud that the way this team, despite being on the smaller side, has handled that this year,” he said.