The “puck” stops here: MHMH to host championship in March

Courier/Commentator Photo Submitted. WILDCATS: The Medicine Hat Minor Hockey Association is hosting the U13 Female A Alberta Provincial Championship at the Irvine Sports Complex from Mar. 19-22. Team staff are Jenn Moyer (manager), Brian Krasko (head coach), Luke Dovicha (assistant coach),  Chad Kletzel (assistant coach), Mike Gergley (assistant coach), Phil Tschritter (assistant coach) and Derek Collier (assistant coach). 

By Nerissa McNaughton
Southern Alberta Newspapers

The U13 Female A Alberta Provincial Championship will be hosted by the Medicine Hat Minor Hockey Association (MHMH) at the Irvine Sports Complex from March 19-22, 2026.

 Amanda Black , Director of Female Hockey MHMH, explains, “Hockey Alberta accepts bids for associations to put in a bid to host provincials. This year a notification was sent out that they currently did not have a host site and it was a possibility that the championship was going to be cancelled. The parents and community banded together to put a bid together and move forward with the application to host. Although the timeline between the bid and provincials is short, we are confident that it will be a memorable event.”

Team Manager Jenn Moyer adds, “These girls have worked too hard to not get a chance to play at this level against the best in the province. Their record for the 2025/2026 regular season was 13/0/3. We are hoping to keep that momentum going through playoffs and into provincials.”

 Eight teams are slated to participate, and with spectators and athletes in attendance, Black and Moyer expect to see more than 500 people over the championship weekend.

The itinerary is packed with events. The opening ceremonies take place on March 20 at 10:30 am.

“We have the grandma of one of our players and former professional singer coming to sing O Canada,” shares Black. “Gay Dubeau will be doing a puck drop prior to the opening ceremonies games. Gay is a prominent figure in hockey in Medicine Hat. She was inducted into the MH Sports Wall of Fame in 2018. She has taught power skating to most of the girl hockey players in Medicine Hat and most likely even to their parents!”

The weekend includes a banquet, at which another special guest will be present.

“There is a banquet for players and families where female players from all over the province will have the opportunity to mingle, craft, and dance,” Moyer explains. “Tara Chisholm will be the guest speaker at the banquet ceremonies. She is local to Medicine Hat and the head coach of the women’s national ice sledge hockey team. Tara is also the founder and a key figure of Medicine Hat Adaptive Sport and Recreation. She is a wonderful role model to female athletes in our community.”

The community’s involvement is key to ensuring this event takes place. Black and Moyer are grateful for how so many residents and organizations stepped up to make it all happen.

“Irvine Sports Complex offered us the rink and all the facilities there for the complete tournament. We are so grateful for Irvine for offering us this rink and allowing us to host this amazing event in their community. We have had so many people reach out about sponsorship and volunteering opportunities.”

As the championship weekend draws near, they encourage, on behalf of MHMH, everyone to come out and be a part of the event.

“ All MHMH Wildcat players attend for free for the whole weekend.

“We invite every family, every fan, and every proud supporter to come out, fill the stands, and cheer on our athletes. Let’s show these players what it feels like to have an entire community behind them,” says Black.

Moyer concludes,  “The goal is to not only cheer on these athletes but to highlight the female sport and those in it. The program is growing so much, and to see all these girls continue to push to the next level really needs to be celebrated.  See you at the rink – loud, proud, and ready to support our U13s as they host provincials!”