REGINA, Saskatchewan — The Regina Rebels have a rich history. During the 2004/05 season, top players were selected from different club teams to form a provincial team and play in the Midget AA playoffs of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA). 

This female midget team, which was named the Wheelers, practiced frequently and played throughout the year. This high-level dedicated team hosted the Western Shield in 2005, which marks the province’s Centennial year. With the profit from the tournament, they created a Hockey Regina Inc. Female Fund to help facilitate female hockey development and purchase the team’s first set of jerseys.

Later in the fall of 2005, Hockey Regina Inc. created a dedicated female Midget AA program to participate in the exhibition games and tournaments of the 2005/06 hockey season. This dedicated team was renamed the Regina Rebels that same year and attended the Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament in Calgary and the Notre Dame North American Challenge.

By June 2006, the Saskatchewan Hockey Association created a new league and named it the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League (SFMAAAHL). The SFMAAAHL played its inaugural 2006/07 season games and had the Rebels participate as representatives of HRI. That season, the Regina Rebels finished with an impressive record of 19-5-3-1.

Since the Regina Rebels Female Hockey Club was founded, it has won several championship titles. They were Mac’s Tournament Champions in 2012. Also, they won five titles in 2013 – the Esso Cup Championship, Hockey Canada West Female Midget AAA Championship, SHA AAA Midget Female Championship, SFMAAAHL Championship, and SFMAAAHL League Championship. They made it to the SFMAAAHL League finals in 2014 and 2019 but couldn’t get the Cup. They, however, won their last championship title – Nations Cup – in 2019.

Six Rebels – Chantel Weller, Hanna Bailey, Larissa Bohlken, Lauren Focht, Neena Brick, and Tavia Terry – earned silver medals at the 2019 U18 National Championship.

Unfortunately, Hockey Canada shut down the SFMAAAHL just when they were about to begin their playoff series. They were having a fantastic record-breaking season, earning 26-2-1-1 with 81 points and losing just three out of 30 contests all season before the pandemic halted their games in March. This halt left the team feeling disappointed.

Encouraging the team as they prepare for a new season post-COVID, head coach Mike Merk said, “We have this year now and the ones that are here, we need to focus on what we need to do.”

Recently, the Regina Rebels were among the top three teams trying to get the Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup early this year. They had lost the Cup to the Northeast Eagles last year and hoped to win the Cup this year so that they would get $100,000. The Rebels intended to channel the prize money into the Calgary Super HEROS program, a cause that helps children with disabilities. But, unfortunately, the 2021 Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup went to The Victoria Admirals of Victoria, British Columbia.

The Regina Rebels Organization has a tradition of presenting awards to players who contribute to the success of the Rebels program. The awards, which are presented at the team’s annual year-end banquet, fall under the following categories: MVP, Most Outstanding Offensive Player, Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Top Rookie, Coaches Award, Academic Award, Leadership Award, Community Service Award, and the Pride…Passion…Purpose…Award.

The Rebels have maintained Mike Merk as head coach since 1997, and he has contributed immensely to the program’s success. Before becoming a coach, he had a successful career as a hockey player. He won the league title three consecutive years in Bantam AA and two Saskatchewan Midget AAA Championships while playing for the Regina Pat Canadians. Merk was once a finalist before winning the Air Canada Cup National Championship. While playing with the Regina Pat Canadians and Terriers, Merk was inducted into their Sports Hall of Fame.

In addition to coaching, Merk founded the female Grrrowl Spring Hockey Program and helped revitalize the Regina female tournament, which is held every December.

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