O’Reilly powers Rangers to 6-2 win in Memorial Cup final

Silvertips unable to avoid “Curse of the Drop”

Sam O’Reilly showed that experience matters.

The Kitchener Rangers star centre, who turned 20 in late March, had arguably one of the most memorable nights of his major junior career on Sunday in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament. In that contest, O’Reilly had one goal and three assists to power the OHL champion Rangers past the WHL champion Everett Silvertips 6-2 before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C. He also won 19-of-36 draws in the faceoff circle.

With the win, the Rangers captured the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions for the third time in team history. The Rangers previously won major junior hockey’s biggest prize in 1982 and 2003.

O’Reilly was awarded the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the Memorial Cup tournament. He recorded three goals, five assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department as the Rangers posted a perfect 4-0 record at the tournament.

The Toronto product is very familiar with the Memorial Cup tournament. In the previous two years, O’Reilly played in the Memorial Cup as a member of the London Knights, when they won OHL titles in 2024 and 2025. The Knights fell in the Memorial Cup championship game in 2024 and won the event’s title game in 2025.

O’Reilly, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was acquired by the Rangers along with defenceman Jared Woolley, who turned 20 in late February, in a blockbuster trade back on January 7. The Rangers sent defenceman Jacob Xu, who turned 18 in March, and 10 picks scattered across four different OHL Priority Selection Drafts.

Woolley would net the Memorial Cup winning goal for the Rangers on Sunday. He was also with the Knights when they fell in the Memorial Cup title game in 2024 before winning the Memorial Cup championship contest in 2025.

The Silvertips were playing in their first Memorial Cup tournament since first hitting the ice in the 2003-04 campaign. They finished this year’s event with a 3-2 mark.

Everett was also the latest WHL champion that was trying to end that circuit’s drought when it came to winning the Memorial Cup. The last WHL club to win the Memorial Cup was the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014. Current Silvertips head coach Steve Hamilton was an associate coach with the Oil Kings in 2014.

In 2014, Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreational diving accident. In the championship game of the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament played in London, Ont., on May 25 of that year, the WHL champion Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3.

The WHL is currently in its longest drought as a league when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup.

Before the Oil Kings triumph in 2014, the previous Memorial Cup championship win by a WHL club came in 2008 by the Spokane Chiefs. For the superstitious types, the “Curse of the Drop” started for WHL squads at that Memorial Cup.

That event took place on May 25, 2008 after the WHL champion Chiefs downed the host Rangers in Kitchener 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. After receiving the trophy, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton had the Memorial Cup fall apart in his hands as he attempted to give it to veteran defenceman Trevor Glass.

Since that moment, only the Oil Kings were able to get past the “Curse of the Drop” in playing to win WHL and CHL titles in honour of the memory of a recent teammate in Pelss.

In Sunday’s Memorial Cup title clash, the Silvertips were in it for the first two periods. They were controlling play during the first five minutes of the first period only for the Rangers to break on to the scoreboard first.

At the 5:47 mark of the first, Rangers sophomore defenceman Alexander Bilecki put a point shot on goal that deflected off Rangers veteran right-winger Luke Ellinas into the Everett net to give the OHL champs a 1-0 lead.

Everett responded just 28 seconds later. Silvertips star defenceman Landon DuPont, who turned 17 on Thursday, fired a shot from the right of the Kitchener net that rebounded off the pads of Rangers import rookie netminder Christian Kirsch to Silvertips star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen in front of the Kitchener goal. Vanhanen buried the rebound to even the score at 1-1.

The Silvertips proceeded to have a four minute penalty when Bilecki took a double minor for high-sticking after clipping the chin of Silvertips defenceman Kayd Ruedig. Everett applied lots of pressure on that opportunity with the man advantage but was not able to take the lead.

With 6:45 remaining in the first period, O’Reilly had the puck at the right point in the Everett zone and made a slick backhand pass that sprung star 20-year-old left-winger Dylan Edwards on a breakaway to the Everett net. Edwards went forehand to backhand and put home a backhand shot to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead on their fourth shot on goal of the contest. The Silvertips were outshooting the Rangers 14-4 at that point in the game.

Just 88 seconds into the second, Silvertips standout centre Zackary Shantz appeared to have netted another equalizer scoring off a net scramble around the Kitchener zone. The officials went to a video review and would disallow the tally ruling Shantz batted the puck with his arm into the net.

The Rangers started to slowly assert control of the contest through the second period. With 4:34 remaining in the second, Rangers right-winger Haeden Ellis made a backhanded pass from the right faceoff dot in the Everett zone across the front of the Everett net to Woolley. Woolley fired home a shot to the top right corner of the Everett net to push the Rangers lead out to 3-1.

At the tail end of the second period, the Silvertips ran into penalty troubles. First, Ruedig took a holding minor with about 55 seconds remaining in the frame. In the dying seconds of the stanza while working on a power play, O’Reilly tried to score on an individual effort and ended up face down on the ice in the left corner of the Everett zone. Shantz cross checked O’Reilly in the back and was given a cross checking minor with about two seconds remaining in the frame.

Kitchener would use those power play chances to deliver the knockout blow early in the third. First while working on a two-man advantage, O’Reilly made a fake pass at the top of the left faceoff circle before dishing the puck low to the left side of the Everett net to Rangers star 20-year-old right-winger Jack Pridham. Pridham tucked home a power-play goal just 26 seconds into the frame to make the Rangers advantage stand at 4-1.

Just 37 seconds later working on a one-man advantage, Pridham one-time a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Everett zone that rebounded to O’Reilly in close at the left side of the Everett net. O’Reilly potted home the rebound to push the Rangers lead to 5-1.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear scored at the 2:59 mark of the third to trim Kitchener’s lead to 5-2. The Rangers really clamped things down defensively from that point.

Rangers star left-winger Christian Humphreys scored a short-handed goal into an empty net with 1:37 remaining in the third to round out the 6-2 final score in favour of the Rangers.

Kirsch stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rangers. He went the distance in goal for Kitchener at the Memorial Cup stopping 120-of-126 shots for a .952 save percentage, while picking up one shutout. Anders Miller turned away 26-of-31 shots to take the setback in net for the Silvertips.

Pridham had a pair of assists to go with his goal, while Ellis finished with two helpers for Kitchener. DuPont had assists on both Everett tallies.

The Rangers were 2-for-3 on the power play, while the Silvertips failed to score on three opportunities with the man advantage.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

Everett entered the Memorial Cup without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith due to an upper body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch. Smith was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He hasn’t played since that contest.

The Rangers topped the OHL’s Western Conference and finished second in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 47-14-5-2 mark. Kitchener motored through the OHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 record to win their first league title since the 2007-08 campaign. The Rangers were rated seventh in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Silvertips and Rangers met in a preliminary round contest on Monday, where the Rangers posted a solid 6-2 victory. The Silvertips held a 42-28 edge in shots on goal in that encounter.

Ultimately, the Rangers were the class of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament outscoring their foes 20-6 in posting a 4-0 mark. Their push for winning a CHL title was greatly assisted by O’Reilly and Woolley, who both helped the Knights win OHL and Memorial Cup titles a year ago.

The experience of O’Reilly and Woolley won the day and the 2025-26 campaign for the Rangers resulting in the team’s first CHL championship in 23 years.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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DuPont return paces Silvertips to 6-1 romp over Sagueneens

Everett to face Kitchener in Memorial Cup final

A game off worked wonders for Landon DuPont.

On Wednesday, the Everett Silvertips star defenceman took warm-ups but didn’t play in the final preliminary round contest in the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The WHL champion Silvertips blanked the event’s host club in the Kelowna Rockets 4-0 that night at Prospera Place to eliminate the Rockets from the tourney with an 0-3 mark.

On Friday just one day after his 17^th birthday, DuPont again took warm-ups before his team’s clash with the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens in a Memorial Cup semifinal contest. DuPont did indeed play, and he played regularly pacing the Silvertips with a pair of goals and posting a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in a 6-1 victory played before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place.

With the win, the Silvertips improve their tournament record to 3-1 and advance to the event’s championship game to face the 3-0 OHL champion Kitchener Rangers at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Silvertips, who began play in the 2003-04 campaign, will be attempting to win their first Memorial Cup title in team history and in their first appearance at the CHL championship tournament.

The Rangers, who are playing in their first Memorial Cup since 2008, are looking to capture their third Memorial Cup title in team history having won major junior hockey’s biggest prize in 1982 and 2003.

The Sagueneens depart the Memorial Cup after posting a 1-3 record. They are still in search of their first Memorial Cup championship.

Chicoutimi finished second overall in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 49-10-3-2 mark. The Sagueneens advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign. Chicoutimi participated in the 1997 Memorial Cup as the QMJHL finalist as the host Hull Olympics won the QMJHL title and followed up with a Memorial Cup title win.

The Silvertips and Sagueneens met in a preliminary round contest last Saturday, where Everett posted a 5-3 victory at Prospera Place.

Friday’s semifinal got off to an auspicious start for the Sagueneens. At the 7:56 mark of the opening frame, Sagueneens veteran offensive-defenceman Tomas Lavoie fanned on passing the puck just inside his own blue-line to start a rush up ice.

Silvertips centre Lukas Kaplan picked up the loose puck and sprung right-winger Jaxsin Vaughan towards the Chicoutimi net on a short breakaway. Vaughan fired the puck home to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi goal to put the Silvertips up 1-0.

Lavoie would later make up for that misplay. At the 12:01 mark of the first, Lavoie cruised across the front of the Everett net with the puck, got down low to the right side of the goal and tucked home a shot that bounced off the back bar in the net and shot out the other side of the goal.

At first, the officials didn’t rule that Lavoie’s shot went in, but a few seconds after the shot, the clock operator hit the period buzzer to halt play and alert the officials on the ice that Lavoie’s shot did indeed go into the net. The rearguard’s tally evened the score at 1-1.

The two sides were playing an even game at that point in the contest. That changed with 6:01 remaining in the first as DuPont got the puck in the Chicoutimi zone and wired a midrange shot through a screen to the left corner of the Sagueneens net to put the Silvertips up 2-1.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear set up DuPont with a brilliant pass from behind the Chicoutimi goal.

Everett exited the first period holding a 2-1 lead with a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. The Silvertips proceeded to pretty much land a knockout blow in the second period outscoring the Sagueneens 3-0 in the frame while holding an 18-6 edge in shots on goal.

At the 5:39 mark of the second, Silvertips 20-year-old utility player Nolan Chastko sprung Bear on a breakaway with a long stretch pass. Bear snapped a shot to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi net to push the Silvertips lead out to 3-1.

With 7:25 remaining in the second, a net scramble broke out in front of the Chicoutimi goal. Silvertips standout 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz got a hold of a loose puck and fired home a shot from the front of the net to make the Silvertips advantage stand at 4-1.

The Silvertips would find themselves on the power play with 82 seconds remaining in the second, when DuPont would strike again. DuPont one-timed home a shot from the top of the left faceoff dot to push the Silvertips lead out to a sizable 5-1 advantage. The rearguard converted a sweet setup pass from star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen.

A big fight would take place with 41.1 seconds remaining in the second as Vaughan took on Sagueneens power forward Liam Lefebvre. Both threw fierce bombs at each other before falling to the ice.

Both were given fighting majors and game misconducts for their efforts. The bout was the fifth fight at this year’s Memorial Cup tournament.

Just 45 seconds into the third and working on the power play, the Silvertips got the game’s final tally of the night, when star import centre Julius Miettinen one-timed home a shot from the left slot to round out the 6-1 final score in Everett’s favour. The tally was the first point of any kind for Miettinen in the tournament. He reacted to his goal by making a hand motion of pulling a monkey off his back.

The Sagueneens elected to pull starting netminder Lucas Beckman after Miettinen’s tally. Beckman turned away 22-of-28 shots to take the loss in net for Chicoutimi. Raphael Precourt played the rest of the way in relief and turned away all eight shots he faced.

After Miettinen’s goal, the Silvertips rolled all their lines consistently in the third period and focused more on the shutdown defensive side of the game. Chicoutimi held a 14-9 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

Anders Miller stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for Everett. During his team’s four games at the Memorial Cup tournament, Miller has stopped 97-of-107 shots for a .907 save percentage.

Bear had an assist to go along with his goal, while Vanhanen finished Friday’s contest with two helpers.

Everett entered the Memorial Cup without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith due to an upper body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch. Smith was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He hasn’t played since that contest.

Chicoutimi was without overage defenceman Jordan Tourigny on Friday. He was suspended for the remainder of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament after receiving a match penalty for attempting to injure via kicking in his team’s 3-2 preliminary round loss to the Rangers on Tuesday at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

Sunday’s Memorial Cup championship game between the Silvertips and Rangers should be a heavyweight tilt.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

They are trying to become the first club from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.

The Rangers topped the OHL’s Western Conference and finished second in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 47-14-5-2 mark. Kitchener motored through the OHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 record to win their first league title since the 2007-08 campaign. The Rangers were rated seventh in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Silvertips and Rangers met in a preliminary round contest on Monday, where the Rangers posted a solid 6-2 victory. The Silvertips held a 42-28 edge in shots on goal in that encounter.

Now, one of these two clubs who have had storybook seasons will skate to a storybook ending by becoming CHL champions.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Silvertips blank Rockets 4-0, off to Memorial Cup semifinal

Host Kelowna eliminated from tourney with 0-3 mark

The Everett Silvertips had the Kelowna Rockets number in the 2025-26 campaign.

On Wednesday, the two sides went at it in the final preliminary round contest of the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The Rockets, who are the host team for the event, needed a win to avoid elimination and move into the playoff round.

The Silvertips also took the ice without star 16-year-old defenceman Landon DuPont. DuPont took warm-ups on Wednesday, but was unable to go for the encounter with the Rockets. He was the receiving end on a lot of hits when the WHL champion Silvertips dropped a 6-2 decision to the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers.

Everett entered the Memorial Cup without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith due to an upper body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch. Smith was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Rockets came into Wednesday’s clash with some extra confidence having dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker in overtime to the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens this past Sunday.

The Kelowna took the ice on Wednesday at their home rink in Prospera Place with their hometown crowd chanting, “Let’s Go Rockets.”

While it seemed the cards were lining up for the Rockets to pull out an upset, the Silvertips didn’t allow that to happen. Everett started Wednesday’s contest getting X-factor goals from defencemen Kayd Ruedig and Jaxon Pisani in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. The Silvertips proceeded to cruise to a 4-0 victory from there.

With the win, the Silvertips completed the tournament’s preliminary round with a 2-1 record. They advance to play in the event’s semifinal game on Friday at Prospera Place against the 1-2 Sagueneens (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The winner of that contest advances to this coming Sunday’s championship game at Prospera Place to face the 3-0 Rangers (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Rockets completed the preliminary round with an 0-3 record having been outscored 12-2 by their foes causing their elimination from the event. Kelowna came into the Memorial Cup as sizable underdogs. The Rockets finished third in the WHL’s Western Conference and seventh overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a solid 38-21-6-3 record.

Kelowna swept the rival Kamloops Blazers 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. The Rockets then fell 4-1 in a Western Conference Semifinal Series to the Silvertips.

They made their first appearance at the Memorial Cup since last winning the WHL championship in the 2014-15 campaign. The Rockets made it to the Memorial Cup tournament championship game in 2015 held in Quebec City falling to the OHL champion Oshawa Generals 2-1 in overtime. Kelowna won the 2004 Memorial Cup title as the event’s host squad.

With the loss to the Silvertips on Wednesday, the Rockets managed to win one of 10 head-to-head encounters with Everett in the 2025-26 campaign including action in the regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. Kelowna’s one win came in Game 4 of a WHL Western Conference Semifinal Series played on April 15 at Prospera Place. The Rockets entered the third period down 3-0 in that contest and rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory.

Following their loss to the Silvertips on Wednesday, the Rockets players took to the ice to make one last salute to their fans before departing to their dressing room.

At the start of the contest, the Rockets came out with a lot of energy looking to make an impact in the physicality department. Moments into the game, Rockets star captain Carson Wetsch came out throwing a series of three big hits with the last seeing him nail Ruedig to the ice.

Ruedig proceeded to have a massive game recording one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. He opened the game’s scoring at the 7:22 mark of the first period by floating a shot from the right side boards towards the Kelowna net that deflected off Rockets defenceman Rowan Guest into the cage.

Just 25 seconds later, Pisani, who is a rookie who turned 17 in late March, fired a shot from the left point to the top right corner of the Kelowna net to push the Silvertips lead out to 2-0. The tally was Pisani’s first goal in any type of CHL competition.

After Pisani’s tally, the Rockets pretty much abandoned their physical game plan and went into chase mode looking for offence. With 8:30 remaining in the first, the Rockets thought they got some offence when star rookie import left-winger Vojtech Cihar appeared to score during a net scramble. The officials went to a video review and reversed the call on the ice ruling Cihar kicked the puck into the Everett goal.

Just 63 seconds into the second, Silvertips star 18-year-old rookie left-winger Matias Vanhanen picked up a goal that pretty much put a dagger into the Rockets chances. Vanhanen picked off a clearing attempt inside the Kelowna zone, skated down the right wing and curled up underneath the right faceoff dot and blew a shot to the top left corner of the Kelowna net to give the Silvertips a 3-0 advantage.

The Rockets proceeded to pull starting netminder Josh Banini, who turned away 8-of-11 shots fired his way to take the loss in net for Kelowna. Harrison Boettiger played the rest of the way in relief by turning back 21-of-22 shots sent in his direction.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear potted a goal at the 13:07 mark of the third to round out the 4-0 final score in favour of the Everett side.

Anders Miller stopped 28 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Silvertips. Vanhanen had an assist to go along with his goal along with a plus-two rating.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

They will now play a Sagueneens side they downed 5-3 in a preliminary round contest last Saturday at Prospera Place.

The Sagueneens finished second overall in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 49-10-3-2 mark. They advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign.

The Silvertips and Sagueneens have never won the Memorial Cup. On Friday, one of those squads will take the next step to potentially making a Memorial Cup win a reality.

CHL suspends Sagueneens’ Tourigny for rest of Memorial Cup

Jordan Tourigny will complete his major junior career by watching the rest of the Memorial Cup tournament from the stands.

On Wednesday, the CHL announced Tourigny, who is an overage defenceman with the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens, has been suspended for the remainder of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament. The suspension comes after Tourigny received a match penalty for attempt to injure via kicking in his team’s 3-2 preliminary round loss to the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

With 11:16 remaining in the third period of that contest, a board battle for the puck took place in the right corner of the Chicoutimi zone with Tourigny and Rangers star left-winger Christian Humphreys, who turned 20 in early February, positioned over the puck.

Tourigny delivered three skate blade stomps to Humphreys foot, and the Rangers forward went down after the third stomp. The officials blew the play dead and Humphreys left the contest favouring his right leg and did not return.

The officials gave Tourigny his match penalty infraction. The call was confirmed via a lengthy video review.

All discipline matters along with officiating assignments at the 2026 Memorial Cup are handled by the NHL. Following its review, the NHL recommended that Tourigny be suspended for the duration of the tournament.

That recommendation was accepted by the Memorial Cup Games Committee and the CHL Executive Council.

In a release from the Sagueneens, Tourigny gave a statement about his suspension.

“I’m sorry I can’t continue the tournament to help my teammates,” said Tourigny in the release. “I never touched or intended to hit the player’s boot or ankle.

“My only intention was to target the blade of his stick. I regret using my skate in that situation, and I’m aware that this type of action is prohibited. I’m relieved to learn that he’s not injured, and that he’ll be able to play in the final game next Sunday.”

Tourigny was acquired by the Sagueneens part way through the 2025-26 campaign in a trade with the Shawinigan Cataractes. In 57 regular season games played between the Cataractes and the Sagueneens in 2025-26, Tourigny recorded 55 points coming off 13 goals and 42 assists to go with a plus-37 rating in the plus-minus department.

Tourigny has played in the QMJHL since he was a 16-year-old rookie and this marks the first time he has been suspended at the major junior level.

The Sagueneens release referred to the encounter between Tourigny and Humphreys as a “skate-tackling,” and that only Sagueneens head coach Yanick Jean would answer questions regarding Tourigny’s suspension.

The Sagueneens will face the WHL champion Everett Silvertips in a Memorial Cup semifinal contest at Prospera Place on Friday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The winner of that contest will take on the Rangers in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament on Sunday at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Rangers’ firepower too hot for Silvertips to handle

Kitchener one win away from Memorial Cup title game

The Kitchener Rangers might be the best team at the 2026 Memorial Cup.

At the moment, the OHL champions are one win away from playing in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. On Monday at Prospera Place in Kelowna, the Rangers were powered by a huge performance from captain Cameron Reid, who recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

Reid, who was selected in the first round and 21^st overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, powered the Rangers to a 6-2 victory over the WHL champion Everett Silvertips in a preliminary round contest at the Memorial Cup played before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators. With the win, the Rangers improve to 2-0 in the preliminary round having outscored their foes 11-2 and are guaranteed to play in the event’s semifinal contest on Friday.

If the Rangers are able to beat the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Tuesday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN), Kitchener would advance straight to the event’s championship game on Sunday. The Sagueneens are 1-1 in the preliminary round.

Chicoutimi picked up a big 3-2 win in overtime over the host Kelowna Rockets in a preliminary round contest on Sunday at Prospera Place. At the 5:28 mark in a three-versus-three extra time session, Sagueneens standout right-winger Liam Lefebvre scored his second of the contest one-timing home a shot from a sharp angle to the left side of the Kelowna net to win that encounter for Chicoutimi.

In Monday’s clash between the Rangers and Silvertips, the Rangers showed off their skill on the offensive end and composure in the defensive end holding off various Everett push backs. Rangers starting 19-year-old rookie import netminder Christian Kirsch stopped 40 shots to backstop Kitchener to victory.

Reid got the party started for Kitchener driving home a shot to the top right corner of the Everett net off a rush down the left wing to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead just 3:05 into the opening period. At the 10:22 mark of the first period, Rangers star 20-year-old right-winger Jack Pridham found a loose puck in front of the Everett goal during a net scramble and fired the puck home for a power-play goal to give Kitchener a 2-0 lead.

The Silvertips proceeded to gain some traction scoring on a power play of their own just 2:10 later. Silvertips standout 20-year-old left-winger Rylan Gould had the puck at the left side of the Kitchener net. He directed a shot pass towards star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen at the right side of the net, and the pucked deflected off Vanhanen into the Kitchener goal to cut the Rangers lead to 2-1.

Everett mounted all sorts of serious pressure in the Kitchener zone coming out of the gates to start the second period. At the 8:21 mark of the frame, a net scramble occurred in front of the Kitchener net, and Gould found a loose puck in the goal crease and popped it home for the equalizer to force a 2-2 tie.

Just when it seemed all the momentum was on Everett’s side, it all of a sudden swung sharply into Kitchener’s corner. Just 25 seconds after Gould tied the game, Rangers star left-winger Christian Humphreys fired home a mid-range shot through a screen to put the OHL champs back in front 3-2.

With 8:09 remaining in the second, a big fight broke out between Silvertips right-winger Jaxsin Vaughan and Rangers defenceman Andrew MacNiel. The bout was a crowd pleaser lasting at least 40 seconds with both players getting in some serious shots before the officials broke it up.

The fight seemed to add on to the momentum the Rangers had. With 6:54 remaining in the second, a cross-ice pass from Rangers centre Haeden Ellis deflected off a Silvertips player to 19-year-old Rangers right-winger Gabriel Chiarot, who was all alone at the left post of the Everett net. Chiarot deposited the puck into an empty cage to push the Rangers lead out to 4-2.

Just 77 seconds later, Pridham one-timed home a shot from just above the left faceoff dot in the Everett zone to make the Rangers lead stand at 5-2.

The Silvertips tried to mount a push back in the third holding a 13-6 edge in shots on goal for the frame. The Rangers were intent on closing out the contest defensively.

In the process, Kitchener did get one more goal. With 2:53 remaining in the third, Chiarot had the puck on the right side of the Everett zone, and he put a pass across the front of the Everett net to Rangers standout left-winger Cameron Arquette. Arquette put home a backdoor tap to round out the 6-2 final score in favour of the Rangers.

Anders Miller turned away 22 shots to take the loss in net for the Silvertips. Everett fell to 1-1 in preliminary round play.

Overage defenceman Matthew Andonovski had a pair of assists and was a plus-three for the Rangers.

The Rangers topped the OHL’s Western Conference and finished second in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 47-14-5-2 mark. Kitchener motored through the OHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 record to win their first league title since the 2007-08 campaign. The Rangers were rated seventh in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

Everett closes out the preliminary round when they face the Rockets on Wednesday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Rockets are 0-2 in preliminary round play and need to beat the Silvertips on Wednesday to be part of the playoff round and ensure it will begin with a tiebreaking game on Thursday.

Out of all the four teams at the Memorial Cup, the Rangers are currently in the most advantageous position.

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Heslop paces Silvertips to win in team’s Memorial Cup debut

Everett slips past Chicoutimi in classic encounter 5-3

Jesse Heslop is getting rewarded again for his hard work.

On Saturday, the standout right-winger with the Everett Silvertips had one goal, one assist and was a plus-one in the plus-minus department in pacing his club to a 5-3 victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in a preliminary round contest at the Memorial Cup tournament in Kelowna, B.C. The game was the tournament opener for both squads at the event that will crown a CHL champion.

During the WHL regular season, Heslop had 56 points coming off 15 goal and 41 assists to go with a plus-34 rating in 62 games. He skated in all 18 games Everett played in the WHL Playoffs, but his offensive production slowed a little as he recorded 10 points off four goals and six assists to go with a plus-10 rating.

The Silvertips, who began play in the 2003-04 campaign, are making their first trip to the Memorial Cup after winning their first WHL title. The Sagueneens, who are the champions of the QMJHL, are making their first appearance at the Memorial Cup since 1997, when they advanced to that year’s event in Hull, Quebec as the QMJHL finalist.

Playing before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place on Saturday, Heslop, who turned 20 in April, made history for his squad just 74 seconds into the contest. He got the puck at the right side of the Chicoutimi net and put home a backhand shot to give his Silvertips a 1-0 lead. Heslop goes down as the person who scored the Silvertips first goal in the history of the Memorial Cup tournament.

Actually, the Silvertips came out of the gates on fire recording the first nine shots on goal in the contest, while keeping the Sagueneens pinned in their own zone for much of that stretch.

Chicoutimi got a traction moment at the 9:13 mark of the opening frame, when the puck came to veteran left-winger Christophe Berthelot in front of the Everett net. Berthelot fired home his team’s first shot on goal from point-blank range to even the score at 1-1.

That tally gave the Sagueneens jump for the rest of the opening frame. Everett held a 10-6 edge in shots on goal heading into the first intermission.

The Sagueneens proceeded to jump in front 2-1 at the 5:39 mark of the second, when star defenceman Alex Huang wired home a shot from the right side of the right faceoff dot in the Everett zone. That lead wouldn’t last.

Just 33 seconds later, Silvertips 18-year-old centre Lukas Kaplan drilled home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Chicoutimi zone to even the score at 2-2. Kalpan’s tally sparked Everett’s offence in the stanza.

With 6:05 remaining in the second, Heslop had the puck behind the Chicoutimi net and he made a slick backhanded pass to the left side of the goal to standout 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz. Shantz had an empty cage to shoot at, and he made no mistake firing home the go-ahead goal that put the Silvertips up 3-2.

Jesse Heslop had one goal and one assist for the Silvertips.

Everett would strike again just 50 seconds later. Silvertips star 16-year-old sophomore defenceman Landon Dupont had the puck at the right side of the Chicoutimi net and a backdoor pass across the front of the goal to Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear at the left side of the net. Bear popped the puck home to make Everett’s lead sit at 4-2 heading into the second intermission.

The Silvertips started the third applying all sorts of pressure on the Sagueneens. Sagueneens star netminder Lucas Beckman, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, made all sorts of big saves to keep the Sagueneens in the contest.

The Sagueneens responded with a huge push back inside the final four minutes of the third. Sagueneens star left-winger Emile Guite had a breakaway with 3:30 remaining in the frame, but he missed the Everett net on a backhand shot.

A short time later, Sagueneens star centre Mavrick Lachance wired a shot off the post of the Everett net. On the heels of that opportunity, Sagueneens import rookie right-winger Anton Linde had a prime scoring chance at the right side of the Everett net, but he was denied by a shot block from Dupont.

Chicoutimi caught a break with 65 seconds remaining in the third, when Bear was given a minor penalty for closing his hand on the puck. With Beckman pulled for an extra skater, Sagueneens star right-winger Maxim Masse one-timed home a shot from the top of the left faceoff dot in the Everett zone for a power-play goal that trimmed the Silvertips lead to 4-3 with 28.1 seconds remaining in the frame.

The Sagueneens kept Beckman pulled for an extra skater for the ensuing faceoff. They proceeded to win the ensuing faceoff back into their own zone to star centre Nathan Lecompte.

Lecompte attempted a cross-ice pass that was picked off by Silvertips rookie star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen. Vanhanen, who had an assist earlier in the contest, made no mistake scoring into an empty net with 20.9 seconds remaining in the frame to seal the 5-3 victory for the Everett side.

Anders Miller stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips. Beckman turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in net for the Sagueneens.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

The Sagueneens finished second overall in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 49-10-3-2 mark. They advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign.

Chicoutimi doesn’t have too long to mull over Saturday’s loss. The Sagueneens return to action in the preliminary round on Sunday when they take on the host Kelowna Rockets (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). Both the Sagueneens and Rockets are 0-1 at the tourney.

Landon DuPont had an assist and a key late third period shot block.

The Silvertips get back at it on Monday taking on the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). Both the Silvertips and Rangers are 1-0 at this year’s event.

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Silvertips would not be denied first WHL championship

Everett downs Raiders 7-2 in Game 5 to clinch league title

The Silvertips raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Everett Silvertips were not going to let an opportunity go to waste, and as a result, they are Western Hockey League champions for the first time in team history.

On Friday night before a sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the 2,580 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, the visiting Silvertips downed the Prince Albert Raiders 7-2 in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series. With the win, the Silvertips, who have never missed the WHL Playoffs since entering the league in the 2003-04 campaign, claim the best-of-seven series 4-1 to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

The Silvertips begin celebrating their WHL title win.

“It is hard to put into words to be honest with you,” said Silvertips head coach Steve Hamilton. “The support we’ve had in Everett it is just an unbelievable franchise.

“It is an unbelievable fan base, and this has been just a team above all. I couldn’t ask for more from them. It has been a special group and a special year, and I just have all kinds of love and respect for them.”

The Silvertips have gone to the league final twice previously in their history. They got there as an expansion team in 2004 and again in 2018 and weren’t able to come up with a WHL title on either occasion.

The Silvertips captains receive the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Silvertips star defenceman Landon DuPont said everyone on this year’s team was pretty pumped to win the club’s first WHL title in the franchise’s history.

“We worked all year for this,” said DuPont. “To do it with this group of guys, for these coaches, the leadership group and all the 20-year-old, it is unreal.”

Like they have done all series, the Silvertips started fast and succeeded in scoring the first goal in all five games of the set. Just 68 seconds into Friday’s contest, Silvertips 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz broke down the left wing of the Prince Albert zone and put a backhanded pass across the face of the Raiders net to 18-year-old left-winger Shea Busch.

Anders Miller skates with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Busch popped home what would be his first of three goals on the night. He said his first tally that put the Silvertips up 2-0 on their second shot on goal of the contest was key in starting the squad on the path to victory.

“We wanted to do that just set the tone,” said Busch. “I think that is what we’ve been trying to do all year.”

Everett would proceed to control play for much of the opening frame holding a 14-5 edge in shots on goal. 

With 4:03 remaining in the first, Silvertips 19-year-old defenceman Mattias Uyeda fired home a shot through a screen from the top of the left faceoff circle to put the visitors up 2-0.

The Raiders mull over falling in the WHL final.

The Raiders started the second with a full two minute power play, but the Silvertips got to show how good they are at protecting their end of the ice. Raiders star defenceman Daxon Rudolph was denied on a prime scoring chance due to a shot block from Silvertips sturdy defensive-defenceman Luke Vlooswyk.

“I think it was a big momentum shift in the game,” said Vlooswyk. “Obviously, it didn’t feel too good.

“It is the finals, and I know anyone on this team is willing to block a shot with their teeth. It was great.”

Shea Busch had a hat trick for the Silvertips.

The Raiders did use their spirited start of the second period to get on the scoreboard. At the 3:38 mark of the second, Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube popped home a rebound at the front of the Silvertips net to trim Everett’s lead to 2-1.

While the Raiders pressed, the Silvertips would close the second frame with a couple of dagger goals to push their advantage out to 4-1. Everett standout defenceman Brek Liske scored with 5:09 remaining in the second. Busch potted his second of the contest with 43.5 seconds left in the stanza putting a shot on goal that banked off Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett into the Prince Albert net during a power play.

Busch would complete his hat trick at the 6:17 mark of the third. On a set play off an offensive zone faceoff, Shantz won a draw to Busch who fired home a shot from the top of the right faceoff dot to make the Silvertips lead sit at 5-1. Busch almost couldn’t believe he got a hat trick in the Silvertips WHL title clinching game.

Zackary Shantz had three assists for the Silvertips.

“It was pretty special,” said Busch. “I wasn’t thinking about me too much.

“I knew we were up a lot. I was just waiting for the clock to go down.”

Just 50 seconds after Busch scored his hat trick goal, Silvertips 20-year-old centre Nolan Chastko scored to make the visitor’s lead stand at 6-1. At that point in the contest, Raiders 20-year-old captain and star defenceman Justice Christensen admitted he felt like things were getting away from his team.

“They got up 6-1, and I looked up at the clock,” said Christensen, who exhausted his major junior eligibility with Friday’s loss. “Not that we would ever quit, but it was looking like this was going to be my final game in my Western League career.

Brayden Dube scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“That was tough to kind of think about and kind of wrap my head around that this would be my final game. Overall, I’m really happy with how the guys handled themselves today and went about our business.”

Christensen proceeded to score on one last “Juice Bomb” with a point shot on a power-play goal with 8:56 remaining in the third. That tally trimmed the Silvertips lead to 6-2. Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald appreciated the fact his team kept battling against a tough foe.

“Give them (the Silvertips) credit, they played hard,” said McDonald. “They capitalize on their opportunities.

“I look at our group. We kept fighting. We kept battling no matter what the score was.

Brek Liske had the Silvertips third goal in Game 5.

“The guys played for the crest on the front of the jersey and laid it right on the line until the final buzzer went.”

DuPont proceeded to tally on the power play with 4:10 remaining in the third to round out the 7-2 final score in favour of the Silvertips.

Anders Miller stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips. Michal Orsulak turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders.

Shantz finished the game collecting three assists for the Silvertips.

As the final two minutes of the third period ticked away, Vlooswyk said the reality of what his team was going to celebrate in winning a WHL title started to sink in.

“It was pretty crazy,” said Vlooswyk. “You have to still think the game is not over, but in the back of your head, you’re already celebrating.

Nolan Chastko scored the Silvertips’ sixth goal in Game 5.

“It was so cool, and I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life.”

Busch said he had a lot of thoughts running through his head during the final two minutes of the contest.

“I mean you’re thinking about all the guys on your team and everybody who has helped you out throughout the way like your parents, your grandparents and like everybody in your family too,” said Busch. “It is a special thing.”

Silvertips star import centre Julius Miettinen was named the most valuable player of the WHL Playoffs. While he was held pointless in Game 5, Miettinen appeared in all of Everett’s 18 post-season contests recording 27 points off 14 goals and 13 assists to go with a plus-21 rating in the plus-minus department.

Justice Christensen (#7) enjoys his final goal with the Raiders.

Going into the WHL final, there was no clear cut favourite.

Everett topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Silvertips 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records.

Prince Albert topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. The Raiders were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Raiders and Silvertips went head-to-head once in the regular season, where Prince Albert posted a 4-1 victory on November 11, 2025 at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.

Landon DuPont scored the Silvertips final goal in Game 5.

On the key injury front, the Silvertips were without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith with an upper body injury. He was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Raiders scratched star right-winger Brandon Gorzynski due to an undisclosed injury. He returned to play Game 4 and scored a goal in that setback for his team having missed the previous seven contests due to injury.

When it comes to the WHL final, the Raiders have made two previous trips to the league championships series in their history coming up with title wins in 1985 and 2019. Prince Albert went on to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1985. Friday’s game marked the first time the Raiders weren’t able to win a WHL title after reaching the WHL Championship Series.

Zackary Shantz enjoys a WHL title win with his family.

Now, the Silvertips will turn their attention toward the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The newly crowned WHL champions will open play in the Memorial Cup on Saturday, May 23, when they face the champion of the QMJHL at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C.

In the QMJHL championship series, the Chicoutimi Sagueneens downed the Moncton Wildcats 7-6 in Moncton in Game 5 of that league’s championship series on Friday. The Sagueneens lead that best-of-seven set 3-2 and will look to close that series out in Game 6 on Sunday in Chicoutimi.

Lukas Kaplan (#12) gets hugs going with his family.

The Kitchener Rangers have won the OHL championship sweeping the Barrie Colts in that circuit’s best-of-seven title series.

The Kelowna Rockets are the host team for the Memorial Cup, and they have been practicing since falling to the Silvertips 4-1 in a Western Conference Championship Series.

The Rockets and Rangers go at it in the first game of the Memorial Cup tournament on Friday, May 22 at Prospera Place. The Memorial Cup championship game is slated for Sunday, May 31.

The Silvertips enjoy their WHL championship win.

DuPont is looking forward to playing in the Memorial Cup.

“We still have lots of hockey left,” said DuPont. “Hopefully, we can celebrate this for a few days and then get back to work and hopefully have a good Memorial Cup.”

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“Wild” West Wednesday at the Hauser rocks Raiders

Silvertips one win away from WHL championship

Daxon Rudolph, left, battles with Carter Bear.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – If the Prince Albert Raiders didn’t have bad luck with officials’ calls, they would have no luck at all.

That seemed particularly true when they took the ice for Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series against the visiting Everett Silvertips at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre. After a fairly well played first 40 minutes, the Raiders entered the third period trailing the Silvertips 2-1.

When the third period finished, the Raiders found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-2 final score in favour of the Silvertips thanks to a series of tough luck calls. The sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the 2,580 seat facility voiced their displeasure. A sizable portion of the crowd bolted for the exits after Silvertips star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen scored into an empty net with 2:25 remaining in the third to round out the 5-2 final in favour of the Everett side.

Anders Miller covers up a puck during a scrum.

With the win, the Silvertips take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and they are one win away from capturing their first WHL title in team history. They will try to close things out in Game 5 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. local time at the Hauser.

Despite all the tough breaks on Wednesday, Raiders captain Justice Christensen said he expects his team to keep pushing. In the first round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs, the Raiders overcame a 3-1 series deficit against the Edmonton Oil Kings to rally back and take that set 4-3. Christensen believes this year’s Raiders team is capable of a similar comeback.

“We’re a very resilient team,” said Christensen. “We never quit.

Alisher Sarkenov, left, battles Matias Vanhanen.

“You can talk to anyone in that room, and this series isn’t over, not even close to over. Drawing from the experience last year, it was the same thing. There was no quitting in that group, and that is the way the Raiders play.

“That is the culture that has been built here and how we like to play. We’re just going to keep pushing, and there will be no quit in our group.”

Entering the third period holding a 2-1 lead, the Silvertips pushed their advantage out to 3-1 at the 4:24 mark of the third, when star right-winger Carter Bear fired home a mid-range shot through a screen from the front of the Prince Albert net. A replay shown in the building after the goal was scored showing the play was close to being offside on a zone entry. Before the 2023-24 campaign started, the WHL made a rule change eliminating offside plays from a coach’s challenge.

The Raiders responded just 2:19 later when Christensen fired home a shot from the right side boards to trim the Silvertips lead to 3-2.

Julias Miettinen scored 32 seconds into Game 4.

That set the stage for the play the Raiders faithful really got worked up over. With 11:33 remaining in the third, Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring tried to wrap the puck home at the right side of the Silvertips net. Silvertips star netminder Anders Miller made the stop, but a mad scramble ensued at the right side of the goal.

The puck bounced around a maze of skates and sticks and shot out to Raiders rookie defenceman Benett Kelly in front of the Everett net. Kelly appeared to blast home the equalizer causing the crowd at the Hauser to momentarily erupt.

The officials blew the play dead having lost sight of the puck. They disallowed the goal due to the quick whistle causing the crowd to turn irate. About two or three people ended up throwing debris on the ice.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Brandon Gorzynski (#29).

The officials did a short video review and still held up the no goal call. Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald thought his players continued to battle after that bad break.

“I really like their response,” said McDonald. “I thought we came out, we were direct, we were hard, got lots of pucks to the paint and bodies to the paint.

“For us, you have to control what you can control. Ultimately, I have really no comment on what he (the referee) might have seen from behind the net, and it was unfortunate that the whistle went as quick as it did. The puck was on our stick again.

“Again, that is hockey. You have to move on from it and look for your next opportunity.”

On seemingly the next shift with 10:40 remaining in the third, Raiders standout sophomore Riley Boychuk appeared to fire home another equalizer. That goal was waved off as the officials correctly ruled a Raiders player had knocked a Silvertips player into Miller causing inadvertent contact that prevented the netminder from making a save.

Brandon Gorzynski returned from injury to rejoin the Raiders.

Silvertips head coach Steve Hamilton liked how his players stayed even during those crazy moments.

“Everybody wants what is best for the team, but anxiety and stress is part of sports,” said Hamilton. “I don’t care what anyone says.

“At the highest levels of any sport, that is something you have to conquer and deal with. It is just a fact. When you feel those moments, we talk a lot about talking, so you’re out of your own head and breathing so your heart rate comes down.

“Those are the two things that we constantly come back to on the bench is talk and breathe and be in a good place and commit to what we’re doing.”

With 9:40 remaining in the third, the Raiders suffered a bad break that didn’t have anything to do with the officials. While attempting to break out of their zone, Oiring and Christensen both blew tires causing the puck to be turned over to Silvertips 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz along the right boards in the Prince Albert zone.

Rylan Gould scored a key power-play goal for the Silvertips.

Shantz passed the puck across the front of the Prince Albert net to linemate in 18-year-old left-winger Shea Busch. Busch popped the puck home to push the Silvertips lead out to 4-2. That set the stage for Vanhanen’s empty-net tally to close out the stanza.

Busch was pleased he was able to contribute offensively.

“I just have to credit my linemate Shantzy (Zackary Shantz) there,” said Busch. “He makes a good play, and I was lucky enough that I got it to go in the back of the net.

“I have to do what the team needs.”

The Raiders entered the contest with lots of excitement as they had star defenceman Daxon Rudolph back after a one-game suspension and star right-winger Brandon Gorzynski returned from an undisclosed injury. Gorzynski was injured in Game 2 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series that the Raiders dropped 5-0 to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers at the Hauser.

Carter Bear scored a power-play goal at the 4:24 mark of the third.

The Silvertips came out and immediately buzz killed the home crowd. Just 32 seconds into the opening frame, the Silvertips entered the Prince Albert zone on a rush.

Vanhanen took a shot from the right wing that rebounded off Raiders star rookie netminder Michal Orsulak to the front of the net. Everett star import centre Julius Miettinen got to the rebound and popped the puck into the Prince Albert net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

With that tally, the Silvertips have scored first in all four games of the series so far.

The game’s momentum changed in the second. Early in the frame, star centre Braeden Cootes and Christensen both had shots that deflected off posts of the Everett net.

Justice Christensen scored the Raiders second goal in Game 4.

At the 9:53 mark of the second, Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett took a shot from the point that deflected off a couple of bodies and landed beside Gorzynski at the left side of the Everett net. Gorzynski popped home the equalizer to force a 1-1 tie score. The Scottsdale, Arizona, product was pumped to come back and score.

“Obviously, it is a championship (series),” said Gorzynski. “Everybody wants to play in games like this, so it was special for that goal to go in.”

The Raiders would outshoot the Silvertips 17-8 in the second period, but the Silvertips would find a traction moment before going into the second intermission. While working on the power play, Miettinen had the puck by the right post of the Prince Albert net, and he passed the puck across the face of the goal to 20-year-old left-winger Rylan Gould. Gould tapped the puck home to put the Silvertips in front 2-1 with 1:17 remaining in the second with his sixth goal of the post-season and all those tallies have come on the power play.

Part of the Art Hauser Centre faithful cheer on the Raiders.

“He (Gould) is a hard-nosed player,” said Silvertips star defenceman Landon DuPont, who had two assists in his team’s win. “Obviously, we have some really skilled guys on the unit.

“He (Gould) drives the net, and he is never scared to get in there. He’ll take a few cross-checks. He has got a good hand to eye around the net tipping.

“It seems like he is always in the right spots. I am happy for him that he got one tonight that was big for us, and I’m sure it will keep going.”

Orsulak turned away 30-of-34 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Miller made 31 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips.

Shea Busch scored the Silvertips fourth goal.

Going into the WHL final, there was no clear cut favourite.

Everett topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Silvertips 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records.

Prince Albert topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. The Raiders were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Raiders and Silvertips went head-to-head once in the regular season, where Prince Albert posted a 4-1 victory on November 11, 2025 at the Angel of the Winds Arena.

Michal Orsulak stopped 30-of-34 shots for the Raiders.

On the key injury front, the Silvertips were without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith with an undisclosed injury. 

He was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Now, the Silvertips will try to make good on the first of three chances to win their first WHL title as the Ed Chynoweth Cup will be in the Hauser for Game 5 on Friday.

“I think it is the opportunity you play for,” said Hamilton. “We talked about not playing like we have a parachute or a cushion.

The Silvertips celebrate a Matias Vanhanen (#37) empty-net goal.

“Our job is to play the game that is right in front of us. I think that is what has made us a really good, consistent team throughout the season. Home or away, we show up, we find a way, and that is a big part of our identity.

“It is our next chance. It is our next opportunity. It is our next game.”

As for the Raiders, they will try to work their way to a series comeback like they did in the first round against the Oil Kings in the 2025 post-season.

“You always look to your experience, and you always draw from it,” said McDonald. “For us, it is taking it one shift at a time, one period at a time (and) one day at a time.

The Silvertips celebrate their Game 4 win on Wednesday.

“The next most important thing is getting our best recovery in and having a good day of preparation tomorrow and then be ready to go for Friday.”

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