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).

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Rangers advance to Memorial Cup title game with 3-2 win

Sagueneens’ Tourigny ejected for skate stomp in third

Four days off might be what the doctor ordered for the Kitchener Rangers at the Memorial Cup tournament.

The OHL champions completed their preliminary round schedule slipping past the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens 3-2 on Tuesday night before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place in Kelowna. The win allowed the Rangers to lock up top spot in the preliminary round standings with a 3-0 record and earn a berth in the event’s championship game slated for Sunday at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Rangers last won the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions in 2003.

The four days off between Tuesday’s preliminary round contest and the tournament final will allow the Rangers to get a proper reset after what was a heated third period in their win over the Sagueneens.

The Rangers entered the third holding a 2-1 lead. Just 21 seconds into the third, Rangers star 20-year-old right-winger Jack Pridham fired home a shot from the left point in the Chicoutimi zone to push the OHL champions edge out to 3-1. Sagueneens star 18-year-old netminder Lucas Beckman ended up being screened by teammate and star centre Thomas Desruisseaux and didn’t see Pridham’s shot coming in from the point.

With 11:16 remaining in the third, the complexion of the contest took a turn to the nasty side. At that point in the game, a board battle for the puck took place in the right corner of the Chicoutimi zone with Sagueneens overage defenceman Jordan 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 a match penalty for attempting to injure via kicking. The call was confirmed via a lengthy video review.

Tourigny was moved into the penalty box as the video review went down. After the review, he was confronted by a number of Rangers players as he skated to his dressing room having been kicked out of the game. Out of that scuffle, Rangers captain Cameron Reid and Sagueneens import overage defenceman Peteris Bulans were given off-setting minors for unsportsmanlike conduct.

On the ensuing five minute power play, the Rangers still looked visibly upset and didn’t really generate any dangerous scoring chances. That included having a two-man advantage for the final 88 seconds of the match penalty as Sagueneens import right-winger Anton Linde took a minor penalty for hooking.

The Rangers were not able to score on those power-play opportunities, and the Sagueneens ended up on the power play after Rangers centre Haeden Ellis was given an interference minor with 13 seconds remaining in Linde’s penalty.

Just three seconds after Ellis’ penalty expired and with 3:54 remaining in the third, the Sagueneens scored to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2. Sagueneens overage captain and left-winger Emmanuel Vermette was coming down the left side of the Kitchener zone, when he was hauled down.

While being hauled down, he still managed to slide a pass across the face of the Kitchener net to Sagueneens star centre Mavrick Lachance. Lachance buried the backdoor pass into an open cage to trim the Rangers lead to one.

At that point, it appeared the Rangers might be in the middle of a collapse. Rangers import 19-year-old rookie netminder Christian Kirsch proceeded to rise to the occasion.

The Sagueneens came with a surge of pressure right after Lachance’s goal. Kirsch slammed the door stopping right-winger Liam Lefebvre on an in close chance from the front of the Kitchener net. Kirsch proceeded to deflect away a shot from Sagueneens centre Nathan Lecompte on an offensive-zone rush.

Chicoutimi outshot Kitchener 13-3 in the third, but Kirsch ensured his team’s 3-2 lead would hold up as the game’s final score.

Kirsch made 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Rangers. He has gone the distance in goal for Kitchener at the Memorial Cup turning aside 90-of-94 shots for an impressive .957 save percentage.

Beckman turned away 15 shots to take the setback in net for the Sagueneens.

Dylan Edwards had a pair of assists for the Rangers.

Tuesday’s contest started with a tight checking and scoreless opening frame that saw the Sagueneens hold an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. With 7:32 remaining in the opening frame, a short fight broke out between Rangers defenceman Jared Woolley and Sagueneens centre Alexis Toussaint.

The two went to the ice quickly, and when they got to their feet to continue the bout, the linesmen jumped in. That short tilt was the fourth fight of the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Rangers started the second period with a major push. Just 1:38 into the frame, the Rangers forced a turnover at centre ice resulting in a three-on-one rush into the Chicoutimi zone. Centre Luca Romano jetted down the right wing with the puck and blew home a shot to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi net to put Kitchener up 1-0.

Kitchener pushed its lead out to 2-0 just 2:19 later. Entering the Chicoutimi zone on a two-on-one rush, Pridham took a shot from the right wing that rebounded out to the left side of the Sagueneens net to experienced Rangers star centre Sam O’Reilly. O’Reilly popped the puck into an empty side of the Chicoutimi net to give the Rangers their first two-goal edge of the contest.

The Sagueneens proceeded to get a big traction moment at the 8:38 mark of the second. On a rush into the Kitchener zone, Lecompte made a slick pass from the top of the right faceoff circle across the front of the Kitchener net to linemate Emile Ricard. Ricard fired home a shot into the left side of the Kitchener goal to cut the Rangers lead to 2-1.

That set the stage for the dramatics in the third period.

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.

While the Rangers wait to play in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion, they might find out if Humphreys can return for that contest.

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 finished the preliminary round of the Memorial Cup with a 1-2 record. They have to wait to find out where they will resume action in the event’s playoff round and what type of potential suspension the CHL might give to Tourigny.

The preliminary round concludes on Wednesday as the WHL champion Everett Silvertips, who are 1-1 in the preliminary round, face the 0-2 host Kelowna Rockets (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). If the Rockets win, they will force a tiebreaking game to be played on Thursday. If the Silvertips win, they will face the Sagueneens in a semifinal contest set for Friday.

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.

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 run over Rockets 5-0 to open Memorial Cup

WHL squads once gain face “Curse of the Drop”

The Kelowna Rockets managed to stay afloat for 51 minutes until the dam burst.

On Friday playing before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place, the Rockets opened play at the Memorial Cup taking on the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers. Kelowna is the host squad for the event that crowns a CHL champion.

In Friday’s preliminary round clash, the Rangers took a 2-0 lead into the final 10 minutes of the third period. Kitchener proceeded to fire home a surge of three goals to claim a 5-0 victory.

The Rockets came into this contest as sizable underdogs. They 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 eventual WHL champion Everett Silvertips. Before Friday’s clash with the Rangers, the Rockets last outing was a 2-1 overtime loss to the Silvertips at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett back on April 17.

The Rockets are making their first appearance at the Memorial Cup since last winning the WHL championship in the 2014-15 campaign. They made it to the Memorial Cup tournament championship game held in Quebec City falling to the OHL champion Oshawa Generals 2-1 in overtime.

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.

Kitchener had a little bit of a rest coming into the Memorial Cup. The Rangers closed their sweep of the OHL Championship Series on May 12, when they downed the Colts at the Sadlon Arena in Barrie 4-2.

During Friday’s opening contest of the Memorial Cup, Rockets 18-year-old star netminder Harrison Boettiger put in a gallant performance to keep his squad in the game by turning away 34 shots in the loss. Rangers 19-year-old rookie netminder Christian Kirsch stopped all 24 shots fired his way to pick up the shutout win.

Dylan Edwards and Jack Pridham each had one goal, one assist and posted a plus-two rating in the plus-minus category for the Rangers. Defenceman Alexander Bilecki had a pair of assists and was a plus-two.

Edwards opened the game’s scoring at the 4:38 mark of the opening frame. He received a positive bounce off the board behind the Rockets net and got possession of the puck close in at the left side of the Kelowna goal. Edwards, who is a star 20-year-old left-winger, popped the puck home off Boettiger to put the Rangers up 1-0.

With 6:24 remaining in the opening frame, Rangers defenceman Jared Woolley took on Rockets left-winger Dawson Gerwing in a short bout. The fight was short with Gerwing ending the affair by tackling Woolley to the ice.

Woolley would hit the scoreboard offensively with 2:27 remaining in the second. Pridham had the puck behind the Kelowna net and passed the puck to Woolley at the left side of the goal. Woolley quickly fired home the puck to push the Rangers lead out to 2-0.

Just 2:30 into the second, spirited fight took place between Campbell and Rockets defenceman Nate Corbet. The bout occurred shortly after Campbell nailed overage Rockets offensive-defenceman now turned utility player Mazden Leslie in the open ice just inside the Kitchener zone. Campbell and Corbet traded heavy shots until the official broke the battle up.

While the Rockets got an energy boost for a short moment, it didn’t stop the Rangers from putting the contest away.

With 8:28 remaining in the third, Pridham scored off a breakaway to increase the Rangers advantage to 3-0. Just 82 seconds later, star centre Sam O’Reilly, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scored to make the Rangers lead sit at 4-0. Just 80 seconds after O’Reilly scored, centre Haeden Ellis tallied to round out the 5-0 final in favour of Kitchener.

For the superstitious types, the Rockets and the WHL champion Everett Silvertips are trying to overcome the “Curse of the Drop” at the Memorial Cup. That event took place on May 25, 2008 after the WHL champion Spokane 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 drop, the WHL has only won the Memorial Cup once coming with the Edmonton Oil Kings win 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. At the moment, that marks the last time a team from the WHL has won the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions. The WHL is currently in its longest drought as a league when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup.

The preliminary round of the Memorial Cup continues on Saturday at Prospera Place as the Silvertips face the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

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.

The Sagueneens last played in the Memorial Cup tournament back in 1997, when the event was held in Hull, Quebec. Chicoutimi went to the Memorial Cup as the QMJHL finalist. The host Hull Olympics won the QMJHL title and the Memorial Cup championship in that campaign.

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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Raiders season was a special one, traction moment eluded them in WHL final

The Raiders contemplate the end of their season last Friday.

The longer a team plays during a season the more the end will hurt unless you win it all.

The Prince Albert Raiders special 2025-26 campaign came to an end last Friday, when they dropped a 7-2 decision to the visiting Everett Silvertips in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series at the Art Hauser Centre. With the win, the Silvertips took the best-of-seven set 4-1 to claim their first WHL championship in team history.

As everyone with the Raiders deals with the emotional aftermath of falling in the WHL final, the realization does hit that it was a special season. 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.

For everyone who is linked to the Raiders, they have nothing to hang their heads about. They experienced a campaign that created many special memories that players, coaches, managers, staffers and fans with the team can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Prince Albert also fell to a quality organization in the Silvertips. 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.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Captain Christensen will forever cherish his Raiders days

Justice Christensen salutes the Art Hauser Centre faithful on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Justice Christensen didn’t want to think about his time ending with the Prince Albert Raiders until that moment actually happened.

That moment came to pass on Friday before a sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders dropped a 7-2 decision to the visiting Everett Silvertips in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series. With that win, the Silvertips took the best-of-seven set 4-1 and will play in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

Christensen wanted the final goodbyes to come after a WHL title win, a trip to Kelowna, B.C. for the Memorial Cup and a championship win at that event. Instead, Christensen took a final lap in front of the Raiders faithful being named to the game’s three stars along with Raiders overage star forwards Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring.

“It has been incredible,” said Christensen, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 191 pounds. “I think the reason why I’m so emotional right now is because of the memories and the journey I’ve been through to get here.

Justice Christensen played all four of his WHL seasons with the Raiders.

“To spend four years on the same team is something not many people get to say. That I was able to spend four years here and be a captain for two and just have so many memories, it was great. I couldn’t say a bad thing about my time in P.A.”

Christensen arrived with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent before the start of the 2022-23 campaign. The reliable defenceman was named the team’s captain before the start of the 2024-25 season.

The Red Deer, Alta., product played four full seasons with the team appearing in 263 career regular season contests recording 148 points off 55 goals and 93 assists to go with a plus-22 rating in the plus-minus department. Christensen suited up for 36 career games in the WHL Playoffs recording 20 points coming off six goals and 14 assists to go with a plus-one rating.

In the 2025-26 campaign, Christensen skated in 63 regular season contests posting 48 points off 18 goals and 40 assists to go with a plus-36 rating. His totals in assists, points and plus-minus were all career highs. Christensen suited up in all the Raiders games in the 2026 WHL Playoffs recording 14 points coming off five goals and nine assists to go with a plus-seven rating.

Justice Christensen marks scoring his final WHL goal on Friday.

As captain, Christensen helped the Raiders win an East Division title in 2024-25 posting a 39-23-5-1 mark in the regular season. In 2025-26, Christensen played a key role in helping the Raider win another East Division title and place second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark in the regular season. In the post-season, the Raiders won their first Eastern Conference title since 2019, but they were unable to duplicate the WHL championship win from that campaign.

Christensen said the Raiders returning players will come back with a tremendous experience from the deep run in the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

“It is a huge thing to learn from,” said Christensen. “Obviously, right now, we’re experience the heartbreak.

“Everything in this championship series from media and all the kind of perks and flying to the games in Everett, things like that, it is something you’ll never forget. It is a really good experience for the guys. To get through here to the fourth round is pretty special for those guys, and they’ll be able to build on that for sure.”

The Art Hauser Centre faithful cheer Justice Christensen’s final goal.

For Christensen, his best memories of the run came from beating the then defending WHL champion Medicine Hat Tiger in six games in the Eastern Conference final. The Tigers swept the Raiders in an Eastern Conference semifinal series in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. The rearguard said one unique aspect from the WHL final stands out for him.

“I think being able to fly to Everett,” said Christensen. “That is kind of what we’ve always talked about.

“We bus all year, and then, we get to fly in the finals. To go through that, I think that is a huge memory and beating out Medicine Hat. They took us out last year and went on to win it.

“For us to beat them in the third round to get into the finals was a big one as well.”

Justice Christensen had 148 points in 263 career regular season games.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald appreciates everything Christensen brought to the team. McDonald was a Raiders assistant coach when Christensen joined the team and got to see the blue-liner become a career WHL member with the team.

“He is the ultimate warrior,” said McDonald. “He is a tremendous leader.

“His compete level is second to none. The way he prepares, the way he treats his body, recovers, the way he plays the game out there, he plays extremely honest. It has just been a pleasure to coach him for the last four years.

“He is just an absolute tremendous young man. He is going to continue to do bright things in the future.”

Justice Christensen starts a final lap at the Art Hauser Centre.

On April 9, Christensen signed a two-year contract with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, who are an affiliate with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. He attended Red Wings training camp in the fall of 2025 before returning to the Raiders for his final major junior campaign.

As his hockey journey will continue in the professional ranks, Christensen will always have a soft spot for the Raiders faithful. Prince Albert picked up the “Hockey Town North” nickname thanks to the support the Raiders got from their fans and that nickname spread to all levels of the game in that northern Saskatchewan centre.

“The support that you guys have, the community that is built here in P.A. and the way you guys rally around our team, it has been incredible,” said Christensen, who scored his final WHL goal in Friday’s loss. “Thank you guys.”

Christensen said he wanted to take some time making some final rounds in Prince Albert before departing to Red Deer.

“I’ll spend some time here,” said Christensen. “(I have) lots of memories and stuff with billet families and all the teammates that have been here and lots of friends and family and whoever will still be here.

Justice Christensen gives fist bumps to young fans along the glass.

“I’ll definitely stick around for a couple of days to see them.”

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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.