2026 Memorial Cup preview – Rockets vs. Sagueneens – May 24
Just one game each into the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota and it’s quickly turned into near must-win territory for both the Kelowna Rockets and Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
The two meet tonight in a pivotal contest at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on TSN 1/4, RDS, NHL Network and Victory+ where each squad will look for its first victory of the tournament.
“It’s a new day,” said Chicoutimi’s Tomas Lavoie. “We forget about what happened yesterday.”
The Sags were beaten 5-3 Saturday night by the Everett Silvertips in their opening game of the competition. But despite defeat, there’s no wavering of belief.
“We deserve our place here for sure,” Lavoie said. “I think we have to bring more compete and effort in our game and I think we have a good chance to win games if we do that.”
The Sagueneens won 49 games during the regular season and then went 16-4 in the postseason.
As for the Rockets, the hosts were shutout 5-0 by the Kitchener Rangers in the tournament opener Friday. Throughout the regular season and playoffs, Kelowna were blanked just twice.
“Last game we passed up some looks that we probably could’ve shot on and maybe that was the difference,” said Kelowna’s Hiroki Gojsic (NSH).
The Rockets will continue to have the home ice advantage all-tournament long but an early goal – and a first in the tournament – will help the team gain momentum. Kelowna managed just 24 shots on goal in the loss.
“It’s super important [to get that first goal out of the way],” Gojsic said. “We want to get the crowd into it early so it’s crucial.”
The 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota is scheduled for May 21-31 in Kelowna, B.C. Every game of the 2026 Memorial Cup will air in Canada on TSN and RDS, with live streaming available on TSN.ca, the TSN app, RDS.ca, and the RDS app. In the United States, fans can watch every game on NHL Network, while viewers outside Canada can stream the tournament live on Victory+.
2026 Memorial Cup schedule:
May 22 – Game 1: Kitchener 5-0 Kelowna
May 23 – Game 2: Everett 5-3 Chicoutimi
May 24 – Game 3: Kelowna vs. Chicoutimi — 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
May 25 – Game 4: Everett vs. Kitchener — 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
May 26 – Game 5: Chicoutimi vs. Kitchener — 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
May 27 – Game 6: Kelowna vs. Everett — 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
May 28 – Tie-breaker (if necessary) — 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
May 29 – Semi-final — 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT
May 31 – Final — 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT
