2026 Memorial Cup preview – Sagueneens vs. Rangers – May 26
Tonight, it’s the Kitchener Rangers’ turn to attempt to book a spot in the final of the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota.
A day after they foiled the Everett Silvertips’ efforts to do that with a 6-2 win over the WHL champions, the Rangers can go directly to the final this evening with a win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens at 9pm ET / 6pm PT live on TSN 1/3/4/5, RDS, NHL Network and Victory+.
“That’s how it goes but we want to keep getting better and we need to play our best game in the tournament so far and if we do that, we win and we’ll go to the final,” Kitchener head coach Jussi Ahokas said. “But I don’t think of the result yet – I think of how we have to address and play the game to get the good result.”
The Rangers are 2-0-0 thus far; in addition to Monday’s win over Everett the OHL champions shutout hosts Kelowna 5-0 on opening night. Now, a win tonight will see them reach their seventh Memorial Cup final, a new tournament record.
“It’s the same hockey game we’ve been playing all year; just the stakes are a little different,” captain Cameron Reid (NSH) said. “Nothing changes for our group; we do the same stuff and prepare for the game.”
Reid was instrumental last night as he tallied four points (1G/3A) while Jack Pridham (CHI) scored twice and owns the tournament lead with three goals. Between the pipes, Christian Kirsch has been fantastic where he owns a 1.00 GAA and .970 save percentage.
“When the game usually gets harder, we just keep playing better,” Ahokas said. “But in this tournament, you have to keep getting better if you want to win it.”
As for the Sags, there is still a path where they can advance directly to the final too. However, for simplicity’s sake, a win tonight will guarantee them at minimum a spot in Friday’s semi-final.
The club were beaten 5-3 by Everett in their tournament opener on Saturday but rebounded to take down Kelowna 3-2 in overtime Sunday thanks to Liam Lefebvre’s game-winner.
“We’ve built this bond, almost as brothers, and there’s a lot of love, a lot of comradery, and i think it shows in our play as we’ve gone through the playoffs where we’ve gotten better and better,” Lefebvre said.
With an a lot of effort spent on Sunday’s win, the team took Monday to take a step-back, something that Lefebvre believes can assist them in tonight’s contest with Everett.
“The day off is definitely going to help us; [it] kind of allowed us to reset and re-focus,” Lefebvre said.
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 2-3 (OT) Chicoutimi
May 25 – Game 4: Everett 2-6 Kitchener
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
