[{"id":336128,"date":"2026-05-25T00:35:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336128"},"modified":"2026-05-25T00:47:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:47:53","slug":"memorial-cup-the-sagueneens-win-in-overtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/article\/memorial-cup-the-sagueneens-win-in-overtime","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Cup: The Saguen\u00e9ens win in overtime"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Twenty-four hours after their loss to Everett Silvertips, the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens bounced back in the right way and defeated the host Kelowna Rockets, 3-2, in overtime in their second game of the Memorial Cup tournament on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Liam Lefebvre played the hero at 5:28 of the overtime period with his second goal of the game.<\/p>\n

The game carried major importance for both teams. The Saguen\u00e9ens had dropped a 5-3 decision to Everett on Saturday, while the Rockets had suffered a 5-0 loss to the Kitchener Rangers on Friday. In Memorial Cup history, only one team has ever won the Canadian championship after starting the tournament with two losses: the Windsor Spitfires in 2009.<\/p>\n

Two goals were disallowed in the first period. The first came from the Rockets after Lucas Beckman was bumped before the puck crossed the goal line. The second was waved off for the Sags because Liam Lefebvre made a hand pass to Nathan Lecompte, who then scored.<\/p>\n

Lefebvre redeemed himself moments later. He took a pass from Maxim Schafer, broke in alone and beat goaltender Josh Banini with a backhand shot high into the net at 14:38. A beauty!<\/p>\n

The tight checking continued in the second period. Tij Iginla, a prospect of the Utah Mammoth, scored the Rockets\u2019 first goal of the tournament and tied the game at 6:29.<\/p>\n

Anton Linde restored the Saguen\u00e9ens\u2019 one-goal lead by tipping a shot from Nathan Lecompte with 5:59 remaining in the third period. The puck crossed the goal line by barely an inch before Josh Banini swept it out of the net, but the goal was understandably awarded.<\/p>\n

But just 1:49 later, defenseman Mazden Leslie forced overtime by finishing off a play set up by Tomas Poletin.<\/p>\n

More details on the game HERE<\/a>.
\n\u2014
\nThe Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens (1-1) will enjoy a day off on Monday before facing the Kitchener Rangers (1-0) on Tuesday night.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Rangers, meanwhile, will take on the Everett Silvertips (1-0) on Monday night.<\/em><\/p>\n

As for the Kelowna Rockets (0-2), they will not play again until Wednesday against Kitchener. That matchup will conclude the preliminary round.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty-four hours after their loss to Everett Silvertips, the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens bounced back in the right way and defeated the host Kelowna Rockets, 3-2, in overtime in their second game of the Memorial Cup tournament on Sunday night. Liam Lefebvre played the hero at 5:28 of the overtime period with his second goal of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":501,"featured_media":336127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1786],"tags":[{"term_id":9333,"name":"Saguen\u00e9ens Chicoutimi","slug":"sagueneens-chicoutimi-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9334,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","term_order":"187"},{"term_id":9194,"name":"chicoutimi sagueneens","slug":"chicoutimi-sagueneens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9195,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":101,"filter":"raw","term_order":"223"},{"term_id":2144,"name":"Memorial Cup","slug":"memorial-cup-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2145,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":71,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"}],"class_list":["post-336128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article-en","tag-sagueneens-chicoutimi-en","tag-chicoutimi-sagueneens","tag-memorial-cup-en","category-1786","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/25003451\/May24-CHI-KEL-0444-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":336120,"date":"2026-05-24T12:52:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T16:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336120"},"modified":"2026-05-24T14:27:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T18:27:54","slug":"man-of-culture-yanick-jeans-returned-to-the-top-full-of-learning-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/article\/man-of-culture-yanick-jeans-returned-to-the-top-full-of-learning-experiences","title":{"rendered":"MAN OF CULTURE \u2013 Yanick Jean\u2019s return to the top full of learning experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

When Yanick Jean returned home to Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean 12 seasons ago to assume the role of Head Coach and General Manager of the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens, bringing a championship back to the region was obviously the top priority.<\/p>\n

After all, Jean knows the feeling all too well. He was a defenseman with the 1994 squad, the last Sags club that won a championship. Until around a week ago, that was one of only two Chicoutimi clubs to emerge from the QMJHL as title holders.<\/p>\n

Does Jean see any similarities between the club he toiled on the back end for and the one he cultivated on draft floors, in trade talks and behind the bench?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chemistry is very similar,\u201d Jean confirms. \u201cOnce you win, you\u2019re brothers for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Jean, the talent he currently has assembled in Chicoutimi is obvious to anyone who has ever watched a game or read a stat sheet. But it\u2019s the atmosphere around this group that the 50-year-old from Alma, Quebec has worked particularly hard at nurturing as the Saguen\u00e9ens rose steadily through the standings over the past half decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve stressed a culture that is positive,\u201d Jean points out. \u201cWe want to make it fun to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, nothing is more fun than winning.<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

But the last time Jean attempted to build a winner, it was a global pandemic, not a rival team, that derailed the Sags\u2019 chances. The 2019-20 edition never had the opportunity to test its playoff mettle thanks to COVID related shutdowns. Still strong the following year, the club was stopped in the Semi-Finals during the \u201cbubble\u201d playoffs held in Quebec. It was a period of time that tested Jean and the Saguen\u00e9ens\u2019 resolve while also reenforcing the mantra the club and its Head Coach are quick to tout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a while to get over it but eventually, we turned the page,\u201d Jean recalls. \u201cIn fact, when you have to live it, you realize how important culture is. It makes you enjoy the process more. It\u2019s not like the last five years have all been rough, but we appreciate the steps it took. But still, culture has to be number one. Even if things don\u2019t work out in the end, you\u2019ll still enjoy the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process has not only included the methodical drafting and development of key players. There have also been targeted acquisitions from around the league. Not just top players; top people as well. Four of the players picked up by the club \u2013 forward Mavrick Lachance and blueliners Tomas Lavoie, Alexis Bernier and Jordan Tourigny \u2013 were all members of their former team\u2019s leadership groups. That\u2019s not a coincidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d done our homework for years,\u201d Jean explains. \u201cWe followed all of these guys up close. The list of players we had an eye on was a short one. We didn\u2019t just want guys who were talented, we wanted them to be able to leave their egos at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egos at the door is a statement Jean has made for years. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This time around, the meaning held particular significance. This is a Saguen\u00e9ens club that made more significant in-season changes that ever before in Jean\u2019s time with the club. An understanding needed to be reached when dealing with a group of teenagers who\u2019ve known nothing but being the biggest fish in their previous ponds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about role acceptance,\u201d Jean says. \u201cWe\u2019ve got guys like Colby Train and Gryphon Watson-Bucci who are 19-year-olds that are only stepping into the lineup if we have injuries. Other guys that were used to playing 30 minutes are playing 22 here. We asked everyone, \u2018Are you willing to see your ice time cut?\u2019. Everybody said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

What these players inevitably signed up for was a championship season. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, no one remembers who played the most minutes or was on the ice for the most defensive zone draws. But flags fly forever. The names on this year\u2019s Chicoutimi roster will be reflected in the banner \u2013 perhaps banners \u2013 that will hang from the rafters at the Centre Georges-V\u00e9zina next fall.<\/p>\n

No one in the organization has a greater appreciation for this that the man who runs the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had about 10 or 12 guys from the \u201994 team in the rink at one point or another during the Final,\u201d Jean mentions with pride. \u201cThe bunch of guys we have here, 30 years from now, they\u2019ll look back on this the same way that group does now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Photo credit : Steve Dunsmoor)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  When Yanick Jean returned home to Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean 12 seasons ago to assume the role of Head Coach and General Manager of the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens, bringing a championship back to the region was obviously the top priority. After all, Jean knows the feeling all too well. He was a defenseman with the 1994 squad, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":336121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1786],"tags":[{"term_id":9194,"name":"chicoutimi sagueneens","slug":"chicoutimi-sagueneens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9195,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":101,"filter":"raw","term_order":"223"},{"term_id":4902,"name":"Yanick Jean","slug":"yanick-jean-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4903,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"710"},{"term_id":2144,"name":"Memorial Cup","slug":"memorial-cup-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2145,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":71,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"}],"class_list":["post-336120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article-en","tag-chicoutimi-sagueneens","tag-yanick-jean-en","tag-memorial-cup-en","category-1786","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/24125131\/Sags-Yanick-Jean-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/478"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":336114,"date":"2026-05-24T10:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T14:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336114"},"modified":"2026-05-24T10:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T14:42:11","slug":"2026-memorial-cup-highlights-everett-vs-chicoutimi-may-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/video\/2026-memorial-cup-highlights-everett-vs-chicoutimi-may-23","title":{"rendered":"2026 Memorial Cup Highlights – Everett vs Chicoutimi – May 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a showdown between the QMJHL champs and the WHL ones on Saturday night at the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota Canada.<\/p>\n

Here are the game’s highlights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a showdown between the QMJHL champs and the WHL ones on Saturday night at the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota Canada. Here are the game’s highlights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":336115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1787],"tags":[{"term_id":9194,"name":"chicoutimi sagueneens","slug":"chicoutimi-sagueneens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9195,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":101,"filter":"raw","term_order":"223"},{"term_id":2144,"name":"Memorial Cup","slug":"memorial-cup-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2145,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":71,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"}],"class_list":["post-336114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-en","tag-chicoutimi-sagueneens","tag-memorial-cup-en","category-1787","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/24000210\/260523_GM2_EVTvsCHI.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2618677","partner_id":"27533","player_id":"47926","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/sd\/2618677.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/ld\/2618677.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/hsd\/2618677.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/fhd\/2618677.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/streaming\/2618677\/2618677.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/webp\/2618677.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":336110,"date":"2026-05-24T00:01:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T04:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336110"},"modified":"2026-05-24T10:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T14:39:39","slug":"memorial-cup-the-sagueneens-start-with-a-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/article\/memorial-cup-the-sagueneens-start-with-a-loss","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Cup: the Saguen\u00e9ens start with a loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six days after capturing the Gilles-Courteau Trophy, the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens opened their Memorial Cup tournament Saturday night with a 5-3 loss to the Everett Silvertips, champions of the Western Hockey League (WHL).<\/strong><\/p>\n

The game got off to a rough start for the Saguen\u00e9ens, as Jesse Heslop gave the Silvertips a 1-0 lead just 74 seconds into the contest.<\/p>\n

Christophe Berthelot responded eight minutes later, pouncing on a rebound from an Alexis Bernier shot.<\/p>\n

Then, at 5:39 of the second period, Alex Huang gave the Sags a 2-1 lead with a laser of a shot that beat goaltender Anders Miller over the right shoulder.<\/p>\n

But just 33 seconds later, Lukas Kaplan tied the game on a shot from the left wing that Lucas Beckman \u2014 beaten under the left arm \u2014 would likely want back.<\/p>\n

That goal proved to be the turning point of the game in Everett\u2019s favour. The Silvertips increased the pressure and, at 13:55 and 14:45, scored twice in a span of 50 seconds to take a 4-2 lead. Zackary Shantz and Carter Bear were the goal scorers.<\/p>\n

The Sags, who had erased a 4-0 deficit in Game 5 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy Final against Moncton, were unable to complete another comeback against Everett.<\/p>\n

Maxim Mass\u00e9 gave the Sags a glimmer of hope by making it 4-3 with 28 seconds remaining, after Beckman had gone to the bench, but Matias Vanhanen found the back of the empty net seven seconds later.<\/p>\n

More details on the game HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The Saguen\u00e9ens will play their second game of the Memorial Cup tournament Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) against the host team, the Rockets.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kelowna also dropped its opening game on Friday, falling 5-0 to the Kitchener Rangers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Six days after capturing the Gilles-Courteau Trophy, the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens opened their Memorial Cup tournament Saturday night with a 5-3 loss to the Everett Silvertips, champions of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The game got off to a rough start for the Saguen\u00e9ens, as Jesse Heslop gave the Silvertips a 1-0 lead just 74 seconds…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":501,"featured_media":336109,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1786],"tags":[{"term_id":9194,"name":"chicoutimi sagueneens","slug":"chicoutimi-sagueneens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9195,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":101,"filter":"raw","term_order":"223"},{"term_id":2144,"name":"Memorial Cup","slug":"memorial-cup-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2145,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":71,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"}],"class_list":["post-336110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article-en","tag-chicoutimi-sagueneens","tag-memorial-cup-en","category-1786","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/23231808\/May23-CHI-EVT-0480-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":336104,"date":"2026-05-23T01:14:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336104"},"modified":"2026-05-23T09:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:41:07","slug":"something-ive-been-dreaming-about-for-the-last-4-years-the-sags-ready-for-the-memorial-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/video\/something-ive-been-dreaming-about-for-the-last-4-years-the-sags-ready-for-the-memorial-cup","title":{"rendered":"”Something I’ve been dreaming about for the last 4 years” : The Sags ready for the Memorial Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hear from Emmanuel Vermette, Jordan Tourigny, Tomas Lavoie, Lucas Beckman, assistant coach F\u00e9lix Bibeau and Head Coach Yanick Jean from the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens ahead of the 2026 Memorial Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hear from Emmanuel Vermette, Jordan Tourigny, Tomas Lavoie, Lucas Beckman, assistant coach F\u00e9lix Bibeau and Head Coach Yanick Jean from the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens ahead of the 2026 Memorial Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":336103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1787],"tags":[{"term_id":9194,"name":"chicoutimi sagueneens","slug":"chicoutimi-sagueneens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9195,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":101,"filter":"raw","term_order":"223"},{"term_id":4902,"name":"Yanick Jean","slug":"yanick-jean-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4903,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"710"},{"term_id":2144,"name":"Memorial Cup","slug":"memorial-cup-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2145,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":71,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"},{"term_id":1874,"name":"QMJHL","slug":"qmjhl-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1875,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":659,"filter":"raw","term_order":"953"}],"class_list":["post-336104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-en","tag-chicoutimi-sagueneens","tag-yanick-jean-en","tag-memorial-cup-en","tag-qmjhl-en","category-1787","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/23011413\/vermette.jpg",1777,995,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2617345","partner_id":"31038","player_id":"47926","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31038\/sd\/2617345.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31038\/ld\/2617345.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31038\/hsd\/2617345.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31038\/fhd\/2617345.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31038\/streaming\/2617345\/2617345.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/31038\/webp\/2617345.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":336088,"date":"2026-05-22T15:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336088"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:08:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:08:35","slug":"true-blue-the-sags-journey-to-the-2026-memorial-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/article\/true-blue-the-sags-journey-to-the-2026-memorial-cup","title":{"rendered":"TRUE BLUE \u2013 The Sags\u2019 journey to the 2026 Memorial Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

With the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota set to kick off on Friday night in Kelowna, British Columbia, the field that began with 61 CHL clubs in September has been whittled down to four. This year\u2019s QMJHL representatives, the 2026 Gilles-Courteau Trophy Champion Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens, join the OHL Champion Kitchener Rangers, WHL title holder Everett Silvertips and host Kelowna Rockets in a final battle for junior hockey supremacy.<\/p>\n

The Saguen\u00e9ens entered the season as strong championship contenders this year as Head Coach and GM Yanick Jean and his staff methodically built a well-balanced nucleus over a five-season span. The first addition to this building process, back in 2021, was current Sags captain Emmanuel Vermette. As the club began its climb up the standings, it also drafted or acquired top-end talent in the form of this season\u2019s League MVP Maxim Mass\u00e9, two-way forward Christophe Berthelot and, through a trade in the middle of the 2022-23 campaign, offensively gifted center Thomas Desruisseaux. The build went into overdrive at the 2023 QMJHL Draft, with the addition of winger \u00c9mile Guit\u00e9, center Nathan Lacompte and defenseman Alex Huang with picks two, four and five, respectively. The following day, in the Draft\u2019s fifth round, goaltender Rapha\u00ebl Pr\u00e9court donned the blue and white for the first of many times.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This season, the Saguen\u00e9ens made it apparent that this was their year. By the time the dust had settled on the trade period, the club had bolstered its lineup at all three positions. Lucas Beckman provided arguably the best goaltending depth in the league while Mavrick Lachance brought his puck skills and leadership to the fold. But it was on the blue line where the Sags went from great to outstanding. Tomas Lavoie, Jordan Tourigny and Alexis Bernier were dropped onto the big ice surface in Chicoutimi and simply shut things down. Just as important as any on-ice accomplishments, all of these skaters acquired mid-season had worn a letter with their previous clubs.<\/p>\n

Battling the Moncton Wildcats for first place overall throughout the second half, the Saguen\u00e9ens would fall one point short of the Jean-Rougeau Trophy with an impressive 49-10-3-2 record and 103 points, Chicoutimi\u2019s best regular season result in twenty years and the second-highest point total in the club\u2019s 53-season history. The Sags led the league in goals scored, fewest goals against, power play and penalty killing efficiency during the year, the first club since the 1997 Memorial Cup Champion Hull Olympiques to pull off that feat.<\/p>\n

All of the Saguen\u00e9ens\u2019 abilities were on display throughout the 2026 postseason as well. In their first round encounter against the Halifax Mooseheads, only a 2-1 squeaker in Game 2 provided any drama. The Sags outscored the Mooseheads 24-4 en route to a four-game sweep, the first playoff encounter between the two teams since the 1997 Conference Finals, a date which would prove prophetic for this year\u2019s Saguen\u00e9ens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Round two saw Chicoutimi matched up against one of its chief rivals, the Qu\u00e9bec Remparts. An up-and-coming group, the Sags bottled up the Remparts, allowing just two goals in yet another four-game sweep, including back-to-back road shutouts in Games 3 and 4. The first notable test for this versatile group came in the Semi-Finals versus the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Indeed, the opening game of the series saw the Huskies relinquish home ice advantage from Chicoutimi with a 3-1 triumph. However, the Saguen\u00e9ens would remain unfazed, capturing four of the next five contests and advancing to the league Final for the first time since that previously noted 1997 campaign.<\/p>\n

The Gilles-Courteau Trophy Final was a repeat of the clash for the Jean-Rougeau Trophy. The defending champion Wildcats drew first blood with a 5-2 victory in Game 1. The Sags answered back right away, erasing a 1-0 deficit in the second game to earn a 3-2 win. Game 3 in Chicoutimi was a roller coaster of unexpected events; holding a 4-2 lead midway through the third, Moncton found the back of the net twice, including once on a baffling dump-in attempt, to send the game to overtime. Despite two power play opportunities and a number of Grade \u2018A\u2019 chances for the Cats, Chicoutimi took a 2-1 series lead on a goal by Desruisseaux which was confirmed upon video review. Moncton would knot the series up again with a hard fought 4-3 victory in Game 4.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>If Game 3 was the undercard for weird and wild events, Game 5 was the main event. Trailing 4-0 in the second period and forced to deal with a fire alarm during the first intermission, the Sags reeled off six goals in the third period to sound their own alarm at the Avenir Center with a thrilling 7-6 triumph. It was the first time in 45 years a \u2018Q\u2019 team erased a four-goal deficit in the Final to earn the win. That momentum propelled the Saguen\u00e9ens back home where, on Sunday night, a 5-1 triumph delivered a QMJHL title to the organization for the first time in 32 years.<\/p>\n

The Sags rolled to a 16-4 postseason record by, literally, rolling. Deploying four lines and six defensemen with regularity, the club featured 12 players who reached double-digit points, led my Mass\u00e9\u2019s 24. An incredible 15 players recorded a point on the power play, while 12 different skaters were credited with a game-winning tally. In net, Beckman took the reins during the postseason, recording three shutouts and leading the league in goals against average.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This will be the Saguen\u00e9ens\u2019 fourth trip to the Memorial Cup. In both 1991 and 1994, the club, as league title holders, reached the tournament Semi-Final. The 1997 tournament saw the club, as the second QMJHL representative, go winless. The four participants at this year\u2019s event have combined for 14 previous tournament appearances; only the Silvertips are making their Memorial Cup debut.<\/p>\n

The Saguen\u00e9ens make their debut at the 2026 Memorial Cup Presented by Kubota on Saturday night when they face Everett. This will be followed by clashes on Sunday and Tuesday against Kelowna and Kitchener, respectively. All games get underway at 9pm ET\/10pm AT and will be broadcast via TSN and RDS.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  With the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota set to kick off on Friday night in Kelowna, British Columbia, the field that began with 61 CHL clubs in September has been whittled down to four. This year\u2019s QMJHL representatives, the 2026 Gilles-Courteau Trophy Champion Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens, join the OHL Champion Kitchener Rangers, WHL title…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":336097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1786],"tags":[{"term_id":9194,"name":"chicoutimi sagueneens","slug":"chicoutimi-sagueneens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9195,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":101,"filter":"raw","term_order":"223"},{"term_id":2144,"name":"Memorial Cup","slug":"memorial-cup-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2145,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":71,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"}],"class_list":["post-336088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article-en","tag-chicoutimi-sagueneens","tag-memorial-cup-en","category-1786","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/22150355\/Parcours-Sags-Coupe-Memorial-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/478"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":336078,"date":"2026-05-22T11:04:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336078"},"modified":"2026-05-22T11:04:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:04:59","slug":"meet-the-coaches-press-conference-at-2026-memorial-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/video\/meet-the-coaches-press-conference-at-2026-memorial-cup","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Coaches Press Conference at 2026 Memorial Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get to know the four head coaches competing for the 2026 Memorial Cup!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Get to know the four head coaches competing for the 2026 Memorial Cup!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":336081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1787],"tags":[{"term_id":9194,"name":"chicoutimi sagueneens","slug":"chicoutimi-sagueneens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9195,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":101,"filter":"raw","term_order":"223"},{"term_id":4902,"name":"Yanick Jean","slug":"yanick-jean-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4903,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"710"},{"term_id":2144,"name":"Memorial Cup","slug":"memorial-cup-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2145,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":71,"filter":"raw","term_order":"926"}],"class_list":["post-336078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-en","tag-chicoutimi-sagueneens","tag-yanick-jean-en","tag-memorial-cup-en","category-1787","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/22110444\/Coaches-0035-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":{"video_id":"2614581","partner_id":"27533","player_id":"47926","width":"16","height":"9","360p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/sd\/2614581.mp4","240p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/ld\/2614581.mp4","480p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/hsd\/2614581.mp4","1080p":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/fhd\/2614581.mp4","hls":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/streaming\/2614581\/2614581.m3u8","webp":"https:\/\/cdn.target-video.com\/live\/partners\/27533\/webp\/2614581.webp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":336074,"date":"2026-05-21T11:45:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/?p=336074"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:45:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:45:42","slug":"2026-memorial-cup-meet-the-sagueneens-nhl-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/lhjmq\/en\/article\/2026-memorial-cup-meet-the-sagueneens-nhl-prospects","title":{"rendered":"2026 Memorial Cup | Meet the Saguen\u00e9ens\u2019 NHL Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Today marks the official kickoff of activities surrounding the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament presented by Kubota Canada!<\/p>\n

This year, the QMJHL will be proudly represented by the 2026 Gilles-Courteau Trophy champions, the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens. This will be the Sags\u2019 fourth appearance at the national championship, having previously competed in the 1991, 1994 and 1997 tournaments.<\/p>\n

Led by head coach Yanick Jean, the QMJHL champions rely on an impressive core of seven players who have already been drafted by National Hockey League (NHL) teams.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the NHL prospects currently playing for the Saguen\u00e9ens:<\/p>\n