Game Recap: Rangers Advance to Memorial Cup Final After Win Over Saguenéens

Game Recap: Rangers Advance to Memorial Cup Final After Win Over Saguenéens

Kelowna, BC – The Kitchener Rangers secured a spot in the final of the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota after a 3-2 win over the Chicoutimi Saguenéens Tuesday night in Kelowna, B.C.

Luca Romano (NYI), Sam O’Reilly (TB) and Jack Pridham (CHI) scored for the Rangers while Christian Kirsch (SJ) stopped 26 shots.

For Chicoutimi, Emile Ricard and Mavrick Lachance had goals as Lucas Beckman (OTT) made 16 saves.

With the victory, the Rangers will head to the Memorial Cup final for a CHL record seventh time where they will look to win their third national title (1982/2003).

After a goalless first it was the Rangers who would strike first as off of a Chicoutimi turnover, Romano kept the puck on an odd-man rush and beat Beckman high blocker at 1:38. The lead was doubled 2:19 later through O’Reilly’s second of the event as he buried a rebound after Pridham had initially been stopped.

The Saguenéens got back into the game through Ricard’s first of the tournament at 8:38 as he completed a lovely passing sequence that also featured Christophe Berthelot and Nathan Lecompte.

But Pridham pushed Kitchener’s lead back to two goals only 21 seconds into the third period as his seeing-eye shot from the blue found its way in for his fourth goal of the tournament.

Lachance cut the deficit to 3-2 with 3:54 left in regulation as he buried Emmanuel Vermette’s pass back door but the Sags couldn’t generate much in the closing moments to force overtime as they conclude the round-robin with a 1-2-0 record.

The round-robin concludes Wednesday when Everett faces Kelowna. A win for the Silvertips will see them advance to Friday’s semi-final where they would face Chicoutimi. For Kelowna, they simply have to win to keep their tournament alive and force a tie-breaker Thursday.

 

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CHI 28 – KIT 18

Power play: CHI 0/2 – KIT 0/2

FO%: CHI  43% – KIT 57%

 

The Starting Goalies:

Lucas Beckan (CH) – 15/18 Saves, Three Goals Against, Loss

Christian Kirsch (KIT) – 26/28 Saves, Two Goals Against, Win

 

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 2-3 Kitchener
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

 

UP NEXT:
The Kitchener Rangers have advanced to a record-breaking seventh Memorial Cup final which will be played on Sunday, May 31st at 4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 ET. As always the game will be broadcasted live on TSN/RDS in Canada, The NHL Network in the United States and streamed on Victroy +. The game can be heard in Kitchener on 570 NewsRadio.

 

WATCH PARTIES
As the Rangers prepare for late-night puck drops in Kelowna, fans are also encouraged to gather throughout the tournament at local restaurants and community watch parties to cheer on the Blueshirts. Rangers partners will be hosting Official Watch Party locations once again, creating an electric atmosphere throughout #RTown. Fans can enjoy the games with full audio and prizing at Four Fathers Brewing, Moose Winooskis, Jack Astor’s Kitchener and Boston Pizza Bingemans!

Follow along for everything Memorial Cup 2026 at our Memorial Cup Headquarters live on our website here!