05/31/26 11:38:00
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05/31 23:36 CDT Kitchener Rangers beat the Everett Silvertips 6-2 to win the
Memorial Cup
Kitchener Rangers beat the Everett Silvertips 6-2 to win the Memorial Cup
KELOWNA, British Columbia (AP) --- Jack Pridham and San O'Reilly broke it open
with power-play goals in a 37-second span early in the third period and the
Kitchener Rangers beat the Everett Silvertips 6-2 on Sunday night to win the
Memorial Cup.
Ontario Hockey League champion Kitchener won its third Memorial Cup title and
the fourth in franchise history. The team took its first championship in 1952
as the Guelph Biltmores, moved to Kitchener in 1963 and won titles in 1982 and
2003.
Everett missed a chance to become the fourth U.S. franchise to win the event.
The Portland Winterhawks won in 1983 and 1998, the Spokane Chiefs in 1991 and
2008 and the Saginaw Spirit in 2024. The Silvertips won the Western Hockey
League to reach the Memorial Cup for the first time.
Kitchener won all four games in Kelowna, also beating Everett 6-2 in
round-robin play. Everett advanced to the final Friday night, topping Quebec
Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Chicoutimi 6-1 in the semifinal.
O'Reilly had three assists for a four-point game, and Luke Ellinas, Dylan
Edwards, Jared Woolley and Christian Humphreys also scored. Christian Kirsch
made 30 saves.
Matias Vanhanen and Carter Bear scored for Everett, and 17-year-old defenseman
Landon DuPont had two assists. Anders Miller stopped 26 shots.
Edwards gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 6:45 left in the first period, scoring
from the left side of a pass from O'Reilly.
After an apparent Everett goal was waved off early in the second after a review
determined Zackary Shantz batted the puck in with his elbow, Woolley made it
3-1 with 4:34 left in the period.
With Kayd Ruedig and Shantz serving penalties for Everett, Pridham scored his
fifth goal of the tournament at 26 seconds of the third off an assist from
O'Reilly, who then made it 5-1 at 1:03.
Bear scored for Everett at 2:59, and Humphreys capped the scoring with a
short-handed, empty-net goal.
The teams traded goals in a 28-second span early in the first period. Ellinas
opened the scoring at 5:47, and Vanhanen tied it at 6:15. Kitchener then killed
a four-minute power with Alexander Bilecki serving a double minor for
high-sticking.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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