KELOWNA, CANADA - MAY 31: Lukas Kaplan #12 of the Everett Silvertips is checked by Alexander Bilecki #89 of the Kitchener Rangers during the first period of their 2026 Memorial Cup final game at Prospera Place on May 31, 2026 in Kelowna, British Colu … (Derek Cain / Getty Images)
The first trip to the Memorial Cup for the Everett Silvertips ultimately ended one win shy of their ultimate goal.
Just like their matchup during round-robin play, the Kitchener Rangers beat the Silvertips by a 6-2 margin on Sunday night to win the Memorial Cup.
Everett couldn't solve goaltender Christian Kirsch as he stopped 30 of 32 shots he faced from the Silvertips. A fourth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2024, Kirsch stopped 70 of 74 shots he faced from Everett over two games in the tournament.
Matias Vanhanen and Carter Bear each scored for the Silvertips, and Landon DuPont had a pair of assists, and Seattle Kraken 2024 second-round pick Julius Miettinen also had an assist for Everett. DuPont – who just turned 17 on Thursday – is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
The Rangers struck first to take the lead just shy of six minutes into the opening period. Luke Ellinas redirected a shot-pass from Alexander Bilecki by Everett goaltender Anders Miller to give Kitchener the 1-0 lead.
However, the advantage would last just 28 seconds.
The Silvertips responded to tie the game as Vanhanen finished a rebound off a DuPont chance to level the score at 1-1.
A double-minor penalty against Bilecki for a high-stick gave Everett a four-minute power play and a chance to take the lead, but the Kitchener penalty kill – along with Kirsch – held strong. Following the unsuccessful power plays, Everett held a 14-4 advantage in shots as Kirsch shined.
The Silvertips then conceded a breakaway chance as Sam O'Reilly sprung Dylan Edwards onto goal as he beat Miller with a backhand finish to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead at the first intermission.
Just 1:28 into the second period, the Silvertips appeared to tie the game at 2-2.
Kirsch made an initial save and lost his footing in a massive scramble in front of the net. Everett continued to whack at the loose puck with Zackary Shantz finally getting the puck to deflect over Kirsch into the goal.
However, a replay review showed that Shantz directed the puck into the net with his right elbow while it was airborne and the goal was taken off the board.
Kitchener began to apply heavy pressure through the second period and cracked through with another goal to extend the lead.
Everett got caught for a lengthy stretch in their own zone with Miller having to make several big stops to keep the Rangers off the board. The Silvertips finally got a clearance to briefly relieve the pressure, but Kitchener capitalized on the next trip up the ice.
A backhanded pass from Haeden Ellis set up Jared Woolley as he beat Miller under the bar to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead.
Then late in the period, the Silvertips put themselves in greater peril. A holding penalty on Kayd Ruedig gave Kitchener a power play chance with 55 seconds left in the period, and Shantz delivered a cross-check to the back of Sam O'Reilly while he as on the ice in the closing seconds to give the Rangers a 5-on-3 power play to open the third period.
Kitchener didn't let the opportunity go to waste.
Jack Pridham scored during the two-man advantage to extend the lead just 26 seconds into the third, which left more power play time on the board. O'Reilly converted on that chance as a puck deflected into the goal by Miller off the skate of defenseman Luke Vlooswyk to give the Rangers a commanding 5-1 lead. The two goals came 37 seconds apart.
O'Reilly earned the Memorial Cup MVP with three goals and five assists in four games, becoming just the fourth player to win MVP of the regular season, playoffs, and Memorial Cup in the same season.
Carter Bear got one back for the Silvertips less than two minutes later, beating Kirsch off a pass from Julius Miettinen across the front of the goal to make it a 5-2 game.
The Silvertips pulled MIller with over three minutes left to play to try and close the gap, but Christian Humphries added an empty-net tally for the Rangers to seal the championship.
Everett would have become just the fourth U.S.-based team to claim the Memorial Cup, joining the Spokane Chiefs (1991, 2008), Portland Winterhawks (1998, 1983) and Saginaw Spirit, who were the most recent American champions in 2024. The WHL hasn't won a Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings won in 2014.
The Seattle Thunderbirds reached the Memorial Cup final in 2023 before falling 5-0 to the Quebec Remparts. Spokane was the last team to win the Memorial Cup from the U.S. in the WHL in 2008, when they beat Kitchener 4-1.
Kitchener won all four games they played in the Memorial Cup, winning those games by a combined 20-6 margin.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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