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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