KELOWNA, BC – The two Vancouver Canucks prospects in the 2026 Memorial Cup kicked off on Friday night with the host city, Kelowna Rockets, taking on the Kitchener Rangers. Not-so Canucks fan favourite and former Kelowna Rocket Duncan Keith dropped the puck to start the tournament. Outside of that appearance, the Rockets fans did not have much else to cheer about as the Rangers secured the win with a 5-0 shutout. However, the game was much closer than the lopsided scoreline would indicate.

Dylan Edwards got the scoring going early, beating 2026 draft-eligible Harrison Boettinger with a shot that the goaltender would likely want to have back. It was a bad-angle shot that just trickled through him. The contest would stay 1-0 for the 30 minutes of game action until Jared Woolley pinched up from the blueline and buried the insurance marker to head into the second intermission with a 2-0 lead.

The Rockets did their best to rally a comeback, but couldn’t beat Rangers netminder Christian Kirsch. Then halfway through the third, the floodgates opened for the Rangers, as Jack Pridham, Sam O’Reilly, and Haeden Ellis scored three goals in less than three minutes to bring the scoreline to 5-0. Kirsch earned the first Memorial Cup shutout since 2024, and the first ever by a European netminder.

KIT 1-0: Dylan Edwards (1), from Carson Campbell (1) and Cameron Reid (1).

KIT 2-0: Jared Woolley (1), from Jack Pridham (1).

KIT 3-0: Jack Pridham (1), from Luca Romano (1) and Carson Campbell (2).

KIT 4-0: Sam O’Reilly (1), from Dylan Edwards (1) and Alexander Belicki (1).

KIT 5-0: Haeden Ellis (1), from Alexander Belicki (2) and Christian Humphreys (1).

Kitchener came ready to play and proved they were deserving OHL Champions. Despite having a ton of skill in their top six, they impressed in the physical game. They matched the Rockets’ known physicality; however, the Rangers could have been called for a few more penalties. Despite being undersized, Dylan Edwards looked like a pest of a player to play against. The second line of Christian Humphreys, Luca Romano and Jack Pridham was an offensive driver for the Rangers. And we haven’t even mentioned the two NHL first-round picks on their team in Sam O’Reilly and Cameron Reid. They were the better team and deserved to walk away with the win.

Kelowna just didn’t have many quality looks in the game. Shane Smith had two Grade-A scoring opportunities at the net front and missed the net on both of his shot attempts. Regular season leading scorer Tij Iginla was hardly noticeable. Mazden Leslie was moved from defence to forward for an offensive spark, but he did not generate much in his new position. Boettinger was their best player and kept them in the game for the first 50 minutes. Outside of the first goal, it’s hard to blame him for the loss. Ultimately, they looked like a team that hadn’t played in five weeks.

Pridham had a beautiful pass to set up Woolley for the insurance marker, and lit the lamp himself with a rush down the left wing boards to spark the three-goal fury in the third period. At points throughout the game when the Rangers needed to generate more offence, he was elevated to the top line with Edwards and O’Reilly. In a pinch, fans can expect to see him move up like that as the tournament gets tougher.

There weren’t many offensive standouts for the Rockets in this game. However, eyes were glued to Dawson Gerwing when he was on the ice. He was one of the Rockets who came to play. Gerwing set the tone early, seeking out contact with some massive, bone-crushing hits along the boards on the forecheck against Rangers defenders, and even dropped the gloves with Woolley in the first period. Didn’t see many flashes of offence, but his physicality was put on full display.

Chiarot did not find the scoresheet in this game; however, his linemates did with his help. As he spoke about on Wednesday, Chiarot was around the net, in the greasy areas, retrieving pucks for his linemates to maintain zone possession. He finished the game with a plus-two rating and three shots on goal.

Alcos had a tough game. Some unnecessary pinches in the offensive zone and neutral zone led to rush chances for the Rangers the other way. On the Rangers’ fifth goal, Alcos stayed with Humphreys with the puck down the boards. Humphreys then dropped the puck, and instead of switching focus back to the puck, Alcos stayed with the Rangers forward. This gave Belicki time to load up and fire the shot on net, which was deflected in off Ellis. We’ll give him a pass for not playing in five weeks, but hope we see a better outing from Alcos on Sunday against Chicoutimi.

Saturday’s Memorial Cup action will see Landon Dupont and the Everett Silvertips take on the Chicoutimi Saguenéens at 6 PM local time.