Canucks prospect Gabriel Chiarot and the Kitchener Rangers have advanced to the 2026 Memorial Cup Final.
After taking a 3–2 win against the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneéns on Tuesday night, Vancouver Canucks prospect Gabriel Chiarot and the Kitchener Rangers have officially advanced to the 2026 Memorial Cup Final. The 2026 OHL champions won all three of their round-robin games against the Sagueneéns, Everett Silvertips, and Kelowna Rockets and will play in the final on Sunday.
Rangers goaltender and San Jose Sharks prospect Christian Kirsch got his third start of the tournament on Tuesday night, stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced from Chicoutimi. On the opposite side of the ice, Ottawa Senators prospect Lucas Beckman started in his third game for the Sagueneéns, surrendering three goals on 18 shots against.
Kitchener started with the lead in Tuesday’s game thanks to New York Islanders prospect Luca Romano, with the Rangers maintaining their lead throughout the remainder of the matchup. Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Sam O’Reilly scored to make it 2–0 for Kitchener by the four-minute mark of the second period, before 2026 draft prospect Émile Ricard scored Chicoutimi’s first.
Only 21 seconds into the third period, it was Chicago Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham who put Kitchener up 3–1, scoring what would ultimately stand as the game-winning goal.
While Chicoutimi also scored late in the third to finish the game with two goals, the biggest play of the period came when Sagueneéns defenceman Jordan Tourigny stomped on the foot of Kitchener forward Christian Humphreys. The defenceman was given a match penalty for the play, while Humphreys left the game and did not return. As of post-game, Kitchener head coach Jussi Ahokas did not have an update on the forward.
Photo Credit: Steve Dunsmoor-CHLWith the win, Kitchener clinches their spot in the 2026 Memorial Cup Final, where they will face the winner of the semi-final — with that matchup to be determined based on the results of Wednesday’s game between the WHL’s Silvertips and Rockets. If Everett wins, they will advance to the semi-final to face Chicoutimi. If Kelowna wins, they will force a tie-breaker that will take place at 6:00 pm PT on May 28.
The final matchup of the Memorial Cup round-robin will feature Canucks prospect Parker Alcos, who will look to help Kelowna keep their tournament alive with a win. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 pm PT on Wednesday.
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