The opening night of the 2026 Memorial Cup didn’t provide the Kelowna Rockets the start they hoped for.
In front of a sold out crowd at Prospera Place, the energy was electric ahead of the first Memorial Cup game in Kelowna, but as the game went on, the Kitchener Rangers experience from their recent run to the OHL championship was also evident as they cruised to a 5-0 win over the Rockets.
The first period was physical between both teams with a number of hits thrown on both sides and a fight between Rockets’ Dawson Gerwing and Rangers’ Jared Woodley.
Less than five minutes in, it was Kitchener who struck first when Dylan Edwards’ shot went off Rockets goaltender Harrison Boettiger and in, making it 1-0.
“I thought as a group, we needed to do more with the puck early on in the hockey game,” said Rockets head coach Derrick Martin postgame. “It took us a long time to get any type of flow to our game. When you’re chasing and you’re giving teams like that enough opportunity, you’re going to pay the price.”
In the middle frame, after Rockets’ forward Vojtech Cihar was called for roughing in a scrum after a whistle, he was sprung out of the penalty box but stopped by Rangers goaltender Christian Kirsch, who made 24 saves in the shutout win.
The play resulted in the Kitchener coming up the ice and Woodley finding the back of the net, doubling the lead. Former West Kelowna Warrior Jack Pridham assisted on the goal.
Early in the third period, Rockets’ defenceman Mazden Leslie (who played forward on Friday night) was hit up high and was forced to leave the game for a few shifts. In his defence, defenceman Nate Corbet fought Carson Campbell, in a fight where both parties threw many punches towards one another.
After Rockets defenceman Mazden Leslie got crushed with a hit, Nate Corbet stepped in and fought Carson Campbell where a ton of punches were thrown.
Leslie has gone to the dressing room https://t.co/bsZa8w5N6E pic.twitter.com/zln5OjKy6t
— Jordy Cunningham (@CunninghamJordy) May 23, 2026
Leslie was able to return to the game.
As the third period went on, Kitchener was able to strike in quick succession, getting goals from Pridham, Sam O’Reilly, and Haeden Ellis in a 3:42 span to make it 5-0.
“It felt great,” said Pridham, who was named player of the game for his multi-point effort. “It was a nice play by [Romano]… just wanted to do everything I can to help the team win.”
As for the Rockets, Westch said they weren’t ready.
”I overall don’t think we did enough,” said Wetsch after the game. “I mean we trained five weeks for this and I think we just weren’t ready tonight and I think we just got to bounce back to the next game.”
Both Martin and Westch said the five-week break for the Rockets isn’t an excuse.
“Inside our dressing room, we’re not using that as a scapegoat and we’re not using that as an excuse for our start tonight,” said Martin. “Inevitably, we knew that there was going to be some parts of our game that were rusty. I thought our penalty kill was excellent and we got a little bit of momentum in the first half of our power play and we didn’t generated a goal on it. I think five-on-five we’re a big strong team and we have to make it difficult on teams to play at their own ends and it took us a long time to establish.”
But in a tournament where every game matters, Westch stressed Kelowna has to have a “goldfish memory.”
“Just try to reset, make sure we’re well recovered and start prepping for Chicoutimi and we’ll be good to go,” said Wetsch. “Every single guy in there wants to win this and they believe that we can… we’re a family in there. I mean one guy thinks something and we all think it so it’s great to see them in the room.”
Boettiger was busy in the contest, making 34 saves on 39 shots.
The Rockets are back in action on Sunday, May 24 against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Kitchener will enjoy two days off before facing the Everett Silvertips on Monday, May 25.
Memorial Cup action continues on Saturday, May 23 as Everett and Chicoutimi face off at 6 p.m.
Kettles’ Return
Friday night’s contest marked the first game since Nov. 8, 2025 for Rockets defenceman Peyton Kettles, who underwent shoulder surgery.
“It was definitely a little slow off the start, felt a little rusty but that’s no excuse for anyone really,” said the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect.
Despite the loss, Kettles is excited he’s able to play in the prestigious tournament after recovering the last six months.
“It was definitely special for everyone that’s helped me and get back to this tournament and play,” added Kettles. “It’s definitely been a long journey, painful one too, but I’m super excited to be able to be on this team and play in the tournament with the guys.”