Everett Silvertips – Everett’s Zackary Shantz and Carter Bear scored 50 seconds apart in the second period as the Silvertips overcame a Chicoutimi lead to beat the Sagueneens 5-3 in the Memorial Cup opener for both teams in Kelowna, British Columbia.
KELOWNA, British Columbia — The Memorial Cup opener didn’t start with fireworks for Everett. It started with a Chicoutimi lead that suddenly looked fragile after a fast turn in the second period.
Zackary Shantz and Carter Bear found the net in a 50-second span to flip the momentum, and the Everett Silvertips held on for a 5-3 victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Saturday night. It was the first Memorial Cup game in franchise history for Everett.
Shantz put the Silvertips in front 3-2 with 6:05 left in the second, scoring from the left side after a pass from Jesse Heslop from behind the goal. Bear followed shortly after, drafted 13th overall by Detroit last summer, finishing off a turnover with a feed from 16-year-old star Landon DuPont.
The comeback wasn’t built on just one swing. Everett had already put goals on the board earlier through Jesse Heslop, Lukas Kaplan and Matias Vanhanen, who scored in the first Memorial Cup game in franchise history for the Western Hockey League champion Silvertips. Anders Miller made 22 saves.
Chicoutimi didn’t fade quietly. After Alex Huang put the Sagueneens up 2-1 at 5:39 of the second, Kaplan leveled the game 33 seconds later. Later, Christophe Berthelot and Maxim Masse also scored for Chicoutimi. Lucas Beckman made 32 saves.
Everett’s win adds to the bigger storyline both sides were carrying into the tournament: the Silvertips are trying to become the fourth U.S.-based franchise to win the Memorial Cup. Portland has won in 1983 and 1998, Spokane in 1991 and 2008, and Saginaw in 2024.
The timing also mattered for how each team arrived. Everett finished the WHL playoffs on May 15 and had lost only two games in four rounds to reach the four-team Memorial Cup. Chicoutimi last played May 17.
Round-robin play is already underway around Kelowna. On Friday night, the Ontario Hockey League champion Kitchener Rangers opened with a 5-0 victory over the host Kelowna Rockets.
Chicoutimi and Kelowna meet next on Sunday night, while Everett returns to the ice on Monday night against Kitchener.
Memorial Cup Everett Silvertips Chicoutimi Sagueneens Zackary Shantz Carter Bear Anders Miller Lucas Beckman Landon DuPont Kelowna Rockets Kitchener Rangers WHL Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Ontario Hockey League
So wait Everett won 5-3 but it says Chicoutimi was leading? How does that even happen fast like that.
Memorial Cup opener sounds exciting but also like random chaos? 50 seconds and then it flips… hockey is wild. Also “16-year-old star” Landon DuPont?? That’s insane.
I swear these teams always start slow then suddenly go crazy in the second period. Idk if it was turnovers or whatever but 5-3 doesn’t sound like a comeback, it sounds like they were just better the whole time.
The part about Everett trying to be the fourth U.S.-based team makes me think they’re like “supposed” to win lol. Like Portland, Spokane, Saginaw… and then Everett, okay. But I don’t really get how the Memorial Cup schedule works either, round robin already underway??