In a heart-pounding Memorial Cup thriller that had the Prospera Place crowd on its feet until the final horn, the Chicoutimi Saguenéens edged the host Kelowna Rockets 3-2 in overtime on Sunday night, delivering a rollercoaster of skill, grit, and drama worthy of the tournament’s biggest stage. From Liam Lefebvre’s dazzling bar-down breakaway snipe to Tij Iginla’s blistering one-timer, Anton Linde’s clutch net-front tip, and Mazden Leslie’s gritty game-tying rebound, both teams traded momentum swings and highlight-reel moments in a fiercely contested battle. With Chicoutimi improving to 1-1 and Kelowna falling to 0-2 in a must-win scenario, the game set the perfect tone for a memorable tournament — proving once again why the Memorial Cup is pure hockey magic.
Liam Lefebvre opens up the scoring for Chicoutimi at 14:38 of the first period. The assists on the goal went to Maxim Schafer and Alonso Gosselin.–Bursting down the ice on a breakaway with the game still scoreless, Liam Lefebvre went bar-down with a silky backhander that ripped into the top corner, sending the Chicoutimi bench into a frenzy and giving the Saguenéens a 1-0 lead late in the first! That highlight-reel snipe set the tone for a thriller and showed exactly why he’s a dangerous threat every time he hits the ice.
Shots on goal in the first period were 9-7 for Chicoutimi
Tij Iginla ties the game up at 1 at 6:29 of the third period. The assist on the goal went to Hiroki Gojsic.–With the Rockets trailing 1-0 early in the second, Hiroki Gojsic wheeled around the boards and zipped a perfect feed to Tij Iginla in the high slot, where the Utah prospect unloaded a blistering one-timer that rocketed past the glove and tied the game at 1-1 in front of the roaring home crowd!That laser from the left circle sparked Kelowna’s comeback and gave the hosts their first Memorial Cup goal of the tournament — pure skill from a future NHL star.
Shots on goal in the third period were 9-8 for the Rockets
Denmark national Anoton Linde gives Chicoutimi the lead sneaking a trickler in at 14:01 of the third period. The assist on the goal went to Nathan Lecompte.–Crashing the net with seconds ticking down late in the third, Anton Linde got a stick on a sharp point shot and perfectly tipped it past Banini’s desperate paddle, restoring Chicoutimi’s lead at 2-1 with just under six minutes remaining and electrifying the visiting bench!That gritty redirection showed pure net-front battle and put the Saguenéens on the brink of victory in a must-win game.
20 year old Lloydminster, Alberta native Mazden Leslie ties the game up for the Rockets at 15:50 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Tomas Poletin and Nate Corbet.–With the Rockets trailing 2-1 and time running out in the third, Mazden Leslie — the veteran defenseman moonlighting up front — crashed the net and chipped home a long rebound on the right side, roofing it into the gaping cage with 4:10 left to tie the game at 2-2 and ignite the home crowd into a frenzy!That gritty, opportunistic finish from the blue-liner-turned-forward kept Kelowna’s Memorial Cup hopes alive and forced thrilling overtime in a do-or-die showdown.
Parker Alcos cross checked Berthloet in the neck when he was down with only 2 minutes left in the game. This should be a 5 minute major. It looked intent to injure. It was reviewed and they only gave him a 2. Either way thats way too aggressive, he got very lucky there. So the last 2 minutes are short handed for the Rockets which they killed off.
Shots on goal in the third period were 13-10 for the Rockets
Liam Lefebvre scores the OT winner in the 3 on 3 overtime for Chicoutimi at 5:28 into extra time. The assists on the goal went to Nathan Lecompte and Peteris Bulans—Liam Lefebvre scored his second goal of the game at 5:28 of overtime to give the Chicoutimi Sagueneens a 3-2 victory over the host Kelowna Rockets on Sunday night in the Memorial Cup. In the three-on-three tiebreaker, Lefebvre took a pass from Nathan Lecompte in the left circle and fired a one-timer past goalie Josh Banini.
Shots on goal in the overtime period were 2-0 Chicoutimi. The shots at the end of the game were even at 29 each.
For the Chicoutimi Sagueneens Lucas Beckman stopped 27 of the 29 shots that he faced for the win. For the Rockets Edmonton, Alberta native Josh Banini stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced.
Next Memorial Cup game is Monday May 25th in the heavy weight bout when Kitchener takes on Everett.
