Kelowna, B.C.- It was Christmas in May at Prospera Place with an all-colour jersey matchup between the Kelowna Rockets and Everett Silvertips in the Memorial Cup round-robin finale. However, the Silvertips wouldn’t give up a single goal, much less a lump of coal.
The shorthanded Silvertips came out flying with a 4-0 over the Rockets to advance to the 2026 Memorial Cup semifinal.
Everett has not lost consecutive games in 2025-26.
Anders Miller denied all 28 shots he faced for his first Memorial Cup shutout and his sixth clean sheet of the 2025-26 season.
“I feel like all the support I had going for this game has just, like, helped me motivate myself to come in there and just kind of play my game, trust my game,” Miller said postgame.
Matias Vanhanen and Kayd Ruedig each recorded a goal and an assist in the victory.
Already entering the tournament without the services of team captain and Anaheim Ducks defensive prospect Tarin Smith, the Silvertips were also without Defenceman of the Year finalist and projected top 2027 NHL Draft pick Landon DuPont for the critical tilt.
The battered blueline saw forward Nolan Chastko filling in on a pairing with NHL Draft-eligible Brek Liske.
“That was a big, big moment as a group to rally around the fact that, you know, we have to insulate each other,” Silvertips Head Coach Steve Hamilton said. “I have to give a shoutout to Nolan Chastko. I mean, Nolan is as consummate a team guy as you find anywhere. The story about him in November coming back and playing defensc for 30 games and moving back to forward… I’m glad we knew we could play there, and just knowing our group, I knew they would recognize the situation and make sure that we were taking care of each other out there. I like the team having made 28 blocks tonight. That’s probably a pretty telling stat.”
The Western League clubs went tit for tat with solid early chances, including a wild sequence that saw Josh Banini stone Jesse Heslop on the doorstep before Anders Miller shut the door on Los Angeles Kings prospect Vojtech Cihar on a two-on-one rush.
The WHL Champions hit paydirt midway through the first period as 2026 WHL Trade Deadline acquisition Ruedig turned off the wall and ripped a wrister on net, which trickled past Banini for Ruedig’s first goal of the tournament.
The PA announcer had barely started announcing the goal before Everett struck again.
This time, it was 17-year-old rookie Jaxon Pisani with a point shot that solved the Kelowna netminder.
In an interesting twist, the goal marks Pisani’s first strike as a Silvertip, scoring in the Memorial Cup before lighting the lamp in WHL play.
Pisani’s father, retired NHLer Fernando Pisani, was also in attendance to see his son’s trivia-worthy goal.
“I was pretty ecstatic,” the former Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks blueliner said on the TSN broadcast. “You know, to score his first goal in this stage in this environment, I was pretty happy for him.”
Just over a minute into the second period, NHL Draft-eligible Matias Vanhanen padded the lead as he blocked an attempted zone-clearing pass and wound deep into the Kelowna zone to snap a shot high blocker side.
Vanhanen, who is ranked 54th among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, sits third in goals at the tournament with three.
Vanhanen’s tuck prompted the Rockets to put fellow NHL Draft-eligible Harrison Boettiger in net.
The Wheat Ridge, Col. product stood tall with a series of highlight reel saves, while holding Everett scoreless on three powerplays.
Detroit Red Wings first-round pick and Silvertips alternate captain Carter Bear made it 4-0 after collecting his own rebound and lofting a shot past Boettiger.
The loss marks the end of the Kelowna Rockets’ season.
“It wasn’t from a lack of care on the bench, it was just, you know, if goals cost $1, we brought 75 cents to the rink with us tonight,” Rockets Head Coach Derrick Martin said. “Props to them. I thought they played a good game. They’re short-staffed right now. I thought Miller was big when he needed to be big. I didn’t think we did a good enough job of testing him in the first 40 minutes. The end result is, unfortunately, we’re done.”
Everett (2-1-0) will now face the QMJHL Champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the Memorial Cup semifinal on Friday, May 29, at 6:00 p.m. PT.
TSN will broadcast to viewers in Canada, while those in the United States and around the world can follow along on Victory+ and NHL Network.
