Lefebvre lifts Chicoutimi past host Kelowna in Memorial Cup overtime
Photo by Steve Dunsmoor / CHL
KELOWNA, B.C. — Chicoutimi Saguenéens survived a late push from the host Kelowna Rockets and earned a critical 3-2 overtime victory Sunday night at the 2026 Memorial Cup inside Prospera Place.
The game marked the first overtime contest of the 2026 Memorial Cup.
Liam Lefebvre scored twice, including the overtime winner at 5:28, as Chicoutimi improved to 1-1 in the tournament while handing the Rockets a difficult 0-2 start on home ice.
Nathan Lecompte and Peteris Bulans assisted on the winning goal after a tightly played game that saw both clubs finish regulation tied 2-2 and nearly even in shots.
Lefebvre opened the scoring at 14:38 of the first period off assists from Maxim Schafer and Alonso Gosselin to give the Saguenéens a 1-0 lead.
Both teams also had goals disallowed in the opening period. Kelowna’s Shane Smith had a goal overturned for goaltender interference, while Nathan Lecompte was denied after officials ruled Chicoutimi had made a hand pass to set up the goal.
Kelowna responded in the second period when Tij Iginla tied the game at 6:29, finishing a setup from Hiroki Gojsic. With the goal, Iginla joined his father, Jarome, as a Memorial Cup goal scorer.
The Saguenéens regained the lead midway through the third on Anton Linde’s goal at 14:01, assisted by Nathan Lecompte, before the Rockets answered again less than two minutes later.
Mazden Leslie tied the game at 15:50 of the third period off assists from Tomas Poletin and Nate Corbet, sending the game to overtime.
Chicoutimi generated the only two shots of overtime, with Nathan Lecompte ringing a shot off the crossbar moments before Lefebvre ended the game at 5:28.
Lucas Beckman was sharp in goal for the Saguenéens, stopping 27 of 29 shots for a .931 save percentage over 65:28.
At the other end, Josh Banini made 26 saves on 29 shots for Kelowna, finishing with a .897 save percentage.
Shots finished dead even at 29-29 after regulation in a game that featured only six total penalty minutes and very few special-teams opportunities.
With the victory, Chicoutimi improved to 1-1 and will face Kitchener on Tuesday in its next round-robin matchup. Kelowna dropped to 0-2 and now faces a must-win game against Everett on Wednesday to keep its tournament hopes alive.
Round-robin play concludes Wednesday, with a potential tie-breaker scheduled for Thursday before the semifinal Friday and the Memorial Cup final Sunday.