Tough act to follow

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, May 9, 2007

So the WHL championship series between Vancouver and Medicine Hat is tied up 2-2, turning it into a best of three. By all accounts it’s been breathtaking stuff. The intensity level may come as a bit of a surprise, considering that since Vancouver is hosting the Memorial Cup, both teams automatically advance. I guess that’s the power of a banner.

Which brings me to my Everett-related observation from the first four games of the series. Silvertips winger Kyle Beach earned himself quite a reputation during his rookie season. Not only did he show he’s on his way to being one of the league’s offensive superstars, he also managed to turn himself into the U.S. Division’s public enemy No. 1 with his on-ice antics, including everything from excessive yapping to diving to borderline hits.

However, Beach has a long way to go before he reaches the heights (depths?) of Medicine Hat’s Derek Dorsett. Dorsett has been the main attraction so far in the series, and not because of his play. First, in Game 2, he engineered a fight that drew the ire of the Giants http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=2f21c78b-69d6-4d77-9da5-6605b5258ce2. Then in Game 4 he got a match penalty and subsequent one-game suspension for a biting incident http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=446e7b9d-b978-4c22-bd84-47f09a02833f. It remains to be seen whether Beach was watching and got any ideas, but it would probably be in his best interests to leave those particular antics to Dorsett.