Saturday . . . .

There has been an interesting battle brewing in Medicine Hat that has served to shed some light on what has been an ongoing problem faced by sports writers who cover the league and the WHL and its teams. In a Wednesday game in Medicine Hat, Tigers C Tyler Ennis took two minor penalties late in the third period of a 2-2 game. The Regina Pats scored on the power play and won, 3-2. A writer from the Medicine Hat News asked to speak with Ennis after the game but was told he couldn’t. This wasn’t the first time a writer from the News had found himself in such a predicament. So the News filed a complaint with the WHL office and a story detailing the situation appeared in the newspaper. . . . Two people from the News sports department have since sat down with Willie Desjardins, the GM/head coach of the Tigers, and hopefully ironed things out. . . . While this may not seem like such a big deal to the average fan, it is a huge issue with the people who cover the teams in this league. In the OHL, the media policy calls for dressing rooms to be open to media 10 minutes after games. In the WHL, coaches and players (unless they are being treated for injuries) are to be made available to the media 15 minutes after games. . . . Very few, if any, WHL teams open their dressing rooms to the media after games. Most, but not all, have someone stationed outside the dressing room who will go in and tell a player he is wanted for an interview. But I cannot tell you how much time I have wasted standing in a hallway waiting for a player, or players, to come out and talk about a game that has been over for 15, 20 or 25 minutes. . . . And all of this with a deadline breathing down my neck. . . . The WHL will tell you again and again that it is a developmental league. That being the case, it should open its dressing rooms to the media on practice days, before and after pregame skates and 10 minutes after games. That would make for better media relations and allow writers to breathe a whole lot easier. . . . Of course, we won’t even get into the fact that those who are employed by the great god TV are allowed to interview players or coaches before games, during games and immediately after games. Meanwhile, the ink-stained wretches, who are there game after game and day after day, get frozen out by an outdated media policy. . . . So the next time you are reading a story in your favourite birdcage liner and you are wondering why there isn’t a quote there from a player involved in a key play, perhaps it’s because the writer involved was faced with an early deadline and didn’t have time to wait for a player to shower and come out of a dressing room, a situation that could be alleviated were those rooms open to the press for 10 or 15 minutes after games. . . . And don’t think for a moment that writers especially enjoy going into a dressing room after a game. But, please, we do have jobs to do. . . . And, under present circumstances, the WHL could be whistled far too often for interference. . . .

SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

In Saskatoon, the Calgary Hitmen scored two goals 72 seconds part as they beat the Blades, 2-1. . . . C Ian Duval (3:38) and C Ryan White (4:50) scored for Calgary (16-8-0-1). . . . LW Curtis Hamilton, the son of Kelowna Rockets governor and GM Bruce Hamilton, had the Blades’ goal, his second of the season, late in the second. Curtis doesn’t turn 16 until Dec. 4. . . . The Blades (8-14-1-0) lost for the second straight time at home. . . . Calgary was 0-for-6 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-for-1. . . . F Mike Reich, acquired Friday from the Vancouver Giants, made his Saskatoon debut. He is from Craik, Sask., which is a few slapshots south of Saskatoon and a few wristshots north of Regina. . . . Saskatoon D John Flatters has been suspended indefinitely while the WHL looks into his boarding major from a Friday game with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . D Woody Klassen, 16, from the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers was in the Blades’ lineup. He is the brother of Blades D Sam Klassen, 18. . . .

In Brandon, the Wheat Kings scored three times in a span of 3:17 in the third period and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 4-1. . . . Moose Jaw F Jordan Knackstedt scored the game’s first goal, 33 seconds into the third period. . . . C Tyler Dittmer tied it for Brandon at 4:34 and F Nathan Green and F Matt Lowry followed with goals for the home side. . . . Dittmer has 17 goals this season. . . . Green’s goal came via the PP, ending an 0-for-23 slump. . . . Brandon was 1-for-7 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-2. . . . Brandon improved to 15-9-0-1. . . . The Warriors, who have lost six in a row, slipped to 9-9-3-1. . . . The Moose Jaw slump started with a 6-3 loss in Brandon that was the Warriors’ first regulation-time loss in 12 games. . . . Brandon lost D Theran Yeo to an undisclosed injury in the second period. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips got goals from newly acquired Clayton Bauer and F Kyle Beach as they beat the Vancouver Giants, 2-1. . . . Bauer was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels earlier in the week. . . . Bauer had a first-period power-play while Beach struck in the secondd period as Everett took a 2-0 lead. . . . The Giants, who had won six straight, got a goal from James Wright late in the third period. . . . Everett (13-10-0-1) got 22 saves from Leland Irving in front of 8,320 fans. . . . G Kramer Barnstable made his second start of the season for Vancouver (17-5-1-2) and made 13 saves. . . . Everett lost C Zack Dailey in the opening minutes of the first period. He suffered an arm injury, left for X-rays, which were negative, and didn’t return. . . . Dailey had scored the winning goal in OT one night earlier as the Silvertips beat the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 3-2. . . . RW Dan Gendur (shoulder) didn’t play for Everett. . . .

In Red Deer, C Landon Ferraro scored his sixth goal of the season with 1:43 left in the third period to give the Rebels a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . F Carter Smith, who joined the Rebels from the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers after earlier WHL stints with Moose Jaw and Everett, had his second goal, this one shorthanded, in as many games for the Rebels. . . . Red Deer RW J.D. Watt was ejected at 2:45 of the first period for a checking-from-behind major. Watt can expect to hear from the WHL office. . . . F Jeremy Boyer scored both Seattle goals, the second one forging a 2-2 tie early in the third period. Boyer, who had one goal as a rookie last season, has nine this season. . . . Seattle outshot Red Deer 37-21 but the Rebels got a big effort from G Morgan Clark and its penalty-killing unit. . . . The visitors were 0-for-8 on the PP. . . .

In Portland, the Kelowna Rockets earned at least a point in their 10^th straight game as they beat the Winter Hawks, 4-1. . . . The Rockets (12-7-2-2) are 7-0-1-2 in their last 10 games. . . . Linemates Colin Long and Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists each for Kelowna. . . . Portland (3-19-0-0) has lost six straight and has been outscored 24-7 over that stretch. . . . Kelowna outshot the home side, 38-27. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-5 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-5. . . .

In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman scored his 18^th goal and added an assist as the Chiefs dumped the Prince George Cougars, 5-1. . . . Bowman, who had a late-game fight for the Gordie Howe hat trick, has points in nine straight games. . . . The Chiefs (17-3-1-2), who have won four in a row, pulled into a tie with the Vancouver Giants for first place in the Western Conference. . . . The Cougars (9-17-0-0) lost their eighth straight game. . . . F Levko Koper had two goals for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski faced only 12 shots. . . . Spokane C Chris Langkow had a goal and two helpers for his first career three-point game. . . . Prince George G Real Cyr faced 36 shots. . . . Spokane had a 17-4 edge in shots in the first period. . . . It was the final meeting of the season between the teams, with Spokane winning all four games. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., C Jason Reese and LW Colton Yellow Horn each had two goals as the Tri-City Americans beat the Regina Pats, 4-1. . . . Tri-City G Chet Picard was sharp in making 26 saves. . . . With Regina leading 1-0 on a Troy Ofukany goal, Reese scored twice in the second period and Yellow Horn did the same in the third. . . . The Americans (175-0-0) won for the fourth straight time and moved within three points of top spot in the Western Conference. . . . Tri-City was 2-for-8 on the PP; Regina was 2-for-4. . . . Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald notes that linesman Trevor Shively is likely to miss two weeks of action after being injured in a Friday game. He suffered a 16-stitch cut on a hand while breaking up a fight between Tri-City’s Tyler Schmidt and Garret Thiessen of the Prince George Cougars. . . . Saturday’s game featured a meeting between the Kraus brothers – D Kevin, 18, of the Americans and C Tim, 20, of the Pats. Neither of the boys, who are from Garden Grove, Calif., hit the scoresheet. Their mother, Lori Morsk, was scheduled to attend, along with her husband, Dan, and another son, Trent. As well, Lori’s father, Jim Simmons, and brother, Chip Simmons, were to fly in from Las Vegas to watch this one. . . . Also planning on attending were Dan Kraus, the boys’ father, his wife, Christine, and son Kyle. . . .

In Chilliwack, RW Brady Calla scored twice to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 4-1 victory over the Bruins. . . . The Blazers, who are 5-1-0-0 since acquiring Calla from the Moose Jaw Warriors for D Keaton Ellerby and making a coaching change, are 11-10-1-1 and seventh in the Western Conference, four points ahead of Seattle. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc came up with 28 saves. . . . The Bruins (13-8-3-0) are five points ahead of Kamloops. . . . Chilliwack G Mark Friesen stopped 27 shots. . . . The Blazers have won three straight from the Bruins after Chilliwack 2on 2-1 in Kamloops on opening night. . . .

In Prince Albert, the blazing hot Lethbridge Hurricanes got a goal and an assist from F Mitch Fadden as they dumped the Raiders, 3-1. . . . The Hurricanes (16-7-1-1) have won seven in a row and 12 of 13. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola faced only 15 shots. . . . The victory lifted Lethbridge into first place in the Eastern Conference, one point clear of the Calgary Hitmen and two up on the Regina Pats. . . . The Raiders (8-13-3-1) have lost two straight.