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Wildcatters Weekly

April 9, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Texas Wildcatters News Release


Beaumont, TX (April 9, 2007) The Texas Wildcatters are headed to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time in team history. The Wildcatters will face the Gwinnett Gladiators in the first round of the playoffs in a best of five game series. Texas finished the regular season with a record of 41-22-9 for 91 points. The Wildcatters placed second in the South Division and will have home ice advantage against Gwinnett in the first round. The series will start on the road, but the 'Catters will have the decisive game 5 if necessary at Ford Arena. Forward Kevin Baker led the Wildcatters in scoring with 81 points in the regular season. Baker was also number one on the team with 36 goals. Goaltender Matt Yeats was second in the league with 32 wins and first in the ECHL with six shut outs.

The schedule for the South Division Semifinals between the Wildcatters (2nd Seed) and the Gwinnett Gladiators (3rd Seed) is as follows:

Game 1: Saturday, April 14, 6:35 p.m. CT @ Gwinnett, The Arena at Gwinnett Center

Game 2: Sunday, April 15, 3:05 p.m. CT @ Gwinnett, The Arena at Gwinnett Center

Game 3: Wednesday, April 18, 7:00 p.m. CT @ Texas, Ford Arena

Game 4: Friday, April 20, 7:30 p.m. CT @ Texas, Ford Arena *

Game 5: Sunday, April 22, TBA @ Texas, Ford Arena *

(* if necessary)

'Catter Crazy for the Playoffs - Buy Playoff Tickets NOW

The Wildcatters will represent Southeast Texas in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time in team history. Playoff Ticket Packages are on sale by calling the Wildcatters at (409) 951-5500. Tickets start at just $11 per game and you can save as much as $4 per game by purchasing a package.

Single game tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster Tuesday morning, April 10 at 11:00 a.m. You can purchase single game tickets from Ticketmaster by calling (409) 833-7747, logging on to ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Ford Park Box Office.

This Week's Games

Saturday, April 14 at 6:35 p.m. CT and Sunday, April 15 at 3:05 p.m. CT at Gwinnett

The Wildcatters begin the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs on Saturday and Sunday at Gwinnett against the Gladiators. The 'Catters took the season series with a record of 5-3-0 against Gwinnett. While Texas is 1-3-0 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center, the Wildcatters are a perfect 4-0-0 at home this season against Gwinnett. The Gladiators are led by the top scorer in the ECHL, Brad Schell who finished the season with 25 goals and 85 assists for 110 points. Forward Scott Mifsud was second in the league in scoring with 94 points. Goaltenders Dave Caruso and Dan Turple split time in net for the Gladiators.

Last week - Wildcatters go to Carolinas and win one out of three to finish regular season

Wednesday, April 4 at Charlotte 4-0 Win

Matt Yeats made 33 saves for his league leading sixth shut out of the season as the Wildcatters shut out the Charlotte Checkers 4-0 in front of 4,133 at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The 'Catters extended their winning streak to five and they snapped the Checkers win streak which ends at six. Daniel Sparre struck first for the 'Catters as the former Checker got a beautiful feed from Jonathan Paiement on the power play midway through the first period to make it 1-0. Then Paiement would get a goal of his own 1:06 into the second as he beat Charlotte goaltender Evan Lindsay on the far side to make it 2-0 Texas. In the third period, a little insurance helped the Wildcatters cause as Kevin Baker scored a power play goal and Olivier Proulx added an even strength goal as Texas went on for the 4-0 shut out win. It was Baker's 35th goal of the year and Proulx's 27th goal of the year.

Friday, April 6 at Columbia 3-2 Loss

Columbia forward Jeff Miles scored two goals including the game winner with just 2:07 left to give the Inferno a 3-2 win over the Wildcatters in front of 4,286 at the Carolina Coliseum. The Inferno scored two shorthanded goals. The second came from Miles which was the game tying goal. He then added the game winner in the third. The 'Catters came out strong and held two leads in the game as Colin Nicholson netted both goals for Texas. The first came 7:16 into the contest with help from Jonathan Paiement and Scott Champagne to make it 1-0 Texas. Luke Fulgham evened the score with a shorthanded tally 2:43 into the second period. Nicholson struck again with his second of the night and seventh of the season at the 5:06 mark of the second to give the 'Catters the lead back at 2-1. Miles scored the final two goals and Columbia took the game 3-2. Todd Ford made 28 saves for Columbia in the win. The Wildcatters out shot the Inferno 30-18.

Saturday, April 7 at South Carolina 5-1 Loss

South Carolina goaltender Daren Machesney made 39 saves as the Stingrays finished off the regular season with 5-1 win over the Wildcatters in front of 6,016 at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Stingrays got goals from five different goal scorers in the victory. The Wildcatters' lone goal came from Kevin Baker at 13:15 of the first period to tie the game at one. It was his team leading 36th of the season. South Carolina took over after that as Stephen Werner scored with just 47 seconds remaining in the first period, the Matt Reid and Chris Chaput scored goals in a span of 14 seconds to make it 4-1 South Carolina. The Stingrays added a late goal to finish up the game with a 5-1 victory over the Wildcatters. Matt Yeats started for Texas but was pulled early in the second period after giving up four goals. Danny Taylor replaced Yeats and allowed just one goal in the final 36 minutes. Texas out shot South Carolina 40-28 and finished 1 for 8 on the power play. The Stingrays went 0 for 5. The Wildcatters head into the playoffs which start next week. Texas finishes the season 41-22-9 with 91 points, the best season in the history of the Wildcatters.

Wildcatters Itinerary (All Times are Central)

Monday, Apr. 9 Day off

Tuesday, Apr. 10 Practice at Ford Arena, 8:00 a.m.

Wednesday, Apr. 11 Practice in Houston, 10:15 a.m.

Thursday, Apr. 12 Travel to Gwinnett, Practice in Gwinnett

Friday, Apr. 13 Practice in Gwinnett

Saturday, Apr. 14 Pre-Game Skate, 10:15 a.m. @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center

GAME 1 at Gwinnett, 6:35 p.m. @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center

Sunday, Apr. 15 GAME 2 at Gwinnett, 3:05 p.m. @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center

Season Ticket Renewals

Texas Wildcatters 2007-08 Season Tickets are on sale now!!! Current 2006-07 Season Ticket Holders renew from now until June 1st to make sure that you get your Seats for all the exciting action to come in 2007-08. After June 1st, all seats will be open to the public for sale. RENEW TODAY and get 5% off your total Season Ticket Purchase plus the chance to buy additional seats around you for the 2007-08 season. Purchase your season tickets by calling (409) 951-5500 or stopping by the Wildcatters office at Ford Arena.

Several 'Catters Receive Honors

Last week, the ECHL began to hand out individual awards.

Kevin Baker was elected to the All-ECHL First Team.

Paul Albers was selected to the All-Rookie Team and was runner-up for Rookie of the Year.

Matt Yeats was the only goaltender to win RBC Saver of the Month twice this year as he was given the award for the month of March and also back in the month of November.

Wildcatters on the Air

ESPN Radio 1450 am The Ticket is the exclusive home for Texas Wildcatters Hockey all season long. Join the "Voice of the Wildcatters" Anthony Langella, Jr. for all the play-by-play action. The Wildcatters Warm-up show will begin 20 minutes prior to the opening face-off. You can also catch the action at www.wildcattershockey.com by clicking on the listen to the ticket link on the left side of the home page. Games are also available to view for a fee on the B2 Networks by clicking on the link at the left of the Wildcatters homepage. For those who are out of the area, B2 Networks is now working at Ford Arena and games can be viewed by clicking on the B2 icon on the left side of the Wildcatters homepage.

Ticket Information

The Texas Wildcatters are the ECHL affiliate for the AHL's Houston Aeros. The Kelly Cup Playoffs are coming to Southeast Texas for the first time in history. The next Wildcatters home game will be Wednesday, April 18 at 7:00 p.m. against Gwinnett. Playoff ticket packages are available by calling the Wildcatters at (409) 951-5500. Don't miss any hard-hitting Wildcatters hockey action. Wildcatters' 2007-08 season tickets are also now on sale. They start at just $9 per game and feature numerous benefits including free parking and discounted merchandise. For single game tickets stop by the Ford Park Box Office, call (409) 833-7747 or log on to ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit the Wildcatters online at www.wildcattershockey.com.



ECHL Stories from April 9, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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