Wildcatters' Yeats Named Rbk Hockey Goalie Of The Week

March 13, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Texas Wildcatters News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Matt Yeats of the Texas Wildcatters is the Rbk Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Mar. 5-11, 2007.

The 27-year-old was 3-0-0 with two shutouts in three road games while helping the Wildcatters improve to 35-19-9 and move into first place in the South Division with 79 points one point in front of Florida.

The 6-foot and 188-pound Yeats posted a pair of wins at Phoenix, stopping 19 of 22 shots in a 7-3 win on Mar. 6 and making 20 saves in a 4-0 win on Mar. 8. He then stopped all 24 shots in a 4-0 win at Las Vegas on Mar. 9 for his fifth shutout of the year which ties him for the ECHL lead.

The Montreal, Quebec native, who started 24 consecutive games from Jan. 25-Mar. 10, ranks third in the ECHL with 27 wins and is 27-16-7 with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in 52 games.

Yeats helped Atlantic City capture the Kelly Cup championship in 2003 going 4-1 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.42 and a save percentage of .896 in eight games in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Selected in the ninth round (248th overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1998 National Hockey Entry Draft, Yeats has played five games in the NHL going 1-3-0 with a 3.04 goals-against average and a save percentage of .908 with the Washington Capitals in 2003-04. He recorded his NHL win on Mar. 30, 2004 when he made 27 saves in a 4-2 win against Pittsburgh. He has played in the ECHL each of the past three seasons and is 81-42-23 with 11 shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.95 and a save percentage of .902 in 152 regular season games with Atlantic City, Idaho, Reading and Texas. He has also played in the American Hockey League where he is 3-2-1 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.27 and a save percentage of .923 in nine games with Philadelphia and Portland from 2002-04.

Yeats played three seasons at the University of Maine where he was 44-23-11 with a goals-against average of 2.63 and a save percentage of .900 in 86 games from 1999-2002.

Runners Up: Derek Gustafson, Alaska Aces (2-0-0, 0.50 GAA, .981 save pct.) and Jamie Hodson, Bakersfield Condors (2-0-0, 0.50 GAA, .984 save pct.).

Also Nominated: Chris Holt (Charlotte), Craig Kowalski (Florida), Scott Stirling (Fresno), Dave Caruso (Gwinnett), Kevin Nastiuk (Las Vegas), Davis Parley (South Carolina), Devan Dubnyk (Stockton), Ervins Mustukovs (Toledo), Gregg Naumenko (Trenton) and Rob McVicar (Utah).



ECHL Stories from March 13, 2007


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