Monday, March 12, 2012

TIGERS' ETEM NAMED WHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Press Release

CALGARY, AB. - The Western Hockey League announced today that Medicine Hat Tigers’ forward Emerson Etem is the WHL Player of the Week.

Etem scored five goals and was a +3 rating in three games over the past week to become the first WHL player to reach 60 goals since Layne Ulmer in 2001 and helped the Tigers to a 2-1-0-0 record.

On Wednesday, March 7, Etem scored one goal in the Tigers 2-1 loss to the visiting Kootenay Ice. On Friday, March 9, in the back half of the home-and-home series with the Ice, Etem collected a pair of goals, including the game winner, and was named the games 3rd Star in the Tigers 3-1 bounce-back victory over the Ice. On Saturday, March 10, in the Lethbridge, Etem netted two more goals and was named the games 3rd Star in the Tigers 3-1 win over the Hurricanes.

Etem currently leads all WHL players in goals scored with 60 tallies in 62 games played and ranks 6th among all scorers with 105 points on the season. The Tigers have won seven of their last 10 games and currently sit third in the WHL Eastern Conference with a 42-22-2-3 record for 89 points.

A 19-year-old from Long Beach, CA, Etem is playing his third full season with the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Californian has set career highs in all offensive categories this season, with three games still remaining on the Tigers’ schedule. Earlier this season Etem signed an NHL entry level contract with the Anahiem Ducks who selected the forwarded 29th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. This is his second WHL Player of the Week Award.

The WHL has also nominated Ty Rimmer of the Tri-City Americans for the CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Rimmer posted a 3-0-0-0 record this past week, stopping 78 of 81 shots faced for a 0.963 save-percentage and 1.07 goals-against average. Rimmer, a 19-year-old from Edmonton, AB, led the Americans to victories over the Vancouver Giants, Spokane Chiefs and Prince George Cougars

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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