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HAF
03-24-2007, 02:49 PM
T-birds | Yeomans' work still unfinished

By JIM RILEY

Special to The Seattle Times




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Seattle goaltender Derek Yeomans, playoff-savvy with 32 such appearances in his career, leads the Thunderbirds into the WHL postseason.




<DIV class=body>KIRKLAND — No player in the Western Hockey League has more playoff experience than Derek Yeomans, and none enters the postseason with more to prove.

Yeomans will play in the 33rd playoff game of his WHL career when the Seattle Thunderbirds open their first-round series against the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick tonight.

In his final season of WHL eligibility, Yeomans has already won a WHL championship as a starter and a Memorial Cup as a backup for the Kelowna Rockets. He has three straight 30-win regular seasons and 115 victories in a standout WHL career that includes 20 shutouts.

Despite those credentials, Yeomans remains undrafted and unsigned. He thinks his future in professional hockey might hinge on his performance in the playoffs.

"You always have to prove yourself if you want to go to the next level," the soft-spoken Yeomans said earlier this week. "Even if you have a pro contract, you have to prove yourself. A lot rests on how the team goes and my playoff performance. My agent has talked to a lot of teams and we'll sit down after the playoffs are over."

Seattle finished third in the regular season in the U.S. Division with a 37-21-3-11 record while Tri-City was second at 47-23-1-1.

Yeomans, a native of St. Albert, Alberta, arrived in a preseason trade with Kelowna and has anchored an improving Seattle defense throughout the season.

"We started slow, but in the last 20 games we've really put our game together and started playing the way we're capable of playing," Yeomans said. "Throughout the season we've been trying to clean up the play in our defensive zone."

Seattle coach Rob Sumner, whose team lost to Yeomans and the Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals two seasons ago, is glad to have him on his side this time.

"In the last two months he's really been excellent and getting better and better," Sumner said. "Combine that with his playoff experience, and I think we're in good shape in net."

Sumner said Yeomans has attributes valuable to any goaltender.

"He's very calm and composed, but also very focused and driven," the coach said. "Derek has gone on some great playoff runs, and he really gives our whole team a lot of confidence."

Yeomans believes the series will be low-scoring.

"Sometimes a whole series can turn on one lucky bounce or one bad break," he said. "You have to be prepared at all times. Knowing what it takes to win on previous occasions will help what we're trying to do now."

Notes

• Tri-City is a veteran team patched together through trades by general manager Bob Tory, a finalist for the WHL Executive of the Year. The Americans feature G Carey Price, the gold-medal winner for Team Canada in the World Junior Championships, a finalist for the league's top goaltender award and a first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens.

• Colton Yellow Horn led the Americans with 40 goals.

• Seattle's Aaron Gagnon, who had 42 goals and 38 assists in 59 games and is a league finalist for the Most Sportsmanlike Player, centers a first line that includes Bud Holloway (27 goals, 65 points) and Jan Eberle (18 goals, 38 points).

• Seattle beat Tri-City in five games in the opening round two seasons ago. The T-birds are 31-19-2-2 against the Americans in the past five seasons.

Seattle vs. Tri-CityBest-of-7 series (all games on KKNW, 1150 AM)DateSite, timeTodayAt Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.SaturdayAt Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.TuesdayAt Seattle, 7:05 p.m.WednesdayAt Seattle, 7:05 p.m.March 30At Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.*March 31At Seattle, 7:05 p.m.*April 3At Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.** If necessary

dondo
04-02-2007, 01:29 AM
damn you Yeomans... daaammnnn yooouuuu...... Boogaard'd

the only thing that really frightens me about the series versus the TBirds is Yeomans. Gagnon will get his points, but Yeomans has a habit of burning the Giants. Could be a close battle due to the Derek me-thinks.