Kalamazoo's Ryan Nie Named UHL Rookie of the Year

[VodkaFish]

LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO - The United Hockey League (UHL) announced Wednesday that Kalamazoo Wings goaltender Ryan Nie has been named the 2006-07 Easton UHL Rookie of the Year as selected by league head coaches, general managers, and members of the media.

The native of Nanticoke, Ontario celebrated his 22nd birthday last Sunday. He completed the regular season with a 20-8-4 record and led all UHL goaltenders with a 2.02 goals against average (GAA), a .929 save percentage (SPCT) and seven shutouts. His 2.02 GAA is a UHL career record among goaltenders with at least 30 starts. Nie was the Easton UHL Rookie of the Month for February and was selected as the Southern Sports Supply UHL Goaltender of the Month for March.

Nie becomes the second-consecutive K-Wing to win the Easton UHL Rookie of the Year award. During a stretch of the season starting on Feb. 10, he recorded shutouts in four out of five games, including three consecutive blankings. In his final 11 starts of the season, he went 9-2-0 with a 1.65 GAA and a .938 SPCT and accumulated his longest winning streak of the year, six games.

PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS OF UHL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
2005-06 Jason Deitsch, Kalamazoo
2004-05 Mike Kompon, Quad City
2003-04 Benoit Genesse, Port Huron
2002-03 Steve Cygan, Rockford
2001-02 J.F. Dufour, Asheville
2000-01 Jason Ulmer, Quad City
1999-00 Jason Goulet, Fort Wayne
1998-99 Mike Melas, Quad City
1997-98 Jason Weaver, Muskegon
1996-97 Forbes MacPherson, Thunder Bay
1995-96 Matt Loen, Madison
1994-95 Lance Leslie, Thunder Bay
1993-94 Jean-Francois Labbe, Thunder Bay
1992-93 Jason Firth, Thunder Bay
1991-92 Kevin Butt, St. Thomas

Per UHL Rules and Regulations, a player qualifies as a rookie if he has participated in 60 or fewer professional games prior to the start of the 2006-07 season. A goaltender qualifies as a rookie if he has participated in 3,600 or fewer game minutes prior to the start of the 2006-07 season.