CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Corpus Christi IceRays center Jake Stella has been named NAHL South Division Star of the Week presented by Bauer Hockey for Dec. 9-16, 2018, the North American Hockey League announced Monday.
Stella, 20, recorded seven points (5+2) in the IceRays’ three-game sweep at the Odessa Jackalopes, including a hat trick and an assist on Saturday. His hat-trick goal was the game-winning tally in the IceRays’ 7-5 victory, extending Corpus Christi’s current winning streak to six games.
“Jake has been our best forward all season,” said IceRays head coach Ryan Cruthers. “He plays a complete game and it’s nice to see him get rewarded with points this week. He has a very hard shot with a quick release that makes him dangerous and we were able to see that all week.”
The Karlstad, Sweden native has notched 20 points (12+8) this season, including 11 points (8+3) over the course of the team’s last seven victories.
Stella is the third IceRays player to win NAHL Star of the Week honors this season. Nicholas Seitz won the honor last week (Dec. 10), while goaltender Akira Schmid, now of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers, was named South Division Star of the Week on Oct. 29.
The IceRays continue their season-long, 10-game road trip this weekend with Dec. 21-22 games at the Lone Star Brahmas. Both games are set for 7:30 PM CT and will be carried exclusively on HockeyTV. Corpus Christi’s next home game at American Bank Center is Friday, Jan. 11, 2019 against the Shreveport Mudbugs at 7:05 PM CT.
Single game tickets, group tickets and suites for the remainder of the 2018-19 IceRays season are on sale now. Visit goicerays.com or call 361-814-PUCK (7825) for tickets or more information. Stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays) and Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays).
