CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has named Corpus Christi IceRays forward Andy McGlynn the Easton Hockey NAHL South Division Star of the Week, the league announced this afternoon. McGlynn earns the honor for the second time this season.
“It feels really great,” said McGlynn on the award. “It’s really nice, and my line mates helped me out a lot. It was good to get those points this week and is a good honor.”
McGlynn, 18, had a strong bounce back weekend to open March and help the IceRays earn a sweep of the Odessa Jackalopes, grabbing two goals and two assists for four points with one goal and one assist in each game. In Friday’s 6-2 win, the St. Louis, Mizz., native fed teammate Stevie Bryant for the game’s opening goal and found his marker to open the lead to 2-1 midway through the first period. The next night, the 5-foot-10, 188-pound forward opened the scoring with a backhanded shot from just above the crease while assisting on the insurance goal in the second period. McGlynn broke a 25-game goal-less drought during the weekend and earned his fifth and sixth multi-point games of the season, but his line including forwards Bryant and Toby Kircher all produced well with a combined eight points and four of the team’s nine goals.
“It was really nice to get that goal off of my shoulders after such a long drought. I hope I can keep it going heading toward the playoffs. I felt like all three of us [Bryant, Kircher, and I] had good chemistry going. We all fill different roles on the line with Stevie’s speed and Toby’s vision. I thought we all clicked pretty well.”
“Andy and his line mates were extremely good on the weekend, contributing three goals on Friday night from their line and a highlight reel goal from Andy on Saturday,” said IceRays head coach John Becanic. “Andy certainly stepped up his game in the absence of several key players due to injuries.”
This is the second top weekly honor for McGlynn this season and fourth weekly honor this season. He was named South Division Star of the Week following his two-goal performance to open the season on September 18 and 20 against the Topeka RoadRunners and also earned second star honors after the team’s first weekend of December and again two weeks later. He becomes the first player in junior franchise history to earn two weekly honors in the same season. This year, McGlynn owns seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points through 49 games, sitting fifth on the team in scoring and fourth in assists.
IceRays players have earned top weekly honors five different times this season and three within the last month. Goaltenders Graham Hunt and Dryden McKay as well as forward Drake Lindsay all earned weekly honors since the start of the 2016 calendar year. Including forward Regen Cavanagh’s Forward of the Month award for December, five different IceRays players have earned top honors six times this season, the most of any season in IceRays junior franchise history.
The NAHL also named goaltender Dryden McKay Easton Hockey NAHL South Division 2nd Star of the Week. The 18-year-old earned a 2-0-0 record while only allowing three goals in two games as part of the sweep of the Jackalopes this weekend. McKay has been one of the best goaltenders in the NAHL since December 3rd, recording a 8-3-1 record with a 1.99 GAA and .934 SV% in that 14-game span and has kept opponents to two goals or less in 11 of those 14 games. He now leads the team with a 11-9-2 record with a 2.58 GAA and .915 SV%, moving to 17th in GAA and T-14th in SV% among all NAHL goaltenders.
The IceRays return to the American Bank Center on Friday, March 11 at 7:11 p.m. to start a weekend set against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. Nominate the American Bank Center to help make Corpus Christi the next Kraft Hockeyville! Submit your essay and tell your story at KraftHockeyville.com. Contact the IceRays Front Office at 361-814-PUCK or go to www.goicerays.com for details on season tickets along with pricing and seating. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), Vine (@goicerays), and Periscope (@goicerays).
