CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has named Corpus Christi IceRays forward Drake Lindsay the Easton Hockey NAHL South Division Star of the Week, the league announced today. Lindsay is the second-straight IceRays player to earn the league’s weekly honor.
“It’s definitely an honor,” said Lindsay. “I felt like everything was going right, and my teammates were finishing their shots, which helped me out. We just worked really hard this weekend and took a tough loss on Saturday. Personally, things were just going my way.”
Lindsay, 20, was an assist machine during the team’s last trip to Amarillo for the season. The Grosse, Man., native picked up assists on three of four goals in Friday’s 5-3 win and in two of three goals in their 5-3 loss to the Bulls on Saturday. Four of the five assists earned were primary assists, including all three on Friday, and he had his hand in most strong chances. He has six multi-point games this season, which is second among IceRays players, including five with multi-assist games. This comes following his appearance at the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament last week, during which he earned one goal and one assist in a 5-4 shootout win for Team South over Team East. Lindsay became the fourth player in IceRays junior history to score a goal at the showcase and the third different player to earn a multi-point game at the event. His trip to the tournament gave him a boost of confidence and taught him some good lessons about the league.
“It felt like there was a little bit more time and space to make plays. I was more confident skating with the puck and just tried to get my feet moving. Playing with some of the best guys in the league, you learn that if you’re standing still, not much is going to happen. I just wanna keep working hard, doing things right, and hopefully we all can do that, pull some wins together, and the points will come. If they’re coming for team, they’ll come for all of us.”
“Drake played extremely well in both games and was a threat to score all weekend,” said IceRays head coach John Becanic. “He is playing at a higher level since coming back from prospects. Hopefully he can continue to lead us as we make a push for the playoffs.”
Lindsay leads the team in assists and shares the lead in points, owning 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points with 53 penalty minutes, a +4 rating, and 13 power play points through 43 games. He is the second-straight IceRays player to earn the league’s weekly honor following goaltender Dryden McKay’s performance on Feb. 11-13 against the Lone Star Brahmas. Lindsay is the fourth player to earn weekly honors this season and the fifth to earn league honors this season, joining McKay, Regen Cavanagh, Graham Hunt and Andy McGlynn. He is also the ninth different player in six seasons to earn South Division honors.
The IceRays kick off a pivotal two-game set against the Odessa Jackalopes on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:11 p.m. from the American Bank Center. 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).
