SPARKS NAMED ECHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

(RAPID CITY, SD) – The Rapid City Rush, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, in conjunction with the ECHL, are excited to announce that forward Lindsay Sparks has been named the Sher-Wood/ECHL Player of the Week for the week of October 24th to October 30th. Sparks becomes the third player in Rush history to earn the weekly honor, and fifth player overall to be recognized by the league, joining fellow former Players of the Week Jesse Schultz and Mikhail Stefanovich, and former Goaltenders of the Week Marek Langhamer and Danny Battochio.

“What a great start this has been for Sparksy. His commitment this summer along with his AHL tryout has really motivated him to get to the next level,” Rush Head Coach Mark DeSantis said of Sparks earning the honors. “His work ethic is tremendous, and has been a shining spot in our games. His play has helped us secure 3 of 4 points in our last 2 games.”

Sparks continued his red-hot start to the season last week, shining in all four games the Rush played away from home. He notched a goal and an assist in a 7-5 loss at Colorado on Wednesday, and followed it up with 7 points in 3 games in Alaska: 2 goals and an assist in Friday’s 6-3 loss, a goal and two assists in Saturday’s 5-1 win, and an assist on Nathan Moon’s game-tying goal with 14.4 seconds left in regulation in the 5-4 overtime loss on Sunday.

“It was a goal of mine to start the season on a positive note and get rolling. A few fortunate plays early helped me do that, and I have just tried to keep that going each night,” Lindsay Sparks remarked of his hot start and receiving Sher-Wood/ECHL Player of the Week honors. “My linemates have been a huge part of my success in finding the back of the net. We’re all trying to keep this going and hopefully get a few more wins on the board in the process.”

Although Sparks saw his ECHL-high six-game goal-scoring streak end on Sunday, he managed to extend his assist streak to 4 games, and his ECHL-leading point streak to 8 games, signifying the fact that he has recorded a point in every game that the Rush have played so far this season. Additionally, the 5’10”, 180-pound winger is the leading scorer in the ECHL with 7 goals, 7 assists, and 14 points, and is the first player in Rush history to be the leading scorer in the entire ECHL at any point in the season. In his Rush career, Sparks has 17 goals, 25 assists, and 42 points in 39 games dating back to his acquisition last season in a trade with the Orlando Solar Bears, and all-time in his ECHL career has notched 52 goals, 84 assists, and 136 points in 181 games with the Rush, Solar Bears, Missouri Mavericks, Cincinnati Cyclones, Greenville Road Warriors, Fort Wayne Komets, and South Carolina Stingrays. Prior to playing professionally, the Oakville, Ontario native played four seasons with the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines, and registered 35 points (17g-18ast) in 83 games.

On behalf of Lindsay Sparks, a case of pucks will be donated to a Rapid City youth hockey organization by Sher-Wood Hockey, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Sher-Wood Hockey has donated more than 35,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.

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