Iowa's Smith named Inglasco/ECHL Player of the Week

Jake Smith of the Iowa Heartlanders is the Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week for Jan. 10-16.

Smith scored four goals and added two assists for six points in three games last week.

The 24-year-old scored a pair of goals and added an assist in a 5-4 overtime loss against Kansas City on Friday, tallied a goal and an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss at Indy on Saturday and added the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory against the Fuel on Sunday.

A native of Pickering, Ontario, Smith has recorded 16 points (9g-7a) in 15 games with the Heartlanders after starting the season by skating in five games with Kansas City.

Smith has totaled 55 points (27g-28a) in 60 career games in the Southern Professional Hockey League with Evansville and Birmingham.

Prior to turning pro, Smith totaled 113 points (52g-61a) in 176 career games with Acadie-Bathurst, Chicoutimi and Val d’Or of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and with Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League.

On behalf of Jake Smith, a case of pucks will be donated to an Iowa youth hockey organization by Inglasco, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Inglasco has donated more than 45,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.

Runners-Up: Chad Costello, Allen (4 gp, 2g, 5a, 7 pts.) and Odeen Tufto, Orlando (3 gp, 1g, 5a, 6 pts.).  

Also Nominated: Mitchell Hoelscher (Atlanta), Anthony Petruzzelli (Fort Wayne), Jake Slaker (Kalamazoo), Ben Johnson (Kansas City), Brandon Schultz (Toledo) and Justin Almeida (Wheeling).