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Mallards Add Size, Toughness on Blue Line with Smyth, Pisano

September 20, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL) Quad City Mallards

MOLINE, Ill. (September 20, 2012) - The Quad City Mallards of the "AA" Central Hockey League today announced they have signed defensemen Matt Smyth and Anthony Pisano. Per club policy, no contract terms were announced.

Smyth, 27, last year skated for the Southern Professional Hockey League's Fayetteville FireAntz after spending the bulk of his first five professional seasons in the CHL. The 6' 2", 205-pound, Wolesey, Ontario, native scored four goals and totaled 16 points while collecting 137 penalty minutes in 53 games with the FireAntz last season.

"Matt brings a lot of very important qualities to the Mallards with his toughness, size, grit and determination," said Mallards coach and general manager Terry Ruskowski. "When you add in his experience in this league, he's the kind of player who can make an important contribution to our hockey club."

Smyth last played in the CHL in 2010-11, a season that saw him notch 10 assists and pile up 143 minutes in penalties while playing 65 games for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

Smyth has also made CHL stops in Mississippi, Tulsa, Corpus Christi and Wichita since breaking into pro hockey with the ECHL's Phoenix Road Runners in 2006-07. His season with the FireAntz was Smyth's second stint in the SPHL- he also played briefly for the Louisiana IceGators in 2009-10. Over the course of his career, Smyth has scored 15 goals and recorded 78 points while running up 679 penalty minutes in 342 games. He has spent at least 130 minutes in the penalty box in each of his last four seasons.

Smyth played three-plus seasons in the major junior ranks with the Ontario Hockey League's Owen Sound Attack and Belleville Bulls before turning pro.

Pisano, a 6' 6", 250-pound 23-year old, played for four teams as a rookie last season. Pisano began the campaign in the Federal Hockey League, where he produced three goals and four assists along with 96 penalty minutes in a total 20 games with first the Vermont Wild and then the Danbury Whalers. The New York City-born blue liner next played two games for the ECHL's Trenton Titans before finishing the campaign as a teammate of Smyth's in Fayetteville. Pisano registered an assist and 55 penalty minutes in 19 games with the FireAntz.

"Anthony is a young defenseman who has a lot of toughness and plenty of size," said Ruskowski. "He's very excited about stepping up to the CHL and making the most of the opportunity to make an impact in the Quad Cities."

Pisano stepped into pro hockey after four seasons in the junior ranks. He suited up for the Oswego Admirals of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2006-07 before spending three years in the Maritime Hockey League with the Pictou County Weeks Crushers, Miramichi Timberwolves and Bridgewater Lumberjacks. In his first MHL campaign, he helped the Crushers reach the 2008 Royal Bank Cup- the Canadian junior A national tournament.

2012-13 Mallards season tickets as well as the Mallards' new Partial Punch Plan are on sale now. The Mallards offer ticket packages to meet any budget, including youth season tickets now available for as little at $165. The Partial Punch Plan provides flexibility and affordability- each Punch Plan punch card can be redeemed for ten tickets- whether those tickets are for ten different games, all for the same game or anything in between- subject to availability. Partial Punch Plans can be had for as little as $70 for youth 12 and under. For more ticket package information, fans can call the Mallards at 309-277-1364.

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Central Hockey League Stories from September 20, 2012


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