Mallards Weekly Update
April 6, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release
THIS WEEK
Saturday, April 11, 7:05 p.m.
iWireless Center, Moline
Tulsa Oilers vs. Quad City Mallards
LAST WEEK
Wednesday, April 1
Brampton 6 Quad City 5
Friday, April 3
Quad City 2 Rapid City 1 (SO)
Saturday, April 4
Quad City 3 Rapid City 2
Quad City
36-28-7, 79 points
3rd place, Central Division
Coach: Terry Ruskowski
Tulsa
35-29-5, 75 points
4th place, Central Division
Coach: Bruce Ramsay
QUACK TRACKS
Clincher
The Mallards clinched an ECHL Kelly Cup playoff berth by defeating Rapid City 3-2 last Saturday night.
Tight
The Mallards can finish anywhere from second to fourth in the Central Division. The Mallards are one point behind the second place Rush. While the Mallards have just one regular season game remaining, Rapid City has two more. The Rush will visit division leading Allen Thursday and Friday night. The Mallards are four points ahead of the fourth place Tulsa Oilers. Tulsa has three games left. The Oilers play in Wichita Wednesday and Friday before wrapping up against the Mallards Saturday evening.
Round One
The Mallards will open the Central Division Semi-Finals next week on a date to be determined against an opponent also still to be determined. Each round of the playoffs is best-of-seven. The second place finisher in the Central Division will join the Americans- who have already locked up first place- in enjoying home ice advantage in round one.
Tiebreakers
If the Mallards finish the regular season in a tie, the first tiebreaker is non-shootout wins. The Mallards (30 non-shootout wins) would lose this tiebreaker to second place Rapid City (33). The Mallards and third place Tulsa are even in non-shootout wins. The Mallards have two more victories in regulation or overtime than fifth place Wichita (28). The second tiebreaker is goal differential. The Mallards have scored 18 more goals (203) than they have allowed (185) and have a clear edge over Tulsa (+2) and Wichita (-21) in this department
Sweep
The Mallards rebounded from last Wednesday's potentially damaging 6-5 loss to last place Brampton by sweeping into the playoffs on the back of consecutive one-goal victories last Friday (2-1 in a shootout) and Saturday (3-2) in Rapid City.
Upswing
The Mallards have won five of their last six games. The Mallards can match their longest winning streak of the season (three games) by defeating Tulsa Saturday night.
Road Warriors
The Mallards won their final four road games to reach 20 away victories for the season. The Mallards' road record (20-12-4) is superior to their home record (16-16-3).
Shootout
Last Friday's shootout win was the Mallards' second in three games. That victory followed a 4-3 shootout defeat of the Mavericks in MIssouri on Sunday, March 29. Mario Lamoureux led off both of those shootouts by scoring. Kevin Baker and Nick Grasso- who scored the only Mallard goal in regulation- also scored in last Friday's shootout. The Mallards have gone 6-3 in the shootout this season.
Immediate Impact
Rookie Matt Neal scored his first career goal in last Saturday's vital win in Rapid City. Neal has six points in his first six professional games since joining Mallards March 25 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Austin Coldwell, another relative newcomer, broke a third period tie with what proved to be the playoff-clinching goal last Saturday. That goal was Coldwell's second in 11 games since joining the Mallards from the University of Alaska-Anchorage on March 12. Coldwell score his first professional goal last Wednesday against Brampton.
Beastly
The Mallards matched a season high by allowing six goals last Wednesday against Brampton. The Beast is the only club to score a half dozen against the Mallards this season, having first done so on February 20 in a 6-2 win over Quad City in Brampton.
Stingy
The Mallards have allowed three goals or fewer 17 of their last 18 games. They rank fifth in the ECHL in goals against per game (2.6). They gave up a total of just three goals over their two wins last weekend in Rapid City after surrendering six against Brampton last Wednesday.
Special Teams
The Mallards have gone 0-for-6 on the power play over their last three games. They rank ninth in the ECHL on the man advantage (18.0 percent). Despite going 0-for-5 on the power play last weekend in Rapid City, the Mallards rank fourth in the league in road power play efficiency (20.4 percent). The Mallards went 8-for-8 on the penalty kill against the Rush last weekend and have killed off their opponents' last nine power plays overall. The Mallards are now fifth in the ECHL in penalty killing (85.5 percent).
Super Mario
Mario Lamoureux is on a five-game point and assist streak (2-7-9). Lamoureux is tied for third in the ECHL in assists (51) and ranks ninth in points (71) and has set career highs in both of those categories.
Baked
Kevin Baker is not only on a four-game point streak (4-3-7) but has also scored 11 goals and totaled 19 points in his last 14 games.
Not Your Average Joe
Joe Perry has ripped off five goals (and added an assist) in his last six games. He leads the Mallards with 26 goals in just 53 games this season.
Between the Pipes
Parker Milner rebounded after allowing six goals on 26 Brampton shots in 48:38 last Wednesday by making 30 saves in last Saturday's win in Rapid City. Evan Mosher, who relieved Milner in the third period last Wednesday, stopped 32 shots in regulation and overtime last Friday before turning aside three of four Rush shooters in the shootout. Milner is tied for second in the ECHL in goals against average (2.32), is tied for fourth in save percentage (.919), ranks ninth in minutes played (1155) and is tied for ninth in wins (23).
Head to Head
The Mallards have gone 3-4-0 against the Oilers this season and have gone 1-3-0 against Tulsa on home ice. All-time the Mallards have gone 11-11-0 against the Oilers and have registered a 7-5-0 home record against Tulsa
Ins and Outs
Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel returned to the Mallards from the AHL's Iowa Wild last Wednesday against Brampton after signing PTO with Iowa March 22...Pearce Eviston also returned to the Mallard line-up last Wednesday against the Beast. Eviston missed the Mallards' prior nine games (lower body)...Forward Alex Grieve has missed the Mallards' last five games (upper body)...Forward Logan Nelson has missed the Mallards' last 11 games (lower body)...Forward Antti Pusa is on 21-day injured reserve retroactive to February 7 and has missed 27 games (upper body).
NEXT HOME GAME
Saturday, April 11, 7:05 p.m.- Mallards vs. Tulsa Oilers
Fan Appreciation Night
The Mallards will bring down the curtain on the regular season on an evening that will feature a host of giveaways and drawings for prizes including authentic Mallards jerseys, autographed Mallards memorabilia, tickets to upcoming iWireless Center events, 2015-26 Mallards season tickets and more.
ON THE AIR
Fox Sports Radio 1230 is the radio home of Mallards Hockey Presented by Genesis Power Sports Performance. Mallards games broadcast on AM 1230 also stream live online at www.wfxn.net . ECHL-TV pay-per-view video webcasts and free audio webcasts of all Mallards games are also available at myqcmallards.net.
TICKETS
Single Game Tickets
Tickets for Saturday night's game and the Mallards' first three home playoff games are now available. Fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 or info@myqcmallards.com for more information about tickets. Single game tickets are also available at the iWireless Center box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, through www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free. The box office is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period.
Group Tickets
Groups of at least ten receive savings off the walk-up price and a host of group benefits. Mallards group tickets are a great fit for youth organizations, friends, co-workers, family groups, religious groups, school functions and business events. For more group ticket information, fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 or info@myqcmallards.com .
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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