Mallards Weekly Update: December 5, 2016
December 5, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release
MALLARDS WEEKLY UPDATE: DECEMBER 5, 2016
THIS WEEK
Wednesday, December 7, 6:35 p.m.
iWireless Center
Kalamazoo Wings vs. Quad City Mallards
Friday, December 9, 6:35 p.m.
U.S. Bank Arena
Quad City Mallards vs. Cincinnati Cyclones
Saturday, December 10, 6:35 p.m.
U.S. Bank Arena
Quad City Mallards vs. Cincinnati Cyclones
Quad City
11-8-1, 23 points
4th place, Central Division
Coach: Terry Ruskowski
Kalamazoo
7-13-2, 16 points
7th place, Central Division
Coach: Nick Bootland
Cincinnati
9-9-2, 20 points
tied 5th place, South Division
Coach: Matt MacDonald
LAST WEEK
Thursday, December 1
Brampton 4 Quad City 3
Friday, December 2
Quad City 6 Brampton 1
Saturday, December 3
Toledo 3 Quad City 0
QUACK TRACKS
Busy
The Mallards went 1-2-0 while playing three games in three days last week.
Central
The Fort Wayne Komets yesterday overtook the idle Mallards for third place in the Central Division by defeating Utah. The Komets are one point ahead of the Mallards with two games in hand.
Blanked
The Mallards last Saturday night in Toledo were shut out for the first time this season. They were last blanked before that game when they fell 1-0 to the Thunder in Wichita on March 29.
Shooting Gallery
The Mallards set team season lows last Saturday in Toledo by taking just 20 shots on the night and only three in the first period.
Goodbye
The Mallards last weekend finished their season series against Brampton and Toledo having gone 1-1-0 against both clubs.
Three-in-Three
Last Saturday's loss in Toledo left the Mallards 0-2-0 when playing for the third time in three days this season. They will play three games in three nights a total of seven times.
Six Shooter
Last Saturday night's whitewashing by Toledo came one night after the Mallards matched a single game season high for goals and posted their most lopsided win of the season by defeating Brampton 6-1.
Spread the Wealth
A season high total of 12 Mallards recorded at least one point in last Friday night's win in Brampton.
Streak
Last Thursday's defeat in Brampton halted the Mallards' three-game winning streak.
Wake-up Call
Last Thursday's game in Brampton faced off at 11:05 a.m. The Mallards have now lost a pair of morning games in Brampton in the last three seasons. The Beast overcame the Mallards 5-2 when the two clubs faced off on the morning of February 23, 2015.
Home Sweet Home
The Mallards Wednesday night will play their first home game since they defeated Indy 4-3 in a shootout on November 25 at the iWireless Center.
On the Road
The Mallards return home Wednesday night after four straight road games, a stretch during which they went 2-2-0.
Red Light District
After being held without a goal last Saturday in Toledo, the Mallards now rank twenty-first in the ECHL in goals per game (2.8).
Stingy
The Mallards rank third in the ECHL in goals against (2.6 per game). The Mallards have given up three goals or fewer in 16 of their first 20 games and have held foes to two goals or fewer ten times.
Parks and Wreck
Michael Parks' team season best four-game goal-scoring streak ended last Saturday in Toledo. Parks has scored six goals- and totaled eight points- in his last nine games.
Brady's Bunch
Brady Brassart's five-game point-scoring streak (1-4-5)- the second longest such streak for a Mallard this season- was halted last Saturday in Toledo.
Double Down
Rookie Nolan LaPorte enjoyed his first career two-goal game last Friday in Brampton. LaPorte produced four points- including a pair of assists last Thursday- over the Mallards' two games against the Beast. LaPorte's four-game point-scoring streak (4-2-6) came to an end last Saturday in Toledo.
Impact Player
A lower body injury kept captain Chris Francis out of the Mallards' losses last Thursday and last Saturday while Francis did play in last Friday's win. The Mallards have now lost each of the four games Francis has missed this season while they have gone 11-4-1 when he is in the lineup.
Between the Pipes
C.J. Motte ranks second in the ECHL in save percentage (.941), ranks fourth in goals against average (2.02) and is tied for fifth in wins (8).
Milestones
Mike Monfredo has recorded 99 career assists. Monfredo ranks sixth in Mallards history in career games played (292). If he dresses for each of the Mallards' next eight games, he will play his three hundredth game for the team on December 30 against Missouri...Chris Francis has scored 99 career goals in 394 career games...Mike Wilson has 198 career regular season assists...Donnie Harris has played 297 career games... Justin Kovacs has played 91 career games.
Special Teams
The Mallards have gone 0-for-16 on the power play and 15-for-15 on the penalty kill over their last five games. The Mallards rank fourteenth in the ECHL on the power play (16.9 percent) and eighth in penalty killing (87.3 percent). The Mallards last Saturday in Brampton scored their first two shorthanded goals of the season. Brassart provided the Mallards first' first man-down goal before LaPorte scored the second into an empty net.
Head-to-Head
Wednesday night's game is the second of eight between the Mallards and Wings. The Mallards won the season series opener 2-1 on November 12 in Kalamazoo. Wednesday evening's game is the first of five between the two teams at the iWireless Center. The Mallards went 2-2-0 against the Wings last season and won two of three on home ice against Kalamazoo. The Mallards and Wings last season were reunited for the first time since the Mallards defeated Kalamazoo 3-2 on March 30, 2007. The Mallards and Wings competed against each other in the United Hockey League between 2000 and 2007. The Mallards went 24-19-7 in 50 meetings with the Wings over those seven seasons. They went 14-9-5 at home against Kalamazoo... The Mallards have gone 1-1-1 against the Cyclones this season. The two clubs will clash a total of nine times. They have split their first two meetings in Cincinnati. All time, the Mallards have gone 6-8-2 against Cincinnati and 3-3-0 at U.S. Bank Arena.
Ins and Outs
Defenseman Dylan Labbe returned to the lineup last Saturday night in Toledo after missing four games (lower body injury)...Forward Chris Francis missed the Mallards' games last Thursday in Brampton and last Saturday in Toledo but did play last Friday in Brampton (lower body injury)...Defenseman Donnie Harris has missed the Mallards' last six games after being placed on 21-day injured reserve retroactive to November 20 (upper body injury).
NEXT HOME GAME
Wednesday, December 7, 6:35 p.m.- Mallards vs. Kalamazoo Wings
Early Faceoff
All Mallards Wednesday night home games this season will start at the special early faceoff time of 6:35 p.m.
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 . A limited number of Mallards games will not air on Fox Sports Radio 1230 due to conflicts with University of Illinois basketball and football and Green Bay Packer football. ECHL-TV pay-per-view video webcasts and free audio webcasts of all Mallards games are also available at myqcmallards.net .
MOBILE
The Mallards' official mobile app is now available free for both Apple and Android. The app features a wide array of exclusive content, including behind the scenes video, breaking news and scoring alerts, interviews and video messages from coach Terry Ruskowski and Mallards players, instant access to live scores, stats and standings and special offers from the team and from Mallards partners.
TICKETS
Single Game Tickets
Single game tickets for all Mallards regular season contests are now available. Fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 or info@myqcmallards.net 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 ten or more 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.net .
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