Bloomington Dumps Mallards 6-2

Published on February 28, 2013 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (February 28, 2013) - Ross MacKinnon made 38 saves in his Central Hockey League debut and Leo Thomas scored twice as the host Bloomington Blaze defeated the Quad City Mallards 6-2 Thursday night. The loss knocked the Mallards out of a tie with the Blaze for the eighth and final CHL playoff spot and dropped Quad City a game below .500 (23-24-6) on the season.

The Mallards fell behind just 17 seconds into the game when Leland Fidler's wrist shot from the right point was deflected past goaltender John Murray and Quad City could never quite catch up. After that very early opener, the Blaze would double the advantage late in the first. Thomas scored Bloomington's second from the slot at the 17:15 mark.

The Mallards got on the scoreboard for the first time when Mike Hellyer finished off a shorthanded two-on-one rush from the goalmouth to cut the Bloomington lead to 2-1 90 seconds into the second period. However, Jon Booras would reestablishe the Blaze's two goal cushion and provide what proved to be the game winner at 9:14 of the second by redirecting David Gilbert's shot home.

MacKinnon stopped 15 Mallards shots in the third period alone, setting the stage for his teammates to end Quad City comeback hopes. Both teams were down a man when Gilbert stretched the Bloomington lead to 4-1 from point blank range at 12:50 of the third. Shane Toporowski roofed a power play goal to briefly spark the Mallards with just over three and a half minutes remaining, but two late Blaze goals would put Quad City away. Nicholas Rioux's long range shorthanded empty netter made 5-2 at 18:23 and exactly one minute later Thomas capped off the Bloomington win with a power play goal from the left wing circle.

The Mallards return to action on the road tomorrow night against the Missouri Mavericks. The Mallards next play at home Sunday at 4:05 p.m. against the Fort Worth Brahmas. Sunday is Youth Sports Day presented by Quad Cities YMCA and will see the first 1,000 fans ages 12 and under through the doors receive free Mallards youth jerseys. Sunday is also a Mallards Family Skate Day presented by Genesis Health Systems- fans can bring their skates and join the Mallards on the ice after the game. Following the game, fans will also have the chance to spend time with the Mallards themselves, who will join fans at Rascals- located at 1414 15th Street in Moline- for a special post-game event.

Tickets for Sunday's tilt- as well as seats for all remaining Mallards regular season home games- can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets, through www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by- phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The ticket 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.

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Central Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2013


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