Daniels Natural Hat Trick Propels Nailers Past Mallards

Published on March 11, 2017 under ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


WHEELING, W.Va. - Johnny Daniels scored a natural hat trick in 57 seconds in the second period and Tyler Currier scored two third period goals as the host Wheeling Nailers (29-24-6) held off the Quad City Mallards' (33-23-3) comeback bid to claim a 6-4 victory Saturday night.

The third place Mallards- who had to settle for a split of their two-game weekend series in Wheeling after blanking the Nailers 3-0 on Friday evening- are three points ahead of the fourth place Kalamazoo Wings in the Central Division standings. The top four finishers in the division qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs.

Daniels' outburst began when he deflected the puck home to break a 1-1 deadlock at 11:01 of the second. The Wheeling lead stretched to 3-1 when Daniels scored from the side of the net a 11:37. Daniels capped off his one-man onslaught by burying a wrist shot from the left wing circle just 21 seconds later.

The Mallards rebounded and cut the gap to one before the end of the second period with back-to-back goals of their own. Sam Warning finished off a give-and-go with Justin Kovacs at 13:35. Chris Francis reduced the deficit to 4-3 by snapping the puck home from the right wing circle at 17:05.

The Mallards pumped 13 shots at the Nailer net in the third period but could not produce an equalizer before Currier's rebound goal put the Nailers on top 5-3 at 13:54 of the third. The Mallards would claw back within one when Kovacs- who finished the night with three points- redirected the puck in with 1:48 remaining, but Currier's empty net goal would finally clinch victory for Wheeling with just 21 seconds left.

It was the Mallards who had opened the scoring with Grant Arnold's wrister from the left wing circle at 6:12 of the first period. The Nailers were on the power play when Cody Wydo's tip-in evened the score with just 55 seconds left in the first and set the stage for Daniels' second period explosion.

The Mallards next play on home ice Wednesday night against the Kalamazoo Wings. That game and all Mallards Wednesday night home games face off at the special early start time of 6:35 p.m.

Single game tickets for all Mallards regular season home games- Wednesday night's game- are on sale now at the iWireless Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The box office is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

About the Quad City Mallards

One of the winningest teams in all of minor league hockey, the Mallards competed in the United Hockey League from 1995 through 2007; in the International Hockey League in 2009-10; and in the Central Hockey League from 2010 through 2014. The Mallards' proud history has seen them capture the UHL's Colonial Cup Championship three times (1997, 1998, 2001) and secure that league's Tarry Cup four times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002) for the best overall regular season record. In 2001, the Mallards made professional hockey history, recording their sixth consecutive season with 50 or more wins, a feat that has yet to be matched. The iWireless Center provides a unique environment for hockey and features one-of-a-kind seating areas such as the Nest for groups and functions and the exclusive Drake Club. For more information on the Quad City Mallards or for Mallards tickets go to www.myqcmallards.net. Fans can also follow the Mallards via Twitter at twitter.com/myqcmallards and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/qcmallards.

- ## Quad City Mallards # -

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ECHL Stories from March 11, 2017


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