Giosa, Mallards Rally Past Bloomington 6-5 in Overtime

October 28, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Eric Giosa scored at 2:59 of overtime to give the Quad City Mallards a wild, come-from-behind 6-5 win over the host Bloomington Blaze Friday night. Giosa ended the contest after the Mallards' John Snowden had tied the game with his two hundredth career goal- and second of the night- late in regulation.

Giosa ripped the game winner from the high slot to cap off a rally that saw the Mallards erase a 5-3 third period deficit. Brandon Marino's one timer kick-started that comeback at 13:54 of the third. Snowden's game tier broke in off Bloomington goaltender Zane Kalemba just over a minute and a half later.

The Mallards found themselves in need of the late fireworks provided by Marino and Snowden after the Blaze struck for back-to-back third period goals of their own. Aaron Dawson pounced on a rebound to score his second of the night and put Bloomington in front 4-3 at 8:39 of the third- just 12 seconds after Sean Flanagan's tip-in had tied the score at three for the Mallards. 100 seconds after Dawson gave the Blaze the lead, Kyle Laughlin finished off a 2-on-1 rush to double the advantage.

The Mallards found themselves trailing entering the third period despite pumping 45 shots at the Bloomington over the first 40 minutes on the way to posting a Central Hockey League single-game season high 58 shots for the night.

The Blaze emerged from a see-saw first period with a 3-2 lead despite spotting the Mallards the opening goal. Snowden gave the Flock a 1-0 lead from the side of the net at 2:18 of the first. The Blaze bounced back to grab their first lead thanks to a pair of goals from defensemen. Doug Krantz tied the game from close range just 65 seconds after the Mallards jumped in front; at 5:45, Aaron Dawson's drive from the high slot put the Blaze up 2-1. The Mallards would respond with a tying goal of their own when Jason Kostadine rifled the puck home to make it 2-2 at 8:46 of the first. The game once more turned in the Blaze's favor when Mike Zbriger reestablished Bloomington's lead from the slot at 10:24 of the first, but, in the end, a third period just as explosive as the first would set the stage for the overtime period that was dramatically ended by Giosa.

Giosa's sudden death strike not only provided the Mallards with their first win of the season, but also gave Mallard boss David Bell his first career head coaching win and, in addition, enabled goaltender David McKee (25 saves) to secure his first victory for Quad City.

The Mallards and Blaze will meet again tomorrow night in Bloomington at 7:05 p.m. Fans can listen to tomorrow night's game and Mallards action throughout the season on Fox Sports Radio 1230. Online pay-per-view video webcasts of all Mallards games are available via CHL-TV at chltv.neulion.com/chltv/.

The Mallards next play at home next Friday night at 7:05 p.m. against the Dayton Gems. Next Friday will be Veterans Appreciation Night as the Mallards honor those who have served in the armed forces in what will be the Flock's final home game before Veterans Day. Tickets for Veterans Appreciation Night are available to veterans for the special discounted rate of just $5 at the i wireless Center box office. Family and friends of veterans can purchase their seats for next Friday night's game at special discounted group rates.

Next Friday evening will also see the Mallards hold their annual teddy bear toss. Fans who bring a new, unwrapped stuffed animal to the November 4 game can toss it onto the ice after the Mallards' first goal in that tilt. Those teddy bears will then be donated to the Quad City Festival of Trees and used to assemble the "Zoo Tree." Festival of Trees will, in turn, donate the teddy bears to children in need. The first 1,000 fans through the doors who bring stuffed animals to the game will receive free Mallards teddy bears in exchange.

Single game tickets for all of the Mallards' regular season contests- including next Friday's game- are now available. Fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 or tickets@myqcmallards.com for more information about both season and single game tickets.

Single game tickets are also available at the i wireless 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 2:30 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period. Individual game tickets are available for $12 in the upper level and $17 in the lower level.



Central Hockey League Stories from October 28, 2011


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