Home Opener Looms as Mallards Win on the Road

Published on November 3, 2003 under United Hockey League (UHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


Moline, IL – The Quad City Mallards improved their record to 3-1-0 with two road wins over the weekend at Flint and at Rockford. They are beginning the season with five consecutive road games, including Friday's upcoming matchup against the defending Colonial Cup champion Fort Wayne Komets. On Saturday, Valley Bank presents the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders as the Flint Generals visit for the Mallards' 2003-2004 home opener at 7:00 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities. The Dolphins Cheerleaders will also appear at two Valley Bank locations and conduct a cheerleading clinic at Western Illinois Tumbling & Trampoline in Rock Island. In addition, author and former Mallards goaltender Ken Baker will be at the opening night game to sign autographs of his new book, They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven, which chronicles his dramatic pro debut at The MARK in February 2002. The book is available at the Mallards Nest store in downtown Moline at a special discount price.

LAST WEEK (2-0-0):

Friday, Oct. 31 Quad City Mallards 3, (at) Flint Generals 2

Saturday, Nov. 1 Quad City Mallards 4, (at) Rockford IceHogs 3

THIS WEEK (All times Central):

Friday, Nov. 7 7:00 p.m. Quad City Mallards at Fort Wayne Komets

Opening Night – Valley Bank presents the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders – Ken Baker book signing

Saturday, Nov. 8 7:00 p.m. Flint Generals at Quad City Mallards

Standings

At 3-1-0 (.750), with six points, the Mallards are tied with the Kalamazoo Wings for second place in the Western Conference, two points behind the Muskegon Fury (4-2-0). Quad City has two games in hand on Muskegon.

Home Opener Festivities

It's a full day and evening of events when the Mallards begin the home portion of their schedule this Saturday at 7:00 p.m., taking on the Flint Generals at The MARK of the Quad Cities. At the game, Valley Bank presents the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders. One of the most recognized cheerleading groups in the country, they will give a special performance during intermission. Also, Ken Baker will be on hand to sign copies of his new book featuring the Mallards, They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven. Tickets are on sale now at The MARK box office, at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at (563) 326-1111, and online by following the Tickets link at www.qcmallards.com. For specially priced group ticket information, contact the Mallards at (309) 764-PUCK or e-mail groups@qcmallards.com.

Meet the Dolphins Cheerleaders

The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders will be on hand for pictures and autographs at two locations of Valley Bank from 11 a.m. to noon. Meet the cheerleaders at 3455 Ave. of the Cities, Moline, or at 2020 E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport.

Young Cheerleaders Can Learn from the NFL's Best

The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders will conduct a cheerleading clinic for youngsters age 6 to 16, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Western Illinois Tumbling and Trampoline, 4708 44th St., Rock Island, just off Blackhawk Rd. near Interstate Batteries. The $15 signup fee includes a ticket to Saturday's game. Special group ticket pricing is also available for families of participating cheerleaders, so that everyone can sit together at the game. All schools and cheer teams in attendance will receive special recognition on the public address system. For reservations and information, call Mike Junga, Director of Group Sales, at (309) 764-PUCK.

Ken Baker Returns to The MARK

Also opening night, author and former Mallards goaltender Ken Baker will sign copies of his new book, They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven, which features a chapter on his dramatic professional hockey debut with the Mallards in February 2002. The book is available at the Mallards Nest store in downtown Moline at a special discount price. For more information about Ken Baker, visit www.kenbaker.net.

Upcoming Home Games

· Saturday, Nov. 15, 7:00 p.m. vs. Rockford IceHogs – Mallards Magnet Schedule Night, presented by Riverbend Home Mortgage and the Polly McDowell and Del Newton Allstate Insurance Agencies.

· Sunday, Nov. 16, 4:00 p.m. vs. Fort Wayne Komets – Iowa Wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday, with free Mallards posters for the first 2,500 kids 15 and under and lots of games and activities!

· Friday, Nov. 21, 7:00 p.m. vs. Muskegon Fury – Special post-game performance by the famous Chippendales!

· Sunday, Nov. 23, 4:00 p.m. vs. Missouri River Otters – Iowa Wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

Personnel

· D Louis Robitaille recalled by AHL's Portland Pirates, a Mallards affiliate 10/28

· Activated RW Jason Sessa from 7-day injured reserve 10/31

· Placed D Terry Hollinger on 7-day injured reserve 11/1 (effective 10/31)

· LW Rob Voltera recalled by AHL's Hershey Bears, a Mallards affiliate 11/1

· Activated F Marty Goulet from 10-day injured reserve 11/1

· Activated D Adam Kragthorpe from team suspension 11/1

Team Leaders (UHL Ranking)

Goals 6 C Martin Hlinka (second)

Assists 3 C Jon Francisco, RW Steve Gibson, C Jeff Williams

Points 6 C Martin Hlinka (tied for ninth)

Plus/Minus +3 RW Steve Gibson

Penalty Min. 23 D Freddy Jobin

PP Goals 4 C Martin Hlinka (first)

GW Goals 1 C Martin Hlinka, D Dylan Mills, C Patrick Nadeau (tied for fifth)

SH Goals 1 C Patrick Nadeau (tied for second)

Shots on Goal 13 C Jason Goulet, C Martin Hlinka, D Dylan Mills

Shooting Pct. .462 C Martin Hlinka (fourth)

Goals Against 3.00 G Masahito Haruna

Wins 2 G Jeff Reynaert (tied for fourth)

Save Pct. .914 G Masahito Haruna

Hlinka Extends Streak, Gets First Hat Trick

The hats will be flying at The MARK after Saturday's national anthem, in honor of the first career professional hat trick for Mallards C Martin Hlinka. He scored three goals, including the game-winner with 25.3 seconds remaining, in Saturday's 4-3 victory at Rockford. His first-period tally extended his tied-for-UHL-best goal-scoring streak to four straight games. Hlinka leads the UHL with four power play goals and is second with six goals overall. He is tied for ninth in overall league scoring with six points and ranks fourth with a .462 shooting percentage. He has scored on 6-of-13 shots on goal. Hlinka is making his return to pro hockey with the Mallards after his standout start to the 2001-02 season with the American Hockey League's Portland Pirates was derailed by an injury that forced him to miss part of that year and all of the 2002-03 campaign.

Haruna Makes Successful Debut

G Masahito Haruna ("mah-sah-hee-toe HAH-roo-nah") became the first player from Japan ever to play in the United Hockey League when he started Saturday's game at Rockford. After allowing two early first-period goals, Haruna settled down and earned the win, stopping 32 of 35 IceHogs shots on goal. He set a UHL season high by stopping 18 shots in the third period, while holding Rockford scoreless in the final frame.

Two AHL Callups

LW Rob Voltera became the second Mallards player called up to the AHL when the Hershey Bears, a Mallards affiliate, summoned the bruising forward on Saturday. He played in the Bears' 3-2 overtime loss to ex-Mallards D Brendan Buckley and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. On Tuesday, the Portland Pirates, also a Mallards affiliate, called up rookie D Louis Robitaille. He has seen action in two AHL games and is tied for the lead among Pirates defensemen with a +3 plus/minus rating.

Ulmer Leads the Way

C Jason Ulmer, who won the UHL Rookie of the Year and Playoff MVP awards with the Mallards in 2000-01, is leading the AHL's Portland Pirates, a Mallards affiliate, in scoring. Ulmer has tallied eight points, on a goal and a team-high seven assists, in 11 games so far in the young season. He is tied for fifth in the AHL in assists. Ulmer played for the Pirates in 2001-02 before departing to Finland to play professionally there last season.

Last Week's Games

Friday, Oct. 31 – Mallards 3, (at) Flint Generals 2

C Patrick Nadeau might want to take up billiards as a hobby, after his perfect bank shot in the game's final minute proved to be the winning goal. The Mallards led 1-0 in the first after C Jon Francisco fought off a checking defender in the slot to score his first of the season. Flint quickly tied the game, but Quad City reclaimed the lead before intermission as RW Steve Gibson stole the puck just inside the blue line and fed a wide-open C Martin Hlinka, who scored for the third straight game. It remained 2-1 until Flint went on the power play with 1:41 left in the third. The Generals attacked, firing a shot on goal that G Jeff Reynaert kicked into the faceoff circle to his left. Nadeau, looking to clear the puck out of the zone, played it off the boards and down the ice, unaware that Flint had just sent G Dan McIntyre to the bench for an extra attacker. The puck slid all the way into the goal for a shorthanded, empty-net score to make it 3-1 with 48.3 seconds left. Flint got a power play goal seven seconds later to make the final score close.

Saturday, Nov. 1 – Mallards 4, (at) Rockford IceHogs 3

C Martin Hlinka was the star of the game, with three goals including the game-winner with 25.3 seconds remaining in the third period. Hlinka's two power play goals early in the second period, both assisted by RW Jason Sessa, rallied the Mallards from a 2-0 deficit. Rockford quickly struck back to take a 3-2 lead. Midway through the second, Hugo Proulx, playing center in the absence of injured C Patrick Nadeau, won a faceoff just outside the IceHogs' blue line, forced his way into the attacking zone, and dropped a pass to a wide open D Adam Kragthorpe in the high slot. Kragthorpe, in his season debut, ripped a shot over G Ron Vogel's shoulder to tie the game. In the game's final minute, G Masahito Haruna, making his North American pro debut, made one of his UHL season-high 18 third-period saves, and the Mallards counter-attacked. D Freddy Jobin found Hlinka wide open with a pass up the right wing, and Hlinka faked out Vogel to score the winner.

This Week's Games (All times Central)

Friday, Nov. 7, 7:05 p.m. – Mallards at Fort Wayne Komets – 6:35 p.m. on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and www.qcmallards.com

The defending Colonial Cup champion Komets have struggled out of the gate, going 1-3-1 in their first five games and scoring just two goals per contest. Fort Wayne has 13 players back from the team that defeated the Mallards in five games in the best-of-seven 2003 Colonial Cup Championship Series. But they have so far received little production from 48-goal scorer LW Bobby Stewart (one assist) and fellow 82-point man C Colin Chaulk (one goal). Leading scorers are two returnees, LW Michel Massie (1g, 4a, 5pts) and playoff nemesis RW Dustin Virag (4g, 0a, 4pts). G Kevin St. Pierre was brought in to replace G Tom Lawson, who now plays for Hershey (AHL). St. Pierre started the season on the injured list, leaving goaltending duties to rookies Jimi St. John (1-2-1, 3.51 GAA, .863 Sv%) and Mike Buckley.

Saturday, Nov. 8, 7:00 p.m. – Flint Generals at Mallards – 6:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and www.qcmallards.com

It is the second meeting of the season with the Generals (4-1-0), who will visit Elmira on Thursday and host Richmond on Friday. Quad City took a 3-2 win at Flint this past Friday. Entering this week's play, the Generals lead the UHL in defense, allowing just 2.00 goals per game. Last season, they were the league's worst team at stopping the opposition, allowing 3.92 goals per contest. Familiar names lead the scoring list, including LW Jim Duhart (5g, 2a, 7pts), D Martin Woods (2g, 5a, 7pts), RW Kevin Kerr (3g, 3a, 6pts), and RW Bobby Reynolds (2g, 3a, 5pts). The Generals lineup also features rookie F Leo Thomas (1g, 2a, 3pts), the younger brother of former Flint star Kahlil Thomas. Fifth-year pro G Dan McIntyre (2-1-0, 1.33 GAA, .953 Sv%) has been stellar in net.

Player of the Week & Month

C Martin Hlinka is the Mallards' nominee for Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Week for Oct. 25-Nov. 1. He is also the Mallards' nominee for Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Month for October. In two games this past week, Hlinka extended his goal-scoring streak to four games. He scored once in Quad City's 3-2 win at Flint on Friday. Saturday, he scored the game-winner with 25.3 seconds remaining in the 4-3 win at Rockford, capping off his first career hat trick. He leads the UHL with four power play goals and ranks second with six goals. In October (not including Saturday's game), he scored a goal in each of the first three games of the regular season.

Goaltender of the Week & Month

G Jeff Reynaert is the Mallards' nominee for UHL Goaltender of the Week and for UHL Goaltender of the Month for October. Last week, he was the winning netminder in Friday's 3-2 victory at Flint, stopping 35-of-37 Generals shots on goal for an outstanding .946 save percentage. For the month of October, Reynaert went 2-1-0, with a 3.33 goals against average and a ..906 save percentage.

Webbed Feats

· The Mallards are the only team that has yet to play a home game. They are the only team with three road victories.

· Quad City has seven major penalties in four games, putting the team on pace for 133 majors for the season. While that total would have led the league last season, teams this season are on an average pace of 151 majors so far, up from 79 in 2002-03. Last season, the Mallards were last in the UHL with 52 major penalties.

· The Mallards have allowed 35.3 shots on goal per game, the most in the league.

· The three Quad City goals in Saturday's second period tied a UHL season high.

· C Martin Hlinka leads the UHL with four power play goals, ranks second with six goals, is tied for ninth with six points, and ranks fourth with a .462 shooting percentage (6-for-13). His two power play goals on Saturday tied a UHL season high.

· In his UHL debut, G Masahito Haruna set the league season high with 18 third-period saves.

· C Jon Francisco is tied for third place among UHL rookies with four points and ranks third with three assists. He has scored a point in each of the four Mallards games.

· D Dylan Mills is one of only two UHL defensemen with a game-winning goal. He earned it in the season-opening 3-1 win at Rockford on Oct. 24. Mills set a UHL season-high with ten shots on goal in that game.

Milestone Watch

· When he assisted on C Martin Hlinka's first goal Saturday, RW Jason Sessa scored the 200th point of his pro career.

· With an assist on Saturday, RW Hugo Proulx moved within two points of becoming the first player to score 500 points as a Mallard.

· With three assists so far this season, RW Steve Gibson needs six more to reach 200 in a Mallards uniform and become the third player to reach that mark.

· C Martin Hlinka's next game will be the 200th of his pro career.

· Five more points will give D Freddy Jobin 100 in his Mallards career.

Tickets on sale now!

Tickets for all Mallards home games are available at The MARK of the Quad Cities box office, at all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at (563) 326-1111, and online by following the Tickets link at www.qcmallards.com.

On The Air

Hear all Mallards games live on Fox Sports Radio 1230 (WFXN-AM), beginning with the Pre-Game Show 30 minutes before the opening face-off. The live broadcast concludes with the Allstate Insurance Post-Game Show, presented by the Polly McDowell and Del Newton agencies, featuring play-by-play highlights including the Allstate Good Hands Play of the Game. The broadcasts can also be heard through the Mallards web site, www.qcmallards.com.

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United Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2003


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