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Mallards Game Day

December 23, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


QUAD CITY MALLARDS VS. TULSA OILERS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 7:05 CT

IWIRELESS CENTER

QUAD CITY

15-9-2, 32 points

4th place, Central Division

Coach: Terry Ruskowski

TULSA

17-11-2, 36 points

2nd place, Central Division

Coach: Jason Christie

WATCH: ECHL.TV

LISTEN: Fox Sports Radio 1230

MALLARDS NOTES

Last Game

Mike Cazzola and Brady Vail- who provided what proved to be the game winner- scored third period goals Wednesday night to propel the Fort Wayne Komets to a 4-3 victory over the Mallards, who got goals from Alex Petan, Grant Arnold and Chris Francis but fell short in their comeback bid.

Fun While It Lasted

Wednesday night's loss ended the Mallards' four-game winning streak. That run is tied for the Mallards' longest winning streak of the season. Wednesday evening's defeat was the Mallards' first since they fell to the Kalamazoo Wings 3-2 in a shootout on December 7.

Ditto

Wednesday night's loss also ended the Mallards' season-best five-game regulation unbeaten streak (4-0-1). Wednesday's setback was the Mallards first regulation loss since they were blanked 3-0 by the Walleye in Toledo on December 3.

Division

The Mallards' foes this week are the two teams immediately ahead of them in the Central Division standings. After missing out Wednesday night on a chance to overtake the third-place Komets and instead falling three points behind Fort Wayne, the Mallards tonight meet the second-place Oilers.

Upswing

Even after falling Wednesday night, the Mallards have suffered just two regulation losses in their last eight games (5-2-1) and just three in their last 12 games (8-3-1).

Rally

The Mallards Wednesday night fell just short in their bid for a fifth straight come-from-behind win. The Mallards twice rallied to tie that game before the Komets made their third lead of the evening stick. The Mallards have surrendered the first goal in each of their last four games.

Home Sweet Home

The Mallards Wednesday night kicked off a four-game homestand. The Mallards have gone 0-1-1 in their last two home games. They last won on home ice when they defeated the Indy Fuel 4-3 in a shootout on November 25.

On the Road

The Mallards have won four straight road games. They boast a better record on the road (11-5-0) than at home (4-4-2).

Tight

Five of the Mallards' last six games have been decided by one goal. The Mallard have gone 3-1-1 in those five games and are now 8-4-2 in one-goal games on the season.

Central

Tonight's game is the fourth of five straight against Central Division opponents for the Mallards. The Mallards have started that stretch 2-1-0 and have gone 8-5-1 against division foes on the season.

Four Score

The Mallards Wednesday night gave up four goals in a second straight game for the first time this season. A 5-4 shootout win Sunday in Kalamazoo preceded Wednesday night's loss. The Mallards remain the league leaders in goals against per game (2.7).

Red Light District

The Mallards were held to three goals Wednesday night after scoring at least four times in each of their prior four games. The Mallards ranks sixteenth in the ECHL in goals per game (3.1).

Century

Francis Wednesday night scored his one hundredth career goal.

First

Arnold Wednesday night scored his first career goal.

Streaking

Kevin Gibson's eight-game point-scoring streak (1-9-10) and seven-game assist streak (nine assists) ended Wednesday night. Both streaks are not only Mallard season bests but also the longest such streaks of Gibson's career.

On the Plus Side

Gibson has posted a plus/minus rating of +13 over his last nine games and is now tied for seventh in the ECHL in plus/minus at +16 on the season.

Rook Roll

Nolan LaPorte is on a six-game point-scoring streak (2-5-7). The rookie has piled up 13 points (four goals and nine assists) in his last 11 games after collecting just five points (one goal and four assists) in his first 14 games.

Parks and Wreck

Michael Parks is on a five-game point-scoring streak (4-3-7) and has totaled 11 points- including seven goals- in his last 11 games.

Dime

Petan Wednesday night scored for the fourth time in his last three games to move into a tie with Parks for the team lead in goals (10).

Between the Pipes

C.J. Motte, who made 27 saves Wednesday night while surrendering four goals for the first time this season, is now tied for the ECHL lead in goals against average (2.22), ranks third in save percentage (.933) and is tied for seventh in wins (10).

Milestones

Mike Monfredo ranks sixth in Mallards history in career games played (298). If he dresses for each of the Mallards' next two games, he will play his three hundredth game for the team next Wednesday night against Indy...Francis has played 398 career games...Mike Wilson has 198 career regular season assists...Donnie Harris has played 297 career games... Justin Kovacs has played 97 career games.

Special Teams

Shorthanded goals have been scored in the third period of each of the Mallards' last four games. Francis Wednesday night scored the Mallards' third shorthanded goal of the season after the Mallards had allowed shorthanded goals in each of their prior three games. The Mallards went 0-for-2 on the power play Wednesday night while the Komets went 1-for-5. The Mallards are tied for seventeenth in the ECHL on the power play (15.9 percent) and rank sixth in the league in penalty killing (86.0 percent).

Head-to-Head

To night's game is the second of three this season between the Mallards and Oilers. Each of those three games will be played at the iWireless Center. The Mallards won the season series opener 3-2 on October 29. All-time, the Mallards have gone 16-13-0 against Tulsa overall and 11-6-0 at home.

Ins and Outs

Defenseman Donnie Harris has missed the Mallards' last 12 games (upper body injury)

- ## Quad City Mallards ##-



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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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