Mallards Game Day

January 21, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


QUAD CITY MALLARDS VS. MISSOURI MAVERICKS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 7:05 CT

SILVERSTEIN EYE CENTERS ARENA

QUAD CITY

20-16-2, 42 points

4th place, Central Division

Coach: Phil Axtell

MISSOURI

14-17-7, 35 points

6th place, Mountain Division

Coach: John-Scott Dickson

WATCH: ECHL.TV

LISTEN: Fox Sports Radio 1230

MALLARDS NOTES

Last Night

Michael Parks provided the deciding shootout goal after scoring and adding an assist in regulation as the host Mallards rallied from a 4-1 third period deficit for a 5-4 shootout victory over the Mavericks.

First Win

Phil Axtell last night earned the win in his first game as Mallards interim head coach after replacing Terry Ruskowski, who was relieved of his duties as head coach and general manager yesterday.

Triple Play

Tonight's rematch between the Mallards and Mavericks is the second of three games in 48 hours between the clubs, who will meet again tomorrow at 4:05 in Independence.

Rebound

The Mallards last night won for the second time in three games after losing their prior six.

Shootout

By outscoring the Mavericks 2-1 in the shootout last night (Chris Francis buried the Mallards' first goal of the shootout) the Mallards improved to 4-2 in the shootout on the season. They have won each of their last three shootouts.

20

Last night's win was the Mallards' twentieth of the season.

Short

Due to injuries and call-ups, the Mallards have dressed fewer than the allowed 18 players in each of their last six games. 17 Mallards were in uniform last night- thanks to Kevin Gibson's return from a two-game injury absence (upper body) - after the team iced a lineup of just 16 in Monday's 5-3 loss to Tulsa.

Rally

The Mallards last night came from behind by scoring three times in four minutes and 33 seconds and by ripping off the final two goals of that onslaught in a span of just 31 seconds. Pavel Jenys kicked off the revival at 7:19 of the third period. Jack Nevins trimmed the margin to 4-3 at the 11:21 mark. Moments later Alex Gudbranson scored the dramatic game tier.

Comeback

Last night's win was the Mallards eleventh comeback victory of the season.

Third

The Mallards outscored the Mavericks 3-1 in the third period last night after scoring just three third period goals- while allowing 15- over their prior seven games.

First

Parks scored the opener last night just 35 seconds into the first period after the Mallards have given up the opening goal in 14 of their prior 17 games.

Early

After Parks scored just over half a minute into the opening period last night, Missouri's Dane Fox would eventually fire back even earlier in the third period. Fox delivered the fourth Maverick goal only 24 seconds into the third.

Home Sweet Home

The Mallards last night completed a four-game homestand with a record of 2-2-0.

On the Road

Tonight's game is the first of five straight on the road for the Mallards. While the Mallards have lost their last three away games- their longest such skid of the season- they do still boast a better record in road action (11-8-0) than at home (9-8-2). The Mallards last won away on December 18 when the defeated the Wings in Kalamazoo 5-4 in a shootout.

In the Red

The Mallards are four games over .500 despite having been outscored 117-112 on the season.

Parks and Wreck

Parks, whose goal last night was his team-leading fifteenth of the season, has now recorded four points (two goals and two assists) in three games since returning from a three-game injury absence (upper body) and has piled up 16 points (nine goals and seven assists) in his last 13 games along with 22 points (13 goals and nine assists) in his last 20 contests.

Welcome Back

With an assist last night, Nolan LaPorte has now notched five points (two goals and three assists) in three games since returning to the lineup after missing two games with a lower body injury.

Brady's Bunch

Brady Brassart has picked up two assists in each of his last two games and now has 11 points (two goals and nine assists) in his last nine games.

Streak

By assisting on Jenys' goal last night, Francis extended his point-scoring streak to four games (1-3-4).

Top Dog

By assisting on Nevins' goal last night, Justin Kovacs extended his point-scoring streak to four games (1-3-4). Kovacs leads the Mallards in points (29) on the season and last night also became the first Mallard to reach 20 assists.

On the Plus Side

The Mallards were more than happy to welcome Gibson back last night as the defenseman is tied for seventh in the ECHL in plus/minus rating (+19).

Between the Pipes

Adam Vay last night made 27 saves over 65 minutes along with two more in the shootout on the way to his second straight win. C.J. Motte is tied for third in the ECHL save percentage (.925), ranks seventh in goals against average (2.48) and is tied for tenth in wins (11).

Milestones

Mike Wilson has 198 career regular season assists...Sam Warning has played 99 career games.

Power Play

The Mallards went 0-for-5 on the power play last night and have now converted just one of their last 32 advantages. The Mallards have dropped to twenty-fourth in the ECHL on the power play (12.7 percent).

Penalty Kill

After allowing one goal on three Missouri power plays last night the Mallards now rank fifteenth in the league in penalty killing (83.2 percent).

Head-to-Head

The Mallards head into tonight's middle tilt of their three-game weekend series with the Mavericks having gone 3-1-0 against Missouri this season. The home team has won each of those four games, all of which have been decided by a single goal. A 3-2 New Year's Eve triumph is the Mavs' lone victory over the Mallards so far this year. The Mallards and Mavericks will meet a total of ten times. All-time, the Mallards have gone 26-29-7 against the Mavericks: 12-11-5 at home and 14-18-2 on the road.

Ins and Outs

Defenseman Kevin Gibson returned to the Mallards' lineup last night after missing two games (upper body injury)...Forward Sam Warning has missed the Mallards' last four games (upper body injury)...Defenseman Donnie Harris has missed the Mallards' last four games (upper body injury)...Defenseman Mike Wilson has missed the Mallards' last 16 games (upper body injury)...Forward Alex Petan signed a professional tryout agreement with Iowa (AHL) Monday...Forward/defenseman Nick Grasso signed a standard player contract with the Mallards Sunday.



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