
Mallards Game Day
February 18, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release
MALLARDS GAME DAY
QUAD CITY MALLARDS VS. MISSOURI MAVERICKS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 7:05 CT
SILVERSTEIN EYE CENTERS ARENA
QUAD CITY
29-19-2, 60 points
3rd place, Central Division
Coach: Phil Axtell
MISSOURI
23-19-7, 53 points
6th place, Mountain Division
Coach: John-Scott Dickson
WATCH: ECHL.TV
LISTEN: Fox Sports Radio 1230
MALLARDS NOTES
Last Night
Nick Huard broke a 1-1 tie with 1:24 left in regulation and the Cincinnati Cyclones went on to defeat the host Mallards 2-1. The Cyclones rebounded after the Mallards' Nolan LaPorte opened the scoring in the first period.
Central
Last night's Mallard loss combined with the second-place Fort Wayne Komets' 1-0 win over the Kalamazoo Wings to leave the third-place Mallards three points behind the Komets in the Central Division standings.
Streak
Last night's loss snapped the Mallards' eight-game winning streak. That streak was the Mallards' longest since they ripped off ten consecutive United Hockey League victories between March 20 and April 10, 2004. It is also tied for the third longest winning streak in the ECHL this season. Last night's defeat was the Mallards' first since they fell 5-2 to the Nailers in Wheeling on January 27.
Home-and-Home
The Cyclones earned a split of a home-and-home series with the Mallards by winning last night. The Mallards opened the two-game set with a 3-2 victory Wednesday night in Cincinnati.
Axtell
The Mallards have gone 10-3-0 in 13 games since Phil Axtell took over as head coach on January 20.
Unbeaten
The winning streak that ended last night was also the Mallards' longest regulation unbeaten streak since they went 5-0-4 over nine games between November 6 and November 23, 2014.
Busy
The Mallards tonight play their sixth game in nine days.
For Openers
The Mallards last night scored the first goal for a thirteenth straight game. The Mallards last gave up the first goal on January 16 in a 5-3 loss to Tulsa.
First
The Mallards have outscored opponents 11-2 in the first period over their last six games, 16-3 over their last eight games, 20-4 over their last nine games and 23-4 over their last 11 games. The first period has been the Mallards' best on the season. They have outscored foes 54-43 in the opening period over their first 50 games.
Tight
The Mallards have played four straight one-goal games. They won the first three games of that stretch before falling last night. The Mallards are now 18-7-2 in one-goal games this season. The Mallards remain the league leaders in one-goal victories.
On the Road
The Mallards have matched their longest road winning streak of the season by winning their last four away games. The Mallards first won four in a row on the road between December 9 and December 18. The Mallards last won five consecutive road games between March 12 and March 26, 2016. Their January 27 defeat in Wheeling is the Mallards' most recent away loss.
Home Sweet Home
Last night's loss ended the Mallards' five-game home winning streak. Last night's defeat was the Mallards first on home ice since their January 16 setback at the hands of Tulsa. That home win streak was the Mallards' longest since they rolled to eight consecutive iWireless Center victories between November 6 and November 29, 2015.
Red Light District
The Mallards last night were held to a single goal for the first time in 17 games since they were beaten 5-1 on January 7 in Fort Wayne. The Mallards have allowed only two goals in each of their last two games and in three of their last four. They have held foes to three goals or fewer in each of their last four outings. The Mallards rank eighth in the ECHL in goals allowed (3.0 per game) and nineteenth in goals scored per game (3.2).
Short
The Mallards have dressed just 15 skaters instead of the standard 16 in each of the two games they have played since Alex Petan (Cleveland) and Alex Gudbranson (Toronto) stepped up to the American Hockey League earlier this week. Those departures have combined with injuries to Pavel Jenys and Mike Wilson to leave the Mallards short.
Captain
Chris Francis assisted on LaPorte's goal last night and has now collected 15 points (seven goals and eight assists) in his last nine games and 18 points (nine goals and nine assists) in his last 11 games.
Parks and Wreck
Michael Parks also picked up an assist last night and has now recorded 17 points (seven goals and ten assists) in his last 15 games.
On the Plus Side
Kevin Gibson is tied with the Florida Everblades' Michael Kirkpatrick for the ECHL lead in plus/minus rating (plus-30).
Between the Pipes
Last night's loss ended Adam Vay's team season-best seven-game winning streak. The defeat was the first for Vay- who made 26 saves yesterday evening- since January 11 when he stopped 25 shots in a 3-2 Mallard loss to the Cyclones in Cincinnati. C.J. Motte is on a four-game winning streak (2.00, .912). Motte ranks third in the ECHL in save percentage (.919), ranks fourth in goals against average (2.52) and is tied for ninth in wins (15).
Milestones
Mike Wilson has 198 career regular season assists...Brady Brassart has played 197 career games...Chris Francis has scored 94 career ECHL goals
Power Play
The Mallards went 0-for-6 on the power play last night and have now failed to convert their last 12 man advantages. The Mallards rank twenty-fifth in the ECHL on the power play (12.6 percent).
Penalty Kill
The Mallards went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill last night after giving up five goals on their opponents' prior eight power plays. The Mallards are tied for nineteenth in the league in penalty killing (80.2 percent).
Head-to-Head
The Mallards have gone 5-2-0 against Mavericks this season. The Mallards, who have gone 2-2-0 on the road against the Mavs, tonight make their final trip of the campaign to Missouri. The Mallards won the last two times they played in Independence after dropping their prior six regular season games and their previous eight games overall (regular season and playoffs) at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Mallards and Mavericks will complete their ten-game season series with a pair of games at the iWireless Center March 17 and March 18. All-time, the Mallards have gone 28-30-7 against Missouri. The Mallards have gone 16-19-2 in Independence.
Ins and Outs
Forward Alex Petan signed a professional tryout agreement with Cleveland (AHL) Tuesday...Defenseman Alex Gudbranson was reassigned to Toronto (AHL) by Minnesota (NHL) Tuesday...Forward Pavel Jenys has missed the Mallards' last five games (upper body injury)...Defenseman Mike Wilson has missed the Mallards' last 28 games (upper body injury).
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ECHL Stories from February 18, 2017
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- Mavericks Shoot Down Mallards for Sixth Straight Win - Kansas City Mavericks
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- Everblades Announce Several Roster Moves - Florida Everblades
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- Tetrault Leads Rush to Win - Rapid City Rush
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- Short-Handed Goal Topples Oilers Late - Tulsa Oilers
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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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