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Mallards Game Day

March 28, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


MALLARDS GAME DAY

QUAD CITY MALLARDS VS. WICHITA THUNDER

TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 7:05 CT

INTRUST BANK ARENA

QUAD CITY

38-24-4, 80 points

3rd place, Central Division

Coach: Phil Axtell

WICHITA

18-40-6, 42 points

7th place, Central Division

Coach: Malcolm Cameron

WATCH: ECHL.TV

LISTEN: Fox Sports Radio 1230

MALLARDS NOTES

Last Game

Sam Warning's end-to-end rush gave the host Mallards a 2-1 overtime victory over the Thunder Sunday .

Streak

The Mallards are on a three-game winning streak. The Mallards defeated the Thunder 5-2 Wednesday in Wichita and rallied past the Fort Wayne Komets 4-3 in overtime on home ice Friday before downing the Thunder again on Sunday.

Central

The third-place Mallards are four points ahead of the fourth-place Kalamazoo Wings in the Central Division standings. The Mallards have a game in hand on Kalamazoo. The Mallards are six points behind the second-place Komets, who have a game in hand on the Mallards.

Playoff Habit

The Mallards have clinched a playoff berth for the third time in as many seasons since entering the ECHL, for the fifth year in a row including their final two Central Hockey League campaigns and for the sixth time in the last seven years.

Upswing

The Mallards have won five of their last six games, have suffered just one regulation loss in their last seven (5-1-1) and have gone 8-2-2 in their last 12.

38

The Mallards Sunday set a franchise ECHL high with their thirty-eighth win. The Mallards finished each of their prior two ECHL seasons with 37 victories. The Mallards have also already won more games this season than they have in any campaign since going 41-27-8 in the 76-game 2005-06 United Hockey League season. The Mallards have posted 38 wins in 66 games, the earliest they have reached that plateau since doing so in the fifty-eighth game of the 2003-04 UHL season. The Mallards have more wins after 66 games than they have secured in any season since they went 41-19-6 over their first 66 games in 2003-04. The Mallards would go on to finish that 76-game slate 50-20-6- the franchise's seventh 50-win season in eight years.

80

With Sunday's win, the Mallards reached 80 points. The Mallards have already matched last year's full-season point total and are one point shy of the franchise ECHL high set in 2014-15. The Mallards have collected 80 points in 66 games, the fewest games they have required to do so since pocketing their eightieth point in the fifty-ninth game of the 2003-04 season. The Mallards have totaled more points in their first 66 games this season than they have since piling up 88 in their first 66 contests in 2003-04. The Mallards would go on to finish that season with 106 points in 76 games- the franchise's seventh 100-point season in eight years.

High-Water Mark

Sunday's win lifted the Mallards to 14 games over .500 for the first time since they finished the 2005-06 regular season 41-27-8.

.600

Sunday's victory raised the Mallards' winning percentage to .606. The Mallards last finished a season with a winning percentage of .600 or better in 2003-04 when they ended the campaign at .697.

Axtell

The Mallards have gone 19-8-2 in 29 games since Phil Axtell took over as head coach on January 20.

Tight

The Mallards have gone 22-9-4 in one-goal games this season. They lead the ECHL in one-goal victories and are tied with the Missouri Mavericks for the league-lead in one-goal games played (35).

Sudden Death

With Sunday's win, the Mallards improved to 5-2 in games decided in overtime. Including their 6-2 record in the shootout, the Mallards are now 11-4 in games that are tied at the end of regulation. The Mallards are tied with Missouri for the league lead in combined overtime and shootout wins and are tied with the Idaho Steelheads for the lead in shootout victories.

Back-to-Back

The Mallards over the weekend won back-to-back games in overtime for the second time this season. The Mallards first did so when they won 4-3 in overtime in Cincinnati on December 9 and again on December 10. Brady Brassart and Guillaume Gelinas scored the sudden death game winners against the Cyclones.

Red Light District

The Mallards have scored 23 goals over their last five games. They were held to two goals Sunday after scoring at least four times in each of their prior four games. The Mallards are rank fifteenth in the ECHL in goal-scoring (3.3 per game) and seventh in goals against (3.0).

On the Road

The Mallards' next away win will be their twentieth of the season. The Mallards have gone 19-14-0 on the road. The Mallards have just two road games left after tonight. The Mallards travel to Indianapolis to meet the Indy Fuel on April 4 and close out the regular season in Fort Wayne on April 8.

Home Sweet Home

The Mallards have established a team season best by going unbeaten in regulation (6-0-2) in their last eight home games. The Mallards have eclipsed the five-game home regulation unbeaten streak they put together by winning five straight games on home ice between January 20 and February 12. The Mallards last fell in regulation at the iWireless Center when they were beaten 4-2 by Kalamazoo on February 24. The Mallards' current run of home ice success is their longest such streak since they went 10-0-1 over 11 home games between October 24 and November 29, 2015.

Perfect 10

Justin Kovacs has recorded 19 points (five goals and 14 assists) in his last 11 games to move into the Mallard lead in points (55).

Warning Sign

Warning has scored five goals and totaled eight points in his last five games.

Jelly

Gelinas has scored four goals- and totaled six points- in just his last five games after scoring five times in his prior 50 games. He now leads Mallard defensemen in goals (9) and is tied with Kevin Gibson for the team lead among blue liners in points (28). Gelinas has also set a new ECHL career high for points by surpassing the 27 he recorded last year in his first season in the league.

On the Plus Side

Gibson ranks third in the ECHL in plus/minus rating (plus-33). Wilson has posted a plus-14 over his last nine games.

Between the Pipes

Adam Vay made 41 saves in Sunday's win. C.J. Motte is unbeaten in regulation- 4-0-2- in his last six decisions over seven games and has suffered just one regulation loss in his last 12 games, a run during which he has gone 8-1-2. Motte is tied for fifth in the ECHL in save percentage (.915), ranks ninth in goals against average (2.69) and is tied for ninth in wins (19). Vay is tied for sixth in shutouts (3) and tied for ninth in wins (19).

Milestones

Guillaume Gelinas has played 98 career ECHL games...Andrew Panzarella has played 95 career games and 93 ECHL games...Chris Francis has 291 career points.

Special Teams

The Mallards have killed off 16 of their foes' last 17 power plays, though the Mallards' streak of 14 straight successful penalty kills ended when Jeremy Beaudry scored a second period Wichita power play goal Sunday. The Mallards rank thirteenth in the ECHL in penalty killing (82.6 percent) and twenty-sixth on the power play (12.8 percent).

Head-to-Head

The Mallards and Thunder tonight conclude their four-game season series. This evening's game is the third in seven days between the two clubs. The Mallards have gone 3-0-0 against Wichita this season. Wednesday's win came in the Mallards' first visit to INTRUST Bank Arena this season. The Mallards have gone 20-18-3 all-time against the Thunder and 10-10-1 in Wichita.

Ins and Outs

The Mallards yesterday signed forward Kyle Novak to a standard player contract...Forward Josh MacDonald missed Sunday's game (lower body injury)...Forward Pavel Jenys has missed the Mallards' last 21 games (upper body injury).



ECHL Stories from March 28, 2017


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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