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Mallards Grab Wild Shootout Win

December 26, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


MOLINE, Ill. (December 26, 2012) - Bob Preece converted the deciding penalty shot as the host Quad City Mallards bounced back after the Missouri Mavericks' Brandon Smith tied the score in the final second of regulation and defeated the Mavericks 4-3 in a shootout Wednesday night. The win- the Mallards' third in row and fifth in their last six games- pushed coach Terry Ruskowksi's club back to .500 (12-12-3) on the season and into eighth place in the Central Hockey League with 27 points.

Preece scored the second Mallard shootout goal on the eighth Quad City penalty shot and set the stage for Neil Conway (30 saves) to seal the victory by stopping Ryan Jardine's last ditch bid to keep the Mavericks alive. Missouri's Sebastien Thinel had evened the score earlier in the shootout after Obi Aduba scored on the first Mallard penalty shot.

The shootout- and before that, overtime- only proved necessary after Smith dramatically evened score at thee by racing down the slot to backhand a feed from Thinel past Conway with just six tenths of a second left in the third period. That goal earned Missouri a single point and capped off a late Maverick rally from a 3-1 deficit that started when Ryan Jardine knocked in a loose puck from close range at 13:43 of third.

After falling behind 1-0 when Missouri's John-Scott Dickson finished off a 2-on-1 give-and-go with Dave Pszenyczny at 9:05 of the second period, the Mallards responded with three straight goals- including two in just under a minute and a half in the third period- to seemingly take command.

The Quad City roll started with a power play goal from Mike Stinziani, who jammed the puck home in a goalmouth scramble to deadlock the score at one at 14:02 of the second. Matt Boyd buried a rebound to give the Mallards the lead for the first time at 6:43 of the third period. The gap widened to 3-1 at 8:11 of the third when Mike Hellyer- who also had an assist- scored on a 2-on-1 rush. Even though that lead did not last until the final horn, the Mallards would recover from the late blow delivered by Smith to secure two points.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Mallards activated forward Jason Kostadine from injured reserve and waived forward Jeremy Boyer. Kostadine returned to lineup the Wednesday night after missing 19 games with a lower body injury. Boyer scored three goals and picked up three assists in 19 games this season.

The Mallards return to action Friday night on the road against the Tulsa Oilers. The Mallards next play at home next Wednesday evening at 7:05 p.m. against the Wichita Thunder. In anticipation of the culmination of the college football bowl season, the Mallards will offer $1 Nacho Bowls to all fans attending next Wednesday night's tilt. The Sugar Bowl will also be played next Wednesday evening and fans will be able to watch the bowl game on more than 40 flat screen televisions throughout the i wireless Center.

Tickets for next Wednesday night's game- as well as seats for all remaining Mallards regular season home games- can be purchased in person at the i wireless Center ticket office, at Ticketmaster outlets, through www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period.

The Mallards also now offer the Partial Punch Plan. The Punch Plan provides flexibility and affordability- each Punch Plan punch card can be redeemed for ten tickets- whether those tickets are for ten different games, all for the same game or anything in between- subject to availability. Partial Punch Plans can be had for as little as $70 for youth 12 and under. For more ticket package information, fans can call the Mallards at 309-277-1364.

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