Mallards in thick of three-team race

Published on February 2, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Quad City Mallards News Release


Moline, IL – The Quad City Mallards continued their recent domination of home ice, with two more blowout wins at The MARK of the Quad Cities in a 2-1-0 week of action. The Mallards edged to within seven points of the first place Muskegon Fury. After games at Rockford and Missouri this Wednesday and Thursday, the Mallards return home for an i wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday game against their archrivals, the Flint Generals.

LAST WEEK (2-1-0):

· Wednesday, Jan. 28 – (at) Quad City Mallards 6, Kalamazoo Wings 2

· Friday, Jan. 30 – (at) Quad City Mallards 8, Rockford IceHogs 4

· Saturday, Jan. 31 – (at) Muskegon Fury 5, Quad City Mallards 1

THIS WEEK (All times Central):

· Wednesday, Feb. 4 – 7:05 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Rockford IceHogs

· Thursday, Feb. 5 – 7:30 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Missouri River Otters

· i wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

Sunday, Feb. 8 – 4:00 p.m. – Flint Generals at Quad City Mallards

Deere Harvester Credit Union Headlines i wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

The Quad City Mallards welcome 30-goal scorer Jim Duhart and the Flint Generals for this weekend's i wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday game. Doors open at The MARK at 1:30 p.m. for a showing of the original 1968 film "Planet of the Apes," starring Charlton Heston, on the giant video screen. Open skating is from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. The first 2,500 kids 15 and under will get a free Mallards poster, courtesy of Deere Harvester Credit Union. At the game, you can meet "The Hulk," appearing live and in person, and check out the latest video games at the Video Games Etc! display in the concourse. Plus, you might be one of ten lucky contestants to compete in the $5,000 Deere Harvester Credit Union Dash for Cash during intermission! Good seats are available for the 4:00 p.m. game against Flint.

Personnel

· C Martin Hlinka recalled by Hershey Bears (AHL), a Mallards affiliate, 1/26

· C Patrick Nadeau remains on 10-day injured reserve (effective 1/24)

· D Terry Hollinger remains on 21-day injured reserve (effective 1/7)

· D Kerry Toporowski remains on 21-day injured reserve (effective 12/21)

· RW Steve Gibson remains on 21-day injured reserve (effective 12/14)

· LW Rob Voltera remains on callup to Hershey Bears (AHL), a Mallards affiliate

· D Louis Robitaille remains on callup to Portland Pirates (AHL), a Mallards affiliate

· C Charlie Stephens remains on callup to Binghamton Senators (AHL)

Standings

At 26-15-3 (.625), with 55 points, the Mallards are in third place in the overall UHL standings and in the Western Conference, seven points behind the first-place Muskegon Fury (29-11-4, 62 points). Quad City is six points behind second-place Fort Wayne (29-11-3, 55 points), with the Komets holding a game in hand. The Mallards are five points ahead of last season's pace, when through 44 games, they were 21-15-8 (.568), with 50 points.

Team Leaders (UHL Ranking)

Goals 26 RW Jason Sessa, C Jeff Williams (tied for fifth)

Assists 24 D Tom Menicci

Points 43 RW Jason Sessa (tied for 17th)

Plus/Minus +14 C Jeff Williams

Penalty Min. 138 F/D Brad Essex

PP Goals 9 C Jeff Williams

SH Goals 4 RW Jason Sessa, C Jeff Williams (tied for second)

GW Goals 6 RW Jason Sessa (tied for first)

Shots on Goal 163 C Jeff Williams

Shooting Pct. .213 C Martin Hlinka (first)

Wins 21 G Jeff Reynaert (third)

Goals Against 2.86 G Jeff Reynaert (sixth)

Save Pct. .913 G Jeff Reynaert (fifth)

Future Home Games

· Saturday, Feb. 14, 7:00 p.m. vs. Muskegon Fury – Valentine's Day Game

· Sunday, Feb. 15, 4:00 p.m. vs. Adirondack IceHawks – Iowa Wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

· Friday, Feb. 20, 7:00 p.m. vs. Adirondack IceHawks – Grab for cash in the Sunset Lakes Resort Cash Machine

· Sunday, Feb. 22, 4:00 p.m. vs. Missouri River Otters – Iowa Wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

· Friday, Feb. 27, 7:00 p.m. vs. Elmira Jackals

Home Ice Is Nice

The Mallards have gone 6-0-1 in their last seven home games while scoring an average of 6.43 goals per game. Their scoring average over the last ten home contests (7-1-2), dating back to Dec. 10, is 6.00 goals per game.

Powering Up

After scoring just two power play goals over seven games Jan. 14-25, the Mallards have scored eight times with the man advantage in their last three contests, with a conversion rate of 27.6% (8-for-29). Opponents are just 2-for-26 (7.7%) in the last four games.

Last Week's Games

Wednesday, Jan. 28 – (at) Mallards 6, Kalamazoo Wings 2

The Mallards used great special teams play, scoring three power play goals and killing off 11-of-11 Kalamazoo power plays. Trailing 1-0 early, C Jeff Williams tied it with a nifty move in the circle to evade a defender. In the second period, D Dylan Mills sent the puck around the end boards to rookie F Drew Otten, who fired a wide-angle shot from the boards into the net for a 2-1 lead. Mills scored on a two-man advantage for a 3-1 lead. Just 1:16 later, Williams scored again on a power play to make it 4-1. D Tom Menicci assisted on both goals. Kalamazoo closed to within 4-2 by second intermission. RW Hugo Proulx scored 1:16 into the third. Menicci added another power play goal 1:29 later on a feed from RW Jason Sessa. G Jeff Reynaert tied his season-high with 42 saves.

Friday, Jan. 30 – (at) Mallards 8, Rockford IceHogs 4

C Jeff Williams scored three goals and added an assist to lead the attack. D Matt Libby had two goals and an assist. D Tom Menicci (goal, two assists) and RW Jason Sessa (two assists) also turned in multi-point games. The Mallards gave up the early lead for the third straight game. They scored two power play goals in a 2:23 span to take a 2-1 lead. Rookie C Jon Francisco earned a shorthanded tally for a 3-1 lead at intermission. Libby scored another shorthanded goal, giving the Mallards ten this month, just 2:45 into the second period. With the lead cut to 4-2, Libby scored again, this time on a power play, for a 5-2 advantage at the second break. RW Hugo Proulx scored 20 seconds into the third. Then Williams earned the hat trick with his second and third goals of the game at the 6:07 and 8:30 marks of the period. The Mallards went 4-for-10 on the power play.

Saturday, Jan. 31 – (at) Muskegon Fury 5, Mallards 1

The Fury were fresh, playing their only game of the week, while the Mallards were in their third contest in four days. The game was close, with Quad City trailing just 2-1, until Muskegon put it away with three goals in the third period. Leading the Fury were Brant Blackned, with a goal and three assists, Todd Robinson, with a goal and two assists, and G Sylvain Daigle, who stopped 36-of-37 shots. The lone highlight for the Mallards was a late second period power play goal, with rookie F Lanny Gare deflecting D Andy Fermoyle's shot from the point into the net. D Dylan Mills also assisted on the goal. G Jeff Reynaert made 22 saves in the defeat. The Mallards fell to 2-4-1 against the Fury this season, with two regular season matchups remaining, both at The MARK of the Quad Cities.

This Week's Games (All times Central)

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 7:05 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Rockford IceHogs

Series: The Mallards are 5-2-2 vs. the IceHogs in 2003-04, scoring 5.86 goals per game, but just 2-2-1 at Rockford. This is the tenth of 13 meetings overall, the sixth of eight at the MetroCentre.

The IceHogs (17-25-2, pending Tuesday's game at Kalamazoo) have lost their last four games by a combined score of 25-10. That includes an 8-4 Mallards win at The MARK of the Quad Cities last Wednesday. It was the second time D Bob Nardella was assessed a game misconduct at Quad City, his only two game misconducts of the season. C Justin Cardwell has been a bright spot offensively. He has scored 13 points (9g, 4a) in the last ten games, including a hat trick against the Mallards on Jan. 16. According to the Rockford Register-Star, RW Reggie Savage is awaiting shoulder surgery and likely is done for the season. Expected to lead the IceHogs' attack this season, he has ten points (3g, 7a) in 24 games.

Thursday, Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Missouri River Otters

Series: The Mallards are 4-0-0 vs. the River Otters in 2003-04, allowing two goals in each game, and 2-0-0 at St. Charles, MO. This is the fifth of 11 meetings overall and the third of six at the Family Arena.

The River Otters (10-28-6) are 0-3-1 in their last four games and have scored as many as four goals just once in their last 14 contests. The Mallards are without their two leading scorers in the season series, C Martin Hlinka (3g, 3a, 6pts in 4 games), who is on callup with the Hershey Bears (AHL), and RW Steve Gibson (1g, 4a, 5pts in 2 games), who is on the injured reserve list. Quad City has outscored Missouri 8-0 in the first period of their four previous meetings. Leading scorer Jeff Petruic (25g, 18a, 43pts) has a six-game point-scoring streak (6g, 3a, 9pts). The River Otters are 2-for-28 in shootout attempts and have lost all six games that have gone to shootouts.

i wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

Sunday, Feb. 8, 4:00 p.m. – Flint Generals at Quad City Mallards

Series: The Mallards are 3-1-0 vs. the Generals in 2003-04, 2-0-0 at The MARK. This is the fifth of ten meetings this season, the third of five in Moline.

This is the fifth in a seven-game road swing for the Generals (22-18-4 pending games Friday at Kalamazoo, Saturday at Fort Wayne). They have gone 1-4-1 in their last six games to fall six points behind the first-place Richmond RiverDogs in the UHL's Eastern Conference. The mini-tailspin started with Flint's 5-3 loss at Quad City on Jan. 17. RW Bobby Reynolds just completed a huge month, scoring 31 points (14g, 17a) in 14 games. He had nine multi-point games and was held without a point only once during January. LW Jim Duhart is second in the league with 30 goals. D Martin Woods (12g, 33a, 45pts) is second in points by a defenseman. The Generals are the league's leading penalty killing team, succeeding 85.8% of the time (232-for-265).

AHL/NHL Update

C Martin Hlinka has earned assists in each of his last two games with the Hershey Bears, a Mallards affiliate. C Charlie Stephens has scored six points (4g, 2a) in four games since his trade from Hershey to Binghamton. D Louis Robitaille has assists in two of the last three games. Here are the stats of the four 2003-04 Mallards players currently on callups to AHL teams:

GP G A PTS +- SHOTS PIM

Martin Hlinka Hershey 3 0 2 2 0 4 2

Charlie Stephens Hershey-Bing. 36 9 11 20 +2 65 23

Rob Voltera Hershey 25 1 1 2 -5 19 30

Louis Robitaille Portland 36 0 4 4 0 39 71

Former Mallard Jason Ulmer has scored a point in four of the last five games and ranks second on the Portland Pirates in assists and points. Cam Severson, called up to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Jan. 19, fought Calgary heavyweight Krzysztof Oliwa in Sunday's 6-4 loss to the Flames. The stats of ex-Mallards in the AHL and NHL:

GP G A PTS +- SHOTS PIM

Brendan Buckley Wilkes-Barre 43 2 4 6 +2 33 61

Jason Ulmer Portland 47 7 17 24 -5 90 10

Cam Severson Cincinnati 36 7 5 12 -2 66 139

Anaheim 7 0 0 0 -4 3 15

Milestone Watch (regular season play)

· C Jeff Williams is tied with Chad Power for tenth place in franchise history with 55 goals. Williams' next goal will tie him with Stas Tkatch for ninth place with 56. Fredrik Nasvall is eighth with 59.

· RW Hugo Proulx scored his 200th goal as a Mallard in Wednesday's 6-2 win over Port Huron. Glenn Stewart (218) is the only other Mallard to reach 200. Proulx is tied with Stewart for the all-time franchise record of 29 game-winning goals.

· D Freddy Jobin's next goal will tie him with Brian LaFleur for second place in team history with 37 goals by a defenseman. Rick Emmett holds the franchise record with 48.

· G Jeff Reynaert on Saturday played his 55th game with the Mallards, passing Marty Fillion for fourth place in team history among goaltenders.

Webbed Feats

· F Lanny Gare has scored 18 points (7g, 11a) in 13 games since he returned from Hershey (AHL) on Jan. 9.

· D Tom Menicci has scored 11 points (6g, 5a) in the last eight games.

· D Matt Libby has scored 11 points (4g, 7a) in the last eight games.

· RW Jason Sessa has scored six points (1g, 5a) in the last five games.

· D Dylan Mills has scored five points (2g, 3a) in the last four games.

· RW Hugo Proulx has averaged exactly a point per game (5g, 7a, 12pts) over his last 12 games.

Duck Tales

· C Jeff Williams' hat trick in Friday's 8-4 win over Rockford was the Mallards' fourth this season and the first at home. C Martin Hlinka (Nov. 1 at Rockford, Jan. 2 at Adirondack) and RW Jason Sessa (Nov. 22 at Muskegon) have the other three-goal games.

· Rockford D Bob Nardella, who played briefly for the Mallards last season, was assessed a game misconduct in Friday's 8-4 win over the IceHogs. It was his second game misconduct of the season, both at The MARK of the Quad Cities.

· Saturday's 5-1 loss at Muskegon marked the seventh time this season the Mallards have been held to fewer than two goals in a game. Quad City has held its opponents to less than two scores in nine games this season.

Missing Man Formation

Quad City has lost 255 man-games to injuries, AHL callups, and suspensions this season. That's a pace of 440 over the course of a full season. The Mallards lost a team record 452 man-games last season because of players who were injured, called up, or suspended.

Scoring Change

In Saturday's 5-1 loss to Muskegon, the Mallards scored their only goal, during a power play, on a shot from the point by D Andy Fermoyle. The shot was deflected into the net by rookie F Lanny Gare, who will receive credit for his tenth goal of the season. Fermoyle gets an assist rather than a goal. C Jeff Williams, originally credited with an assist on the play, sees his point-scoring streak end at eight straight games.

Player of the Week

C Jeff Williams is the Mallards' nominee for Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Week. He extended his point-scoring streak to eight games and his goal-scoring streak to five straight before they were snapped in Sunday's 5-1 loss at Muskegon. He scored two goals and added an assist in Friday's 6-2 win over Kalamazoo. In Saturday's 8-4 victory over Rockford, he recorded his second career hat trick with three goals and an assist. Williams has scored ten goals in the last six games and is tied for fifth in the UHL with 26 goals this season. He leads the Mallards with nine power play goals, 163 shots on goal, and a +14 plus/minus rating.

Goaltender of the Week

G Jeff Reynaert is the Mallards' nominee for UHL Goaltender of the Week. He played all three games last week, posting a 2-1-0 record with a 3.67 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage. He tied his season high with 42 saves in Friday's 6-2 win over Kalamazoo. He stopped 24 shots in Saturday's 8-4 win over Rockford and made 22 saves in Sunday's 5-1 defeat at Muskegon. For the season, he ranks sixth in the league in goals-against average and is in the top five in wins, minutes, saves, and save percentage.

Player of the Month

C Jeff Williams is the Mallards' nominee for Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Month for January. He led the league with 16 goals in 17 games during the month. He also led the Mallards with 23 points, a +11 plus/minus rating, and 95 shots on goal, while tying for the team lead with four power play goals. He had seven multi-point games and registered at least one goal or assist in 13 of the 17 contests.

Goaltender of the Month

G Jeff Reynaert is the Mallards' nominee for UHL Goaltender of the Month for January. He started 15 of the 17 games for Quad City during the month and posted a 10-4-1 record, with a 3.08 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. Highlights during the month included tying his season-high with 42 saves in the 6-2 win over Kalamazoo on Jan. 28, and a 28-save effort in the 2-1 win at Columbus on Jan. 7. He also started ten straight games Jan. 7-24.

Tickets on sale now!

Tickets for all Mallards home games are available at The MARK of the Quad Cities box office, at all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at (563) 326-1111, and online by following the Tickets link at www.qcmallards.com.

Duck Talk

Scheduled guests on the next Duck Talk, Monday, Feb. 9, are Jason Cannon, Bob Crummer, and Hugo Proulx. The weekly radio show is at the Black Bear Lounge, inside The Lodge Hotel, on Utica Ridge Rd. at Spruce Hills Dr. in Bettendorf. Meet the players, get autographs, and ask questions they and Coach Paul Gillis will answer on the live broadcast. Duck Talk airs live on Fox Sports Radio 1230 (WFXN-AM) and on www.qcmallards.com.

On The Air

Hear all Mallards games live on Fox Sports Radio 1230 (WFXN-AM), beginning with the Pre-Game Show 30 minutes before the opening face-off. The live broadcast concludes with the Allstate Insurance Post-Game Show, presented by the Polly McDowell and Del Newton agencies, featuring play-by-play highlights including the Allstate Good Hands Play of the Game. The broadcasts can also be heard through the Mallards web site, www.qcmallards.com.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 2, 2004


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