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Mallards' Laplante Named IHL Goaltender Of The Week

October 19, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Quad City Mallards News Release


Moline, Ill. (October 17, 2009) - The Quad City Mallards, proud International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, today announced that Mallards Goaltender Sebastien Laplante has been named IHL Goaltender of the Week.

Laplante, 28, last Saturday night made his two hundred fiftieth career game and the Mallards' inaugural IHL outing one to remember by stopping 27 shots and coming within 32 seconds of shutting out Flint in the Mallards' 3-1 road win over the Generals. The Casselman, Ontario, native made one of his biggest saves of the evening when, with the game still scoreless, he stopped a Tony Tuzzolino penalty shot at 15:35 of the first period.

Preseason and regular season combined, Laplante made it through almost all of his first two full games in a Mallard uniform without being scored upon. He had whitewashed the opposition for 119:28 before finally surrendering a goal to Flint's John Mori in the final minute of Saturday night's contest. In his only prior game in Quad City colors, Laplante backstopped the Flock to a 1-0 exhibition win over the Bloomington PrairieThunder on October 10 in Decatur.

The Mallards selected Laplante, who tended goal last season for the Turner Cup champion Fort Wayne Komets, in the fourth round of July's International Hockey League expansion draft with the eighth overall pick. In 16 games with the Komets last year, Laplante, 28, went 10-2-2-1 with a 3.13 goals against average, a .891 save percentage and one shutout. Now in his eighth professional season, Laplante has tended goal in the IHL, ECHL, American Hockey League and Central Hockey League. He has posted a career record of 124-82-22 while turning in a goals against average of 2.99 and 12 shutouts.

Laplante broke into the pro ranks with the ECHL's Roanoke Express in 2002-03. He also played two games with the AHL's Norfolk Admirals as a rookie. Laplante returned to the ECHL to play for the Florence/Pee Dee Pride in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

The 5' 10", 170-pound netminder next moved on to the CHL and the Wichita Thunder. Wichita immediately agreed with Laplante- he recorded career highs in wins (27) and games played (51) in 2005-06. The following season Laplante posted career bests in goals against average (2.65) and save percentage (.928) while working between the posts for the Thunder. After two and half seasons with Wichita, Laplante was dealt to the Colorado Eagles in January of 2008. He continued to thrive in the wake of the trade, first helping Colorado to the CHL Northwest Division regular season title and then backstopping the Eagles all the way to a berth in the 2008 Ray Miron President's Cup finals. Last season was Laplante's first in the IHL.

Laplante was originally chosen by the Los Angeles Kings in the ninth round of the 2001 National Hockey League entry draft with the two hundred seventy-seventh overall selection. He played a season-plus in major junior hockey before turning pro. After a two-game stint with the Ontario Hockey League's Sudbury Wolves in 1999-2000, Laplante suited up for 34 games with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League in 2001-02.

The Mallards open their home schedule with "Faceoff Rocks" next Saturday, featuring not only the Mallards' matchup with Fort Wayne but also hard rock legends Night Ranger live in concert outside the i wireless Center, are now on sale. "Faceoff Rocks" is also the start of Opening Week for the Mallards in the Quad Cities. The Flock will play at the i wireless Center twice in seven days- "Faceoff Rocks" will be followed on Friday, October 30, by a home battle with Flint, an evening that will also feature the World's Largest Indoor Trick-or-Treat and, for the first 1,000 fans through the doors, the Genesis Official Game Puck Giveaway.

Mallards tickets are available at the i wireless Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. through the end of the second period.

"Faceoff Rocks" kicks off a 38-game home schedule loaded with special events, unique promotions and giveaways. The Mallards and the i wireless Center have also teamed up for "Faceoff Rocks" festivities begin at 4:00 p.m. on October 24; admission to all events -- including the Night Ranger concert -- is free with a ticket to the Mallards' game. The first 2,500 fans to arrive for "Faceoff Rocks" will receive a free Mallards opening night t-shirt. The Mallards will also give away free team magnet schedules and Mallards Thunderstixx. Fans taking in the Night Ranger concert will also have the chance to enjoy an outdoor beer garden and giant screen plasma television outside the i wireless Center. The fun will not stop there. "Faceoff Rocks" will also feature a Hockey Hall of Fame Fan Fest including the Hall's largest collection of Legends of Hockey travelling exhibits and memorabilia and interactive games.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from October 19, 2009


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