Mallards Prepare for Muskegon Rematch

Published on April 8, 2003 under United Hockey League (UHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


Moline, IL – The Quad City Mallards will square off in the Colonial Cup playoffs with the team that last year denied them a sixth straight appearance in the championship series, the Muskegon Fury. For the second straight year, the Mallards and the Fury will meet in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. Last season, the Mallards came into the series as the defending Colonial Cup champions. This year, it is the Fury who are the defending champs.

Schedule & Tickets (all times Central)
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 11, 7:00 p.m. at The MARK
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 12, 7:00 p.m. at The MARK
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 15, 6:00 p.m. at Muskegon
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 16, 6:00 p.m. at Muskegon
*Game 5 – Thu., Apr. 17, 7:00 p.m. at The MARK
*Game 6 – Sat., Apr. 19, 6:30 p.m. at Muskegon
*Game 7 – Mon., Apr. 21, 7:00 p.m. at The MARK
*if necessary

Tickets for Games 1 and 2 and (if necessary) 5 and 7 are available at The MARK box office, at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at (563) 326-1111, and online by following the Tickets link at www.qcmallards.com. Games 3 and 4 and (if necessary) 6 will be at Muskegon's L.C. Walker Arena. For Mallards fans traveling to Muskegon, specially priced tickets are available by contacting Chrissy Pearce at the Fury office at (231) 726-3879.

How They Got There

The Mallards swept the Rockford IceHogs in three straight games in the Western Conference Semifinals by scores of 4-0, 8-4, and 3-2 in double overtime. The Fury swept the Missouri River Otters in the other semifinal by scores of 6-1, 6-3, and 2-1 in double overtime.

Personnel

· C Jason Goulet reassigned to Mallards by Manitoba Moose (AHL) 4/5

Team Leaders – 2003 Playoffs
Goals 2 RW Steve Gibson, F Mike Hanson, RW Bret Meyers, C Patrick Nadeau, C Jeff Williams
Assists 4 D Kerry Toporowski, C Jeff Williams (Tied for second in UHL)
Points 6 C Jeff Williams (Tied for second in UHL)
Plus/Minus +5 D Tom Menicci (Tied for first in UHL)
Penalty Min. 19 F Mike Hanson (Tied for fifth in UHL)
PP Goals 1 RW J.F. Dufour, RW Steve Gibson, F Mike Hanson, C Jeff Williams
GW Goals 1 RW Steve Gibson, RW Bret Meyers, C Jeff Williams SH Goals 0
Shots on Goal 17 D John Batten (Tied for fourth in UHL)
Shooting Pct. 1.000 F Mike Hanson (Not ranked in UHL – minimum 3 goals to qualify)
Goals Against 1.76 G Jeff Reynaert (Fourth in UHL)
Wins 3 G Jeff Reynaert (Tied for first in UHL)
Save Pct. .941 G Jeff Reynaert (Fourth in UHL)

Lawrence, Reynaert Earn All-Rookie Honors

The UHL named Mallards C Tony Lawrence and G Jeff Reynaert to the 2002-03 All-Rookie Team. The team was chosen by UHL head coaches and general managers, as well as members of the media. Lawrence and Reynaert were joined on the squad by defensemen Nick Angell of Rockford and Jake Ortmeyer of Fort Wayne, and forwards Michel Beausoleil of Port Huron and Steve Cygan of Rockford. It was the third time the Mallards have had multiple selections. Brendan Buckley, Martin Hlinka, and Ryan Lindsay were named in 1999-00, while Corey Neilson and Bogdan Rudenko were selected in 1997-98.

Conference Finals Set

While Quad City and Muskegon are set to tangle in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals, the Fort Wayne Komets and the Elmira Jackals will play in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals, beginning this Friday in Fort Wayne. The winner of the Mallards-Fury series will play either the Komets or the Jackals in the best-of-seven Colonial Cup Championship Series, set to conclude in early May.

Playoff Comparison
Western Conference Finals (all times Central):
Game 1 – Friday, Apr. 11 – 7:00 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities
Game 2 – Saturday, Apr. 12 – 7:00 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities
Game 3 – Tuesday, Apr. 15 – 6:05 p.m. at L.C. Walker Arena, Muskegon, MI
Game 4 – Wednesday, Apr. 16 – 6:05 p.m. at L.C. Walker Arena, Muskegon, MI
Game 5 (if necessary) – Thursday, Apr. 17 – 7:00 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities
Game 6 (if necessary) – Saturday, Apr. 19 – 6:30 p.m. at L.C. Walker Arena, Muskegon, MI
Game 7 (if necessary) – Monday, Apr. 21 – 7:00 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities

Per Game – Season Quad City Muskegon
Record 41-25-10 (.605) 38-29-9 (.559)
Offense 3.70 goals (2nd in UHL) 3.22 goals (8th)
Defense 3.16 goals (3rd) 3.38 goals (6th)
Shots on Goal 34.6 (1st) 28.8 (8th)
Shots Allowed 30.7 (5th) 34.6 (10th)
Power Play 19.8% (2nd) 18.3% (5th)
Penalty Kill 80.9% (7th) 80.6% (8th)
Penalty Minutes 22.9 (4th) 20.2 (8th)

Head-to-Head Quad City Muskegon
Record 8-3-0 (.727) 3-8-0 (.273)
Offense 4.09 goals 2.45 goals
Shots on Goal 39.1 29.6
Power Play 27.8% (20-for-72) 15.5% (9-for-58)
Penalty Kill 84.5% 72.2%
Penalty Minutes 18.2 30.4

Last Week's Games

Game 1, Western Conference Semifinals – Thursday, Apr. 3 – (at) Mallards 4, Rockford IceHogs 0

G Jeff Reynaert stopped all 30 shots, including 14 in the third period, to earn a shutout in his first playoff game. C Jeff Williams broke a scoreless tie, picking up a loose puck and scoring on a power play midway through the second period. D Tom Menicci weaved his way through the IceHogs defense to get in front of the net and put the Mallards up 2-0 early in the third. RW Steve Gibson made it 3-0 with 3:57 to play when an entry pass into the attacking zone took an odd carom right to him in front of the open net. RW J.F. Dufour got the final goal, assisted by C Patrick Nadeau and LW Hugo Proulx. Menicci finished with two assists for a three-point night and was on the ice for all four goals. D Dylan Mills earned two assists. The Mallards converted 3-of-7 power play opportunities.

Game 2, Western Conference Semifinals – Saturday, Apr. 5 – (at) Mallards 8, Rockford IceHogs 4

The Mallards took a 7-0 lead into the second intermission. The game was scoreless until Quad City scored twice in 12 seconds late in the first. D Kerry Toporowski found rookie F Mike Hanson for a breakaway goal at 16:57. Then Toporowski banked a pass off the end boards to RW J.F. Dufour, who knocked it in at 17:09 for a 2-0 lead. C Jeff Williams scored on a breakaway to make it 3-0 at the first intermission. In the second, Hanson found the net again, on a rebound during a power play, for a 4-0 lead. Tic-tac-toe passing from C Tony Lawrence to LW K.C. Timmons to RW Bret Meyers produced the fifth goal. Just 1:24 later, C Patrick Nadeau scored to make it 6-0. Lawrence found a loose puck in front of the net to stretch the lead to 7-0, with Toporowski earning his third assist. Lawrence added two assists for a three-point night. Timmons had three assists. Rockford broke its playoff drought when Kevin Kerr made it 7-1 early in the third. Meyers countered with his second goal of the game for an 8-1 lead. The IceHogs got goals by Jeremy Rebek, Michael Ford, and Joey Bastien to produce the final score. The Mallards outshot the IceHogs 48-to-35.

Game 3, Western Conference Semifinals – Sunday, Apr. 6 – Mallards 3, (at) Rockford IceHogs 2 (2 OT)

The Mallards completed the series sweep with RW Steve Gibson scoring in the game's 86th minute. C Jeff Williams led a 3-on-1 break on right wing. He sent the puck to the front of the net, where D Dylan Mills tried to stuff it past G J.F. Rivard (55 saves). Rivard made the initial stop but Gibson knocked in the rebound at 5:05 of the second overtime period. The IceHogs led 2-0 on goals by Kevin Kerr in the first period and Dan Davies in the second. Quad City got on the board late in the second, with D John Batten sending a wide-angle shot between Rivard's pads. The Mallards pulled G Jeff Reynaert (35 saves) for the extra attacker with 1:39 left in the third. Williams won a faceoff to Mills, whose shot deflected through traffic in the slot to C Patrick Nadeau. Nadeau fired the loose puck into the net to tie the game with 1:31 remaining in regulation.

Webbed Feats – 2003 playoffs

· Quad City killed off all 16 Rockford power play attempts in their series. The Mallards are the only team with a 100% success rate on the penalty kill, and are the only team not to have allowed a power play goal on the road.

· The Mallards lead all UHL teams with 15 goals, 26 assists, and 41 points.

· The Mallards lead the UHL with 45.7 shots on goal per game.

· Quad City and Muskegon are the only teams to have won a game in which they trailed after two periods.

UHL Playoff History

· The next Quad City post-season win will tie the Mallards with the Flint Generals for the most playoff victories in league history, with 61. The Mallards are 60-36 (.625), including 3-0 this year. The Generals are 61-34 (.642). Muskegon is third in wins. Including this year's three-game sweep of Missouri, the Fury are 55-47 (.539) in their playoff history. The Mallards are in their eighth consecutive playoff appearance, while the Fury are in the postseason for the 11th time.

· LW Hugo Proulx had two assists in the Rockford series, moving him past the IceHogs' Kevin Kerr into eighth place in UHL playoff history with 52.

Proulx passed Todd Howarth and Barry McKinlay for eighth in league history with 83 points. He is fourth in games played with 82, trailing only Brett MacDonald (94), Muskegon's Robin Bouchard (85), and Kerr (84). Proulx and RW Steve Gibson each have a +22 plus/minus rating, in a four-way tie for sixth in league history.

Mallards Playoff Milestones

· RW Steve Gibson is tied with Mark McFarlane for the third most games in Mallards history with 62. Glenn Stewart is second with 64. Gibson is third in goals with 28, including two in the Rockford series. Stewart is second with 30. Proulx is the record-holder with 31. Gibson's game-winning goal on Sunday tied him with Proulx and Stewart for the franchise record of four career game-winners.

· C Patrick Nadeau is tied with Rick Emmett and Mark McFarlane on the Mallards all-time goal-scoring list with 14. He is even with Carl LeBlanc and Howie Rosenblatt for sixth in assists with 16. His three points in the Rockford series moved him past McFarlane and Stas Tkatch into fifth place in points scored with 30.

On The Air

All Mallards games can be heard live on WOC TalkRadio 1420, beginning with the TMI Mallards Warmup 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 Good Hands Play of the Game. The broadcasts can also be heard through the Mallards web site, www.qcmallards.com.

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United Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2003


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