Mallards Roar Past Gems 5-2

Published on February 7, 2012 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


MOLINE, Ill. (February 7, 2012) - Jared Brown scored two goals and added an assist and Taylor Vichorek provided what proved to be the game winner early in the third period as the host Quad City Mallards ripped off five unanswered goals on the way to a 5-2 win over the Dayton Gems Tuesday night. With the win- their second straight victory- the fifth place Mallards improved to 25-18-1 (51 points) and closed within one point of fourth place Rapid City in the Central Hockey League's Turner Conference.

"[Jared Brown] was good and I didn't even know if he was going to play tonight. He's got the sickness that's going around and he had the shivers and the shakes," said Mallards coach and general manager David Bell. "I kept checking with him and he kept going and he had the hot stick."

The ailing Brown launched the Mallards' comeback from a 2-0 deficit by scoring a pair of second period goals. He hammered the puck in under the cross bar from the blue line at 12:54 of the second to cut the gap to 2-1. With just 52 seconds left in the period, he tied the game with a drive that beat Dayton goaltender Larry Sterling on the short side.

Vichorek broke the 2-2 deadlock at 1:49 of the third with a shot from the high slot that sailed past Sterling. The Mallards were up 5-on-3 when Eric Giosa- who also had an assist- extended the Quad City lead to 4-2 at 4:07 of the final frame with a wrist shot from the right wing circle. The Mallards were again the power play when Sean Flanagan steered home a rebound to cap off the win with just over two and a half minutes remaining. The Mallards' John Snowden collected his third assist of the game on Flanagan's goal.

The Mallards were in need of a rally after the Gems scored once in each of the first two periods. Dayton's Jonathan Ornelas pounced on a rebound to score the game's first goal at 17:19 of the first period.

The Gems doubled the lead with a fluke goal when the puck ricocheted away from Brett Lutes- who was credited with the goal- in the right wing corner and squirted between Mallard goaltender David Brown and the goal post at 2:13 of the second. David Brown, who finished the night with 22 saves, would turn away everything the Gems threw at the Quad City net the rest of the evening.

The Mallards visit the Fort Wayne Komets Friday night before returning to action on home ice Saturday evening at 7:05 p.m. against the Arizona Sundogs. Saturday evening is Genesis Heart Night- the Mallards will wear special limited edition Genesis Heart Night jerseys during their match-up with the Sundogs. Those jerseys will go up for bid in a live auction immediately following the game with proceeds going to the Genesis Foundation to benefit cardiac care at the Genesis Heart Institute.

Single game tickets for all Mallards regular season home contests- including Saturday night's game- are now available. Fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 or tickets@myqcmallards.com for more information about tickets.

Single game tickets are also available at the i wireless Center box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, through www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free. The box office is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period. Individual game tickets are available for $12 in the upper level and $17 in the lower level and $25 for the first row along the glass for adults. Tickets for kids 12 and under are available for $5 off adult rates. In addition, tickets are available to military personnel for $2 off the regular adult rate.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Central Hockey League Stories from February 7, 2012


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.

OurSports Central