Mallards Roll Past Bloomington 5-2

Published on March 23, 2011 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


MOLINE, Ill. (March 23, 2011)- Tyler Shelast scored two goals- including the game winner- and Joe Blaznek picked up two assists to reach 700 career points as the host Quad City Mallards defeated the Bloomington PrairieThunder 5-2 Wednesday night.

Shelast broke a 2-2 tie and triggered a run of three unanswered Mallard goals by scoring from the side of the net at 12:40 of the second period.

The Flock put the game beyond the PrairieThunder's reach by scoring twice in sixty seconds early in the third period. Shelast backhanded a rebound home to stretch the gap to 4-2 at 2:49 of the third. At 3:49, Obi Aduba scored Quad City's fifth goal from the slot.

The Mallards had battled back to twice take the lead in the second period after Bloomington's Jason Williams pounced on a rebound for the only goal of the first period just over 14 minutes into the game. At 3:16 of the second, Quad City tied the score at one when Jared Brown converted a 2-on-1 give-and-go with Blaznek. Just under two minutes later, the Mallards grabbed the lead for the first time when Zac Pearson buried a centering pass from Blaznek. A mere minute and 44 seconds after Pearson's goal, John Snowden finished off a Bloomington 2-on-1 rush to deadlock the game at two. However, the Mallards would rebound to first retake the lead and then pull away.

Blaznek, a 35-year old left wing who joined the Mallards in a January trade with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, has now scored 326 goals and collected 374 assists in 781 games over the course of his 13-year career. The Detroit native has scored five times and totaled a dozen points in 24 games with Quad City and recorded 15 goals and 34 points in 63 games between the Mallards and Mudbugs this year.

Wednesday evening also saw the Mallards' end-of-season award winners announced at the i wirelesss Center. As a result of fan voting on myqcmallards.com, goaltender David Brown (who is currently with the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins) was named the team's Most Valuable Player and Fan Favorite. Defenseman Darren McMillan was voted Players' Player by his teammates and won the fan vote for Best Defenseman. Brandon Marino won the Mr. Mallard/Maggie Weiderholt Community Award for his efforts in the Mallards' community outreach programs. The other award winners were Mike McLean (Best Offensive Player), Joel Gasper (Most Sportsmanlike Player) and Bobby Preece (Rookie of the Year).

The Mallards also announced tonight that defenseman Tyler Townsend has been placed on team suspension and is no longer with the Mallards.

The Mallards finish the regular season with games in Dayton against the Gems Friday and Saturday nights. After concluding the regular season, the Mallards will face an opponent to be determined on dates still to be determined in the opening round of the Central Hockey League's Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Playoffs.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2011


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