Mallards Warm up to Home Cooking

Published on January 12, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Quad City Mallards News Release


Moline, IL – The Quad City Mallards returned home this past weekend after a stretch of 13-of-15 games on the road and smashed two opponents by a combined score of 14-4. Winners of six of their last eight games, the Mallards go to Kalamazoo and Rockford this week, before hosting a battle with the archrival Flint Generals on Saturday. It's the first time Flint has played at The MARK of the Quad Cities since the brawl-filled home opener the Mallards won 6-1 on Nov. 8. Fans will Meet Baseball Great Tommy John at Saturday's game and have the chance to win free airline tickets in the AirTran "Dancing for Destinations" contest.

LAST WEEK (3-1-0):

· Wednesday, Jan. 7 – Quad City Mallards 2, (at) Columbus Stars 1

· Friday, Jan. 9 – (at) Fort Wayne Komets 4, Quad City Mallards 3

· Saturday, Jan. 10 – (at) Quad City Mallards 6, Missouri River Otters 2

· Sunday, Jan. 11 – (at) Quad City Mallards 8, Rockford IceHogs 2

THIS WEEK (All times Central):

· Wednesday, Jan. 14 – 6:00 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Kalamazoo Wings

· Friday, Jan. 16 – 7:05 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Rockford IceHogs

· Meet Baseball Great Tommy John – Dance in the AirTran "Dancing for Destinations" contest

Saturday, Jan. 17 – 7:00 p.m. – Flint Generals at Quad City Mallards

· Sunday, Jan. 18 – 6:35 p.m. – UHL All-Star Game at Fort Wayne

Archrival Flint Returns to The MARK

This Saturday, Jim Duhart and the archrival Flint Generals make their first appearance at The MARK of the Quad Cities since the brawl-filled Nov. 8 home opener, won by the Mallards 6-1. Fans will have the opportunity to Meet Baseball Great Tommy John, as the pitcher who won 288 games in his major league career will sign autographs at the game. Get ready to dance for the chance to win free airline tickets in the AirTran "Dancing For Destinations" contest. One winner will receive two free tickets on AirTran flying out of the Quad City Airport. Plus, it's Church Night with discount tickets, special recognition for all church groups in attendance, and the chance to hear Tommy John speak before the game. For details, call the Mallards group sales department at (309) 764-PUCK.

Standings

At 20-12-2 (.618), with 42 points, the Mallards are in third place in the Western Conference, ten points behind the first-place Muskegon Fury (25-9-2, 52 points), with two games in hand. Quad City is three points behind second-place Fort Wayne (21-11-3, 45 points), with one game in hand. The Mallards are six points ahead of last season's pace, when through 34 games, they were 16-14-4 (.529), with 36 points.

Personnel

· F/D Brad Essex added to roster 1/11

· C Lanny Gare assigned from Hershey Bears (AHL), a Mallards affiliate, 1/9

· D Terry Hollinger placed on 10-day injured reserve 1/9 (effective 1/7)

· D Kerry Toporowski moved from 14-day to 21-day injured reserve 1/9 (effective 12/21)

· RW Steve Gibson moved from 10-day to 21-day injured reserve 1/9 (effective 12/14)

· F/D Brad Essex claimed on waivers from Adirondack IceHawks 1/7

· C Charlie Stephens remains on recall to Hershey Bears (AHL), a Mallards affiliate (effective 12/29)

· LW Rob Voltera remains on recall to Hershey Bears (AHL), a Mallards affiliate (effective 12/2)

· D Louis Robitaille remains on recall to Portland Pirates (AHL), a Mallards affiliate (effective 10/28)

Team Leaders (UHL Ranking)

Goals 23 RW Jason Sessa (fifth)

Assists 19 D Tom Menicci

Points 34 RW Jason Sessa

Plus/Minus +10 C Jon Francisco

Penalty Min. 74 D Freddy Jobin

PP Goals 7 C Martin Hlinka

GW Goals 5 RW Jason Sessa (tied for first)

SH Goals 3 RW Jason Sessa (tied for third)

Shots on Goal 113 RW Jason Sessa

Shooting Pct. .227 C Martin Hlinka (fourth)

Wins 16 G Jeff Reynaert (third)

Goals Against 2.69 G Jeff Reynaert (fourth)

Save Pct. .917 G Jeff Reynaert (fourth)

Future Home Games

· Saturday, Jan. 24, 7:00 p.m. vs. Muskegon Fury – Salute to Heroes Night

· Sunday, Jan. 25, 4:00 p.m. vs. Port Huron Beacons – Iowa Wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

· Wednesday, Jan. 28, 7:00 p.m. vs. Kalamazoo Wings – College Night

· Friday, Jan. 30, 7:00 p.m. vs. Rockford IceHogs – FFA & 4-H Night

· Sunday, Feb. 8, 4:00 p.m. vs. Flint Generals – Iowa Wireless Family Fun-Day Sunday

Online Voting Ends Tonight

Defensemen Tom Menicci and forwards Martin Hlinka, Jason Sessa, and Jeff Williams were all selected to play for the Western Conference team in the Comcast UHL All-Star Classic this Sunday, Jan. 18, at 6:35 p.m. (Central time) in Fort Wayne. Fans select the starters with online voting at www.theuhl.com, or a direct link from www.qcmallards.com. Online voting ends tonight at midnight, with the starters to be announced on Wednesday.

Last Week's Games

Wednesday, Jan. 7 – Mallards 2, (at) Columbus Stars 1

What turned out to be the final game for the Columbus Stars franchise practically flew by, concluding just two hours and two minutes after the opening faceoff. The teams played the first 10:11 of the game without a single whistle, and went scoreless throughout the first two periods with little physical play and very few penalties. Despite falling behind 1-0 early in the third period and being outshot 14-4 in the final 20 minutes, the Mallards made the most of their scoring chances to earn the victory. C Patrick Nadeau redirected a feed from RW Jason Sessa to tie the score at 6:32 of the third. Then F Jason Cannon's shot from along the boards deflected past Stars G Greg Hewitt for the game-winner with 9:13 remaining. There were just five minor penalties called in the game, two against the Mallards.

Friday, Jan. 9 – (at) Fort Wayne Komets 4, Mallards 3

The Mallards rallied from a 3-1 first-period deficit but came up just short. RW Hugo Proulx opened the scoring with his 197th career regular season Mallards goal, assisted by F Lanny Gare and C Jon Francisco. But the Komets scored three straight to lead by two at intermission. In the second, Gare faked his way past a defender in the left circle and scored to narrow the gap to 3-2. Fort Wayne scored shorthanded early in the third for a 4-2 lead. C Jeff Williams' goal with 6:03 left, assisted by rookie F Marty Goulet, made it 4-3. The Mallards thought Gare tied the game with just over three minutes to play, but the potential goal was waved off when it was ruled the puck did not completely cross the goal line. Quad City outshot Fort Wayne 20-11 in the third period and 42-35 for the game. G Jeff Reynaert saw his personal five-game winning streak come to an end.

Saturday, Jan. 10 – (at) Mallards 6, Missouri River Otters 2

After playing 13 of the previous 15 games on the road, the Mallards enjoyed their return home by racing to a 4-0 lead and cruising to a victory. Quad City scored twice in a 1:05 span of the first period. C Martin Hlinka's wraparound shot was his team-leading seventh power play goal of the season. Then RW Jason Sessa redirected a shot by C Patrick Nadeau to make it 2-0. Sessa scored again, his team-leading 22nd goal of the season, just 1:11 into the second period for a 3-0 lead. C Jeff Williams' breakaway goal made it 4-0 before Missouri got on the board late in the second. C Jon Francisco one-timed a feed from F Lanny Gare early in the third. D Dylan Mills knocked in a rebound for a 6-1 advantage before Colin Embley scored his second of the game for Missouri in the final minute. The Mallards peppered River Otters G Brian Regan with 42 shots on goal. Sessa added an assist on Hlinka's goal for a three-point night.

Sunday, Jan. 11 – (at) Mallards 8, Rockford IceHogs 2

The Mallards exploded for a team season-high offensive output. The six-goal margin of victory tied a UHL season high. The Ducks were held scoreless until the final minute of the first period. Rookie F Lanny Gare scored unassisted, followed 17 seconds later by D Tom Menicci's steal and pass to a wide open C Patrick Nadeau, who fed across the crease to rookie F Marty Goulet, who scored for a 2-0 intermission advantage. Early in the second, F Bob Crummer's knock-in of a carom shot off the end boards by D Andy Fermoyle made it 3-0. C Jon Francisco one-timed D Jason Cannon's feed for a 4-0 lead, then C Martin Hlinka's back-door shot made it 5-0. Three fights spiced up the rest of the period, involving Crummer, newcomer Brad Essex, and Dylan Mills. After Rockford got a pair of third-period power play goals to close within 5-2, Mills nailed a rebound to make it 6-2. The final two goals were scored by RW Jason Sessa and by Francisco, who got his second of the night.

This Week's Games (All times Central)

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 6:00 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Kalamazoo Wings

The Wings (15-11-5) are the league's second best defensive team, allowing just 2.84 goals per game, but have given up 12 goals in their last three contests, in which they have gone 0-2-1. They added offensive firepower by acquiring LW Nick Bootland, who scored 21 goals for the Columbus Stars, and high-scoring RW Joe Ritson in a trade that sent C Andrew Long to Missouri. Ritson is reunited with Coach Mark Reeds, who was the bench boss in Missouri for four years before taking over in Kalamazoo this season. The Wings on Monday waived last season's team captain, D Chad Dameworth. Veteran F Jeff Turner leads the Wings with 20 goals and is tied withh RW Marty Flichel (11 goals) and LW Andrew Luciuk (nine goals) for the team lead with 28 points.

UHL All-Stars: G Chad Alban, D Guy Dupuis

Friday, Jan. 16, 7:05 p.m. – Quad City Mallards at Rockford IceHogs

The Mallards are 4-0-2 this season against the Rockford (14-20-2 pending Wednesday's game vs. Muskegon), including Sunday's 8-2 romp at The MARK. New members of the IceHogs include 6'7" winger Jeff Ewasko, who ranks second in the UHL with 170 penalty minutes; veteran D Gary Ricciardi, acquired from Muskegon; and all-time franchise games played leader RW Dan Davies. D Bob Nardella, who played briefly for the Mallards last season, is averaging a point per game (4g, 18a, 22pts) in 22 games since he signed with the Hogs, and leads them in assists. F Donnie Margettie leads the team with 24 points (7g, 17a) and 124 penalty minutes. C Steve Cygan is the top goal-scorer with 12. G Ronnie Vogel was among the league leaders (2.71 GAA, .914 Sv%) four weeks ago. But he has been pulled from four of his last eight starts (3-5-0, 5.45 GAA, .857 Sv%).

UHL All-Stars: C Steve Cygan, LW Kelly Miller

Meet Baseball Great Tommy John – Dance in the AirTran "Dancing for Destinations" contest

Saturday, Jan. 17, 7:00 p.m. – Flint Generals at Quad City Mallards

This is the first meeting at The MARK between the Mallards and their long-time archrivals since the brawl-filled Nov. 8 home opener, won by the Mallards 6-1. Flint racked up 97 penalty minutes in that game, to 55 for Quad City. The Mallards scored three shorthanded goals in the contest. The Generals (20-13-3 pending games Thursday and Friday at Missouri) are 6-3-1 in their last ten games and have risen to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. LW Jim Duhart, who recently had a 12-game goal-scoring streak, ranks second in the league with 25 goals and leads the Generals with 44 points. Much of their scoring comes from familiar sources: RW Bobby Reynolds (12g, 28a, 40pts), D Martin Woods (10g, 27a, 37pts), and RW Kevin Kerr (12g, 19a, 31pts). Flint has gotten solid goaltending from Dan McIntyre (15-9-3, 2.81 GAA, .910 Sv%) and rookie Jan Chovan, who leads the UHL with a .920 save percentage.

UHL All-Stars: C John DiPace, LW Jim Duhart, D Sylvain Dufresne, D Martin Woods

American Hockey League Update

Charlie Stephens scored a goal for the Hershey Bears and earned a +2 plus/minus rating in Saturday's 5-0 win over Albany. He has five points (1g, 4a) in six games since his recall from the Mallards. Here are the stats of the three 2003-04 Mallards players currently on callups to AHL affiliates:

GP G A PTS +- SHOTS PIM

Charlie Stephens Hershey 28 5 9 14 -1 54 19

Rob Voltera Hershey 22 1 1 2 -5 18 28

Louis Robitaille Portland 29 0 2 2 +2 29 60

Former Mallard Jason Ulmer had a goal and an assist in Wednesday's 3-2 win by the Portland Pirates over Lowell. He scored again in Friday's 2-1 los to Manchester. Cam Severson scored the go-ahead goal for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in their 5-3 win over Chicago on Saturday. The stats of ex-Mallards in the AHL:

GP G A PTS +- SHOTS PIM

Brendan Buckley Wilkes-Barre 39 2 4 6 +3 29 59

Jason Ulmer Portland 38 5 13 18 -6 75 6

Cam Severson Cincinnati 34 7 3 10 -1 61 139

Duck Tales

· Quad City has already lost 176 man-games to injuries, AHL callups, and suspensions. That's a pace of 393 over the course of a full season. The Mallards lost an even higher number of man-games last season, 452, because of players who were injured, called up, or suspended.

· The Mallards will play four of their next five games on the road. After that, from Jan. 24 to the end of the regular season, they will host 25 of the remaining 37 regular season games.

· Quad City is tied with Muskegon for the most road victories by a UHL team this season, 13.

Webbed Feats

· C Jon Francisco ranks in the top five among UHL rookies in seven categories: Goals (13, T-1st), points (23, 4th), shooting percentage (.224, 1st), plus/minus (+10, 2nd), power play goals (5, T-1st), power play assists (4, T-5th), and power play points (9, T-2nd).

· With 23 goals in Quad City's first 34 games, RW Jason Sessa is on pace to score 51 goals this season. That would rank as the third highest single-season total in Mallards history.

· G Jeff Reynaert earned his third assist of the season on Saturday, tying him with Adirondack's Scott Dickie and Richmond's Maxime Gingras for the most assists by a UHL goaltender this season.

Milestone Watch (regular season play)

· RW Hugo Proulx' next game will be his 400th as a Mallard. He already holds the franchise record with 399. Proulx is three goals shy of becoming the second Mallard ever to score 200.

· C Patrick Nadeau on Sunday passed Mark McFarlane for fifth in team history with 139 assists. With 238 points, he needs three more to pass McFarlane for fourth on the all-time list. His next goal will be his 100th as a Mallard.

Player of the Week

F Lanny Gare is the Mallards' nominee for Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Week. He made an immediate impact upon returning Friday from a 25-day stay with the AHL's Hershey Bears, with a goal and an assist in the 4-3 loss at Fort Wayne. He nearly scored the tying goal with three minutes left, but the puck did not completely cross the goal line. He earned two assists in Saturday's 6-2 win over Missouri. He was named the game's first star on Sunday after a goal and two assists in the 8-2 win over Rockford. For the week, Gare totaled seven points, on two goals and five assists, along with a +4 plus/minus rating in three games.

Goaltender of the Week

G Jeff Reynaert is the Mallards' nominee for UHL Goaltender of the Week. He played in all four games this past week and stopped 115-of-124 shots for a .927 save percentage. He made 28 saves in Wednesday's 2-1 win at Columbus, 31 in Friday's 4-3 loss at Fort Wayne, 24 in Saturday's 6-2 win over Missouri, and 32 in Sunday's 8-2 victory over Rockford. For the week, Reynaert went 3-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.27. He ranks third in the UHL with 16 wins and 743 saves, and fourth in goals-against average (2.69) and save percentage (.917).

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, Jan. 19, are Steve Gibson, Marty Goulet, and Jeff Reynaert. 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 January 12, 2004


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