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Mallards Weekly Update: October 24, 2016

October 24, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


Wednesday, October 26, 6:35 p.m.

iWireless Center

Missouri Mavericks vs. Quad City Mallards

Saturday, October 29, 7:05 p.m.

iWireless Center

Tulsa Oilers vs. Quad City Mallards

Quad City

2-2-0, 4 points

tied 5th place, Central Division

Coach: Terry Ruskowski

Missouri

1-3-0, 2 points

tied 5th place, Mountain Division

Coach: John-Scott Dickson

Tulsa

4-0-0, 8 points

tied 1st place, Central Division

Coach: Jason Christie

LAST WEEK

Friday, October 21

Quad City 3 Rapid City 2

Saturday, October 22

Quad City 4 Rapid City 1

QUACK TRACKS

Sweep

The Mallards rebounded to sweep a pair of games in Rapid City last weekend after being swept themselves over the opening weekend of the season by the Fort Wayne Komets.

Rush Job

Last weekend's sweep was the Mallards' second in nine two-game series in Rapid City since they began playing the Rush in the Central Hockey League in 2010-11.

First

By securing their first win of the season last Friday in Rapid City, the Mallards avoided starting a season with three straight defeats for the first time since they dropped the first three games of the 2010-11 Central Hockey League campaign.

Looking Up

The Mallards are tied with the Indy Fuel for fifth place in the Central Division. That pair is two points behind the Komets and Kalamazoo Wings- who are tied for third place- and four points behind the Toledo Walleye and Tulsa Oilers, the division co-leaders. No Central Division club is below .500. The last place Wichita Thunder has played just two games, going 1-1-0.

Road Show

The Mallards have improved to 2-1-0 on the road. Their back-to-back wins in Rapid City over the weekend followed a 3-1 loss in their first away tilt October 15 in Fort Wayne.

Foursome

The Mallards set a season high by scoring four goals last Saturday night. All four of those goals came at even strength after the Mallards had scored just two even strength goals in their first three games.

Even Steven

The Mallards went exactly 161 minutes- the equivalent of just over eight full periods- without an even strength goal before Pavel Jenys scored the game winner at 5-on-5 at 11:41 of the third period of last Friday night's game in Rapid City. Jenys' tie-breaker was the Mallards' first even strength goal since Justin Kovacs scored the Mallards' first goal of the campaign at 5-on-5 at 10:41 of the first period of the Mallards' opening night loss to Fort Wayne.

Shooting Gallery, Part I

The Mallards last Friday took 47 shots on goal, the most they have produced in one game since generating 49 on November 14, 2014 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Beast in Brampton. The Mallards last Friday also matched the ECHL single game season high for shots but yesterday that mark was eclipsed by the Tulsa Oilers, who took 49 shots in a 4-3 overtime win over the Atlanta Gladiators.

Shooting Gallery, Part II

The Mallards last Friday fired 20 shots in the second period alone, the most they have piled up in one period since they ripped off 20 in the second period of a 5-4 sudden death home loss to Brampton in the Central Hockey League on January 8, 2014. The Mallards last had more than 20 shots in a period when they rang up 22 in the second period of a 7-5 CHL home win over the St. Charles Chill on October 26, 2013. The Mallards last Friday also equaled the ECHL single period season high for shots on goal but a new league season best was established one night later by the Utah Grizzlies, who took 23 shots in the opening period of their 6-5 overtime win over the Idaho Steelheads.

Stingy

The Mallards gave up a total of just three goals over two games last weekend and set a team season low by allowing just a single Rapid City goal last Saturday. After falling to Fort Wayne 6-2 on opening night, the Mallards surrendered just six goals over their next three games combined.

Dynamic Duo

Justin Kovacs (3-3-6) and Sam Warning (2-4-6) are tied for fifth in the ECHL in point-scoring and lead the Mallards in points. Kovacs leads the team in goals and is tied for sixth in the league in that category, while Warning leads the club in assists and is tied for tenth in the league. Kovacs and Warning have both collected points in each of the Mallards' first four games and both piled up three points last Saturday at Rapid City. Kovacs produced the Mallards' first two-goal game of the season while also establishing career single game highs in both goals and points. Warning matched a league season high and set a personal career best by collecting three assists in that contest. Warning has assisted on each of Kovacs' three goals; Kovacs has assisted on both of Warning's goals.

Third Wheel

Alex Petan (1-3-4) has joined with Kovacs and Warning to form the Mallards' most productive line. Last Saturday night, Petan, who has started his first full professional season at a point-per-game clip, scored his first ECHL goal and enjoyed his first career two-point (one goal and one assist) game. Petan, Kovacs and Warning have provided six of the 11 goals the Mallards have scored over their first four games and have combined to record 16 points so far this season.

Debuts

Mike Wilson- who signed with the Mallards October 15- and Chris Francis- who missed the first two games of the Mallards' season while on bereavement leave- both made their Mallard debuts last Friday.

Firsts

Last Friday's game winner was the first goal of Jenys' career. Francis marked his Mallard debut in that game with his first point for the club- an assist on Jenys' goal. Jace Coyle produced both his first Mallard goal and his first assist for the team in the weekend-opening victory. One night later, Grant Arnold picked up his first career point by assisting on Donnie Harris' first Mallard goal.

Between the Pipes

Adam Vay last Friday made 26 saves to earn his first win in North American professional hockey. The following evening C.J. Motte stopped 26 Rush shots on the way to his first Mallard victory.

Power Play

The Mallards rank second in the ECHL on the power play (28.6 percent) after scoring on four of their first 14 man advantages. The Mallards last Saturday failed to score a power play goal for the first time this season. Last Saturday also saw the Mallards surrender a shorthanded goal- to Rapid City's Lindsay Sparks- for the first time. Four of the Mallards' first five goals this season came on the man advantage.

Penalty Kill

The Mallards have given up three goals on 16 opposition power plays and rank twenty-first (81.3 percent) in the ECHL in penalty killing. The Mallards have successfully completed their last nine penalty kills after allowing three goals on their first seven disadvantages.

Head to Head

Wednesday night's game is the first of ten between the Mallards and Missouri this season. The Mallards last season went 0-4-1 against the Brabham Cup regular season champion Mavericks. The Mallards have not defeated Missouri since March 29, 2015, when they claimed a 4-3 shootout victory in Independence. The Mavericks have gone nine games without a regulation loss to the Mallards. The Mallards have gone 2-6-1 during that run, posting an overtime win at home against the Mavs on March 11, 2015 before taking the shootout decision 18 days later. The Mallards last defeated the Mavericks in 60 minutes on February 28, 2015 when they downed their hosts 4-2 in Independence. The Mavericks made their lone appearance in the Quad Cities last season on November 4, 2015 and came away with a 4-3 sudden death victory. All-time, the Mallards have gone 23-28-7 against Missouri and 9-11-5 at home against the Mavericks....The Mallards and Oilers will meet three times this season at the iWireless Center. The Mallards will not visit Tulsa. The Mallards last season went 3-2-0 against the Oilers and 2-1-0 on home ice. All-time, the Mallards have gone 15-13-0 against Tulsa overall and 10-6-0 at home.

Ins and Outs

Forwards Michael Parks (lower body injury) and Jack Nevins (lower body injury) and forward/defenseman Kyle Follmer (lower body injury) have missed the Mallards' last two games...Forward Brady Brassart missed last Saturday's game (upper body injury).

NEXT HOME GAME

Wednesday, October 26, 6:35 p.m.- Mallards vs. Missouri Mavericks

Early Face-Off

A ll Mallards Wednesday night home games this season will face off at the special early start time of 6:35 p.m.

Saturday, October 29, 7:05 p.m.- Mallards vs. Tulsa Oilers

Halloween Costume Contest

Fans of all ages are invited to don their scariest, funniest or freakiest Halloween costumes for the costume contest.

In-Arena Trick-or-Treating

Younger fans can trick-or-treat inside the iWireless Center during Saturday night's game.

ON THE AIR

Fox Sports Radio 1230 is the radio home of Mallards Hockey Presented by Genesis Power Sports Performance. Mallards games broadcast on AM 1230 also stream live online at www.wfxn.net . A limited number of Mallards games will not air on Fox Sports Radio 1230 due to conflicts with University of Illinois basketball and football and Green Bay Packer football. ECHL-TV pay-per-view video webcasts and free audio webcasts of all Mallards games are also available at myqcmallards.net.

MOBILE

The Mallards' official mobile app is now available free for both Apple and Android. The app features a wide array of exclusive content, including behind the scenes video, breaking news and scoring alerts, interviews and video messages from coach Terry Ruskowski and Mallards players, instant access to live scores, stats and standings and special offers from the team and from Mallards partners.

TICKETS

Single Game Tickets

Single game tickets for all Mallards regular season contests are now available. Fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 or info@myqcmallards.net for more information about tickets. Single game tickets are also available at the iWireless 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 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period.

Group Tickets

Groups of ten or more receive savings off the walk-up price and a host of group benefits. Mallards group tickets are a great fit for youth organizations, friends, co-workers, family groups, religious groups, school functions and business events. For more group ticket information, fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 or info@myqcmallards. net .

-### Quad City Mallards ### -

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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.

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