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Mallards Weekly Update

November 3, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Quad City Mallards News Release


QUACK TRACKS

Flock Falls

The Mallards last Friday fell to Flint 3-2. The loss was Quad City's second in a row and the Flock's second in as many games at the i wireless Center this season.

Business Picks Up

The Mallards will play three games this week after playing a total of just three games over the first three weekends of the season. No other IHL team has played fewer than five games.

Rare Breed

The Mallards both score (2.0) and surrender (2.3) fewer goals per game than any other club in the league. Quad City has neither scored nor allowed more than three goals in any of its first three games.

Flock Firsts

Joel Gasper scored his first goal as a Mallard and the team's first shorthanded goal of the season at 15:33 of the first period last Saturday night. That goal was the first scored shorthanded by a Mallard since Dale Lupul found the net with the United Hockey League Mallards down a man on February 28, 2007 at 8:41 of the second period of a 4-3 win over Fort Wayne.

Flock Firsts, Take 2

Brandon Marino picked up his first career professional point by assisting on Gasper's goal last Saturday and went on to score his first career goal at 5:31 of the second period of that game. In picking up assists last Saturday, Obi Aduba and Darren McMillan both also recorded their first points as Mallards.

Flock Firsts, Take 3

Kyle Jones made 28 saves while taking the loss in his Mallards goaltending debut last Saturday. Sebastien Laplante had started the Flock's first two games.

Dynamic Duo

With two points apiece last Saturday night, Gasper and Marino joined Jean Desrochers (0-2-2) and Terry Harrison (1-1-2) to bring to four the number of Mallards who have collected a pair of points this season.

Isn't That Special (Teams)?

The Mallards' first three games have produced just a single power play goal- scored by Quad City's Mike Zbriger in the Mallards' October 24 loss to Fort Wayne. While Quad City is just 1-for-17 on the power play (5.9 percent), the Flock is the only team in the IHL that has yet to allow a goal while shorthanded (12-for-12).

The Century Mark

Combining IHL and United Hockey League play, next Sunday's game between the Mallards and Generals will be the one hundredth all-time regular season meeting between the two teams. The Mallards dropped to 58-30-11 all-time against the Generals by falling to Flint last Friday.

Connections

Zbriger played for both Flint and Bloomington in 2006-07. He had seven goals and 14 points in 29 games with the Generals before producing 17 goals and 38 points in 44 games with the PrairieThunder. Travis Granbois joined the Mallards in a trade with Bloomington yesterday. Granbois scored 13 goals and totaled 38 points in 49 games with the PrairieThunder last season...Muskegon defenseman Tom Galvin skated for the UHL Mallards in 2005-06, recording five goals and 24 points in 57 games. Lumberjacks blue liner Lubos Velebny picked up two assists in a 39 game stint with Quad City in 2002-03...

Gasper and Flock defenseman Jay Holladay both played for the Generals last season. Gasper spent 53 games with Flint and produced ten goals and 29 points after coming over from Port Huron early in the campaign. The Mallards acquired Gasper in September in exchange for the rights to forward Tyler Willis, who had been selected by Quad City this summer in the dispersal draft that followed the Kalamazoo Wings' departure from the IHL for the ECHL. Holladay played eight games and produced three points for the Generals at the tail end of the year after skating for Fort Wayne for the majority of the season.

Ins and Outs

Injury kept forward Juris Stals out of the Mallards' last two games...The Mallards acquired forward Granbois from Bloomington yesterday...Defenseman Iain McPhee signed with the Mallards last week and made his Flock debut last Friday...The Mallards have released forward Sal Peralta after releasing forward Marc Desloges last week.

SCOUTING REPORT

Bloomington

The PrairieThunder has won three straight games. Last weekend's wins over Flint and Fort Wayne followed a 4-0 shutout of Dayton on October 24...Craig MacDonald (2-7-9) leads the league in assists and is tied for the lead in points. MacDonald earned IHL Player of the Week honors after piling up five points in two games last weekend...Jon Booras (4-1-5) is tied for second in the league in goals...The PrairieThunder boasts the league's best power play (26.7 percent). On home ice Bloomington has converted 7 of 17 man advantages- a 41.2 percent clip...Paulo Colaiacovo has started in goal in each of the PrairieThunder's first six games, posting a 4-2 record, a 2.77 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and the league's only shutout so far this season...Skalde is in his second season behind the Bloomington bench. The former centerman wrapped up a 17-year professional playing career that saw him skate in 115 National Hockey League games with the New Jersey Devils, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Philadelphia Flyers by suiting up for ten games with the PrairieThunder in 2007-08...Tomorrow night's meeting is the first match-up of the season between the Mallards and the PrairieThunder. In 2006-07- Quad City's final UHL season and Bloomington's first year of existence- the Mallards went 8-1-2 against the Thunder.

Muskegon

The Lumberjacks split a pair of games last weekend. Muskegon fell in Fort Wayne 3-1 last Saturday after downing Dayton 3-2 on home ice the previous evening...Robin Bouchard (4-5-9) is tied for the league lead in point-scoring and is tied for second in goal scoring. Now in his sixteenth pro season- the thirteenth during which he has spent at least some time with Muskegon- Bouchard has recorded a total of 995 points in a Muskegon uniform...John DiPace (2-6-8) ranks second in the league in assists and is tied for third in points...Todd Robinson (2-5-7) is the third Lumberjack among the top five in the IHL in point scoring...Muskegon has scored more goals (23) than any other team, an average of 3.8 per game...Sebastien Centomo (2-3-0, 3.02, .903) has played in goal in five of the Lumberjacks' first six games. Centomo played one game with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs in 2001-02...The 'Jacks rank last in the league in penalty killing (71.8 percent). Only the Mallards have had less success on the power play than Muskegon (15.0 percent)...The Lumberjacks lead the league in penalty minutes (36.3 per game). Muskegon's Rumun Ndur (39) and Robin Big Snake (30) rank fourth and fifth in PIM's...Big Snake was suspended for 12 games for his part in an altercation in last Saturday's game between Muskegon and Fort Wayne...Ndur, a third round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, has played 69 NHL games with the Sabres, New York Rangers and Atlanta Thrashers...Left wing Bobby Bolt last week was assigned to the Lumberjacks by the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the remainder of the season. Bolt was chosen by the Ducks in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL Draft...Defenseman David Rohlfs was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in fifth round of the 2003 NHL Draft...This is the first year of Rich Kromm's second stint as Muskegon coach. Kromm first piloted the Muskegon Fury from 1998-2001. That successful tenure was highlighted by the Fury's 1999 Colonial Cup title. As a player Kromm skated in 372 NHL games with the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders...Saturday night's game is the one hundred second all-time clash between Quad City and Muskegon and the first between the two clubs this season. The Mallards went 58-38-5 against Muskegon in UHL play.

Flint

After snapping a four-game losing streaking by defeating the Mallards last Friday, the Generals fell in Bloomington 3-2 last Saturday...Pascal Rheaume (1-5-6) is the Generals' leading point scorer, while Jamie Schaafsma (3-2-5) is Flint's top goal scorer...The Generals have added offensive punch and a whopping dose of experience by signing veteran forward Brian Smolinski, a veteran of 1,056 NHL games who has scored 274 goals and produced 651 points for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens...Flint has given up at least 37 shots in five of its last six games...Veteran Jean Francois Labbe (2-3-0, 2.97, .917) and rookie Rob Nolan (0-2, 2.73, .922) have shared Flint's goaltending duties this season... Like Smolinski, forwards Rheaume and Tony Tuzzolini, defenseman Burke Henry and goaltender Labbe all also have National Hockey League experience... Henry's third period game winner last Friday against the Mallards was the veteran blue liner's first goal of the season... Flint has released forward Derek Parker, the league leader in penalty minutes (75)...Muzzatti took over the head coaching reins in Flint this season after serving as an assistant with the Generals last year. Muzzatti, a goaltender, spent 2007-08- his sixteenth and final season as a professional player- in the Generals' net. The former Michigan State star played in the NHL for the Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers and Hartford Whalers. Muzzatti also played for Italy at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Saturday, November 7, 7:05 p.m.- Mallards vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks

Mini-Stick Giveaway Night Presented by Reynolds Ford

The first 1,000 fans ages 12-and-under through the gates will receive free mini-sticks courtesy of Reynolds Ford.

Sunday, November 15, 4:05 p.m.- Mallards vs. Bloomington PrairieThunder

Official Game Puck Giveaway courtesy of Major League Texting; Food Drive; Family Skate

The first 1,000 fans to arrive for the game will receive official Mallards pucks thanks to Major League Texting. In addition, tickets will be discounted $1 for fans who donate a non-perishable food item when purchasing their seat. Beginning with the November 15 contest, each of the Mallards' ten Sunday games this season will be Family Skate Nights. Fans will be able to lace up their skates and take to the ice at the i wireless Center for an hour following each of those contests.

TICKETS

Single Game Tickets

Mallards tickets are available at the i wireless Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. through the end of the second period.

Group ICEexperiences

Mallards group packages are fun, easy to plan and memorable and are a perfect fit for business outings, teams, and school groups, family gatherings and just about any other kind of outing. Groups of ten or more receive a discount off the regular walk-up ticket price and are seated together for all the action. The Mallards offer a wide variety of "Group ICExperiences," including packages that provide the chance to sit on the bench or in the penalty box before a game or ride the Zamboni and much more! The Mallards can also help you use a group outing as a fundraiser for your organization. For group ticket and fundraising information contact the Mallards at 309-277-1364.

Season Tickets/Mini Plans

Mallards Quack Pack season tickets or 10-Quack mini plans are still available! To save big and enjoy a host of special benefits and exclusive access with season tickets or mini plans, fans can contact the Mallards at 309-277-1364.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

Thursday, November 5, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.- Coats for Kids

Old Navy, Southpark Mall, Moline

Mallards players will lend a hand to Coats for Kids at Old Navy in the Southpark Mall in Moline. Through both monetary and clothing donations, the Coats for Kids program provides gently used winter coats for needy students in area schools.

Thursday, November 10, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.- Head Start/Early Start

1016 West 7th Street, Davenport

Mallards will take time out to read to children at Head Start/Early Start in Davenport.

ON THE AIR

Fans can listen to all the action of Mallards Hockey Presented by Genesis Sports Medicine this week and throughout the season on 93.9 WYEC-FM and on www.myqcmallards.com. Coverage starts with the Mallards Pre-Game Show Presented by Genesis Sports Medicine 30 minutes before opening faceoff. Live pay-per-view video webcasts of Mallards action is also be available at www.myqcmallards.com courtesy of B2 Networks.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 3, 2009


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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