Mallards Weekly Update

Published on March 30, 2010 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Quad City Mallards News Release


QUACK TRACKS

Playoff Chase The Mallards are tied with the Flint Generals for fifth place and are seven points behind the Bloomington PrairieThunder in the race for fourth place and the final IHL playoff spot. The PrairieThunder has two games in hand on the Mallards while the Generals have played three fewer games than the Mallards. The Mallards meet the Thunder two more times during the regular season- both of those games will be played at the i wireless Center. The Mallards have three home games remaining and five road games left.

Rebound The Mallards won Sunday after picking up just one win in their prior seven games. Sunday also saw the Mallards score four goals after scoring three or fewer in each of their previous seven outings.

White Hot

Justin White (16-29-45) set a team single game season high by collecting four assists in Sunday's win over Dayton. White equaled a Mallard single game season high by recording four points Sunday. Yesterday marked the second time White has notched four points in a game this year and the fifth time a Mallard has done so. White has collected at least one assist in four straight games (0-7-7).

Lipsett Lights Up

Chris Lipsett (25-34-59) scored twice yesterday to reach 25 goals for the season. Lipsett has now scored 25 or more goals in a season eight times in his 14-year career. He has scored at least 25 goals in each of his last four seasons. Lipsett is now tied for ninth in the league in goals and tied for tenth in points.

Kindling

Tyler Kindle (5-10-15) is riding a five-game point scoring streak (2-4-6). Kindle scored in both of the Mallards' games last weekend.

Shot Stopping Jerad Kaufmann (12-13-2-2, 2.95, .918) has given up just two goals in four of his last five appearances and has given up three goals or fewer in seven of his last eight outings. Kaufmann ranks second in the league in save percentage.

Blanked

The Mallards held Robin Bouchard (57-38-95) and Todd Robinson (19-78-98)- the league's top two point scorers- pointless in last Saturday's loss to Muskegon and by so doing also halted Bouchard's 12-game point scoring streak.

Isn't That Special (Teams)?

The Mallards scored three of their four goals on Sunday on special teams. Quad City went 2-for-4 on the power play against Dayton after scoring just one power play goal on 12 chances in their prior three games and going just 2-for-22 on the man advantage in their previous five games. Chris Lipsett scored the Mallards' fifth shorthanded goal of the season against the Gems.

Ins and Outs

The Mallards waived left wing Nick DeCroo last week in order to enable DeCroo to return to Hobart College to complete the academic year. DeCroo played four games for Quad City before returning to Hobart...The Mallards signed forward Addison DeBoer out of Colorado College last week. DeBoer made his professional debut last Saturday night in Muskegon and also played against Dayton on Sunday...Kyryll Katrych (elbow) missed the Mallards' two games last weekend...Terry Harrison (chest) missed Sunday's game...Shane Lovdahl (concussion) returned to the Mallards' lineup last Saturday against Muskegon after missing two games...Marc Rechlicz was suspended by the IHL from last Saturday's game against Muskegon after he was judged to have used a head butt in a fight in the Mallards' game March 19 in Fort Wayne... Forwards Ryan Fultz (foot) and Mike Zbriger (finger) and defenseman Matt Burke (ankle) are on injured reserve.

SCOUTING REPORT

Port Huron With a 3-2 win in Bloomington last Saturday night the Icehawks joined Muskegon and Fort Wayne as the third IHL team to clinch a playoff berth. The victory over the PrairieThunder was the 'Hawks fortieth of the season...Port Huron did drop two of three games last weekend. The 'Hawks fell in Dayton last Friday before splitting a pair of games the next two nights in Bloomington....The Icehawks have gone 12-14-0-1 in their last 27 games after going 28-9-0-3 in their first 40 outings...The Icehawks are currently four points behind Fort Wayne in the race for second place and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Port Huron has played one more game than the Komets... Port Huron boasts the league's top power play (22.2 percent)...Mikael Bedard (32-34-66) ranks third in the league in goal scoring and seventh in points. Bedard leads IHL rookies in goals, assists and points...Derek Patrosso (28-37-65) is tied for fifth in goals and ranks eighth in points...Nick Lindberg (14-45-59) ranks fifth in assists...Adam Russo (21-13-0-3, 2.75, .908) and Larry Sterling (19-19-0-1, 2.88, .908) have split Icehawk goaltending duties. Russo, who ranks third in the league in wins, made five straight starts before Sterling returned to action to make a team single game season high 41 saves in Sunday's loss to Bloomington...Daniel Tetrault (8-32-40) is tied for the lead among defensemen in assists and ranks third among blue liners in points... Now in his fourth year behind the Port Huron

bench, Stan Drulia has led the Icehawks to three straight 40-win seasons. As a player, Drulia- a right winger- spent 13 seasons in pro hockey and skated in 126 National Hockey League games with the Tampa Bay Lightning...The Mallards have gone 4-2-0-3 against the Icehawks this season.

Muskegon

The Lumberjacks have won four straight games and six of their last seven games...Muskegon boasts the league's best home record (29-7-0-0)...Robin Bouchard (57-38-95) scored his career minor league record setting six hundred eighty-third goal against the Mallards on March 21. Bouchard is now up to 684 career goals. He leads the IHL in goals and power play goals (18) and ranks second in points. He has scored 15 times in his last 13 games. Bouchard this season has topped 50 goals for the sixth time in his career... Player-assistant coach Todd Robinson (19-79-98) leads the league in points and assists and is two points away from reaching 100 points in a season for the sixth time in his career...Matt Krug (13-31-44) leads IHL defensemen in goals and points...Sebastien Centomo (25-9-0-2, 2.51, .911) is tied for the lead among goaltenders in wins and ranks third in goals against average...As a team, the Lumberjacks average a league high 3.8 goals per game...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...The Mallards have gone 3-6-2-2 against the Lumberjacks.

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 ICExperiences

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.

ON THE AIR

Fans can listen to all the action of Mallards Hockey Presented by Genesis Power Sports Performance 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 are also available at www.myqcmallards.com courtesy of B2 Networks.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 30, 2010


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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