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Mallards Weekly Update

January 3, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


QUACK TRACKS

Road Warriors The Mallards last weekend won three straight road games in just under 48 hours. This marks not only the first time the Mallards have won three consecutive away games this season but also the first time the Flock has strung together three consecutive road victories since the United Hockey League Mallards scored a third consecutive away win on December 1, 2006 (Quad City would go on to extend that streak to four straight road wins on December 8, 2006). Prior to last weekend the Mallards last won road games on three consecutive nights between November 4 and November 6 of 2005.

Taking Flight

Quad City is now three games above .500 for the first time this season and for the first time since the Mallards finished the 2006-07 season- their final UHL campaign- 37-28-11. The Mallards were dormant for the following two seasons before returning to the ice in the IHL last year.

Workin' Overtime

The Mallards defeated Fort Wayne 6-5 in overtime on New Year's Eve when Paul Kelly scored at 2:22 of sudden death. With that victory, the Flock improved to 4-0 in games decided in overtime this season and 5-0 in contests settled in either overtime or the shootout.

Buzzer Beater Obi Aduba scored with one second left in the third period to give the Mallards a 3-2 win over host Missouri last Saturday night. Aduba's goal was the second game winner scored at 19:59 of the third this season in the CHL. The Allen Americans' Nino Musitelli scored with a second remaining in regulation to give Allen a 4-3 victory over the Jackalopes in Odessa on November 13.

Brown Out

David Brown shut out Bloomington twice in seven days after going the first 109 games of his four-year pro career without registering a shutout. Brown made 39 saves while blanking the PrairieThunder 4-0 on home ice last Monday and yesterday made a personal single game season high 43 stops in a 2-0 whitewashing of Bloomington. Brown went 3-1-0 with a 1.74 goals against average and a .952 save percentage while starting four of the Mallards' five games in a seven day span starting last Monday. He is now tied for fourth in the league in save percentage (.920).

Soldiering On

The Mallards have gone 4-1-0 since forwards Mike McLean (the team leader in points and assists at the time of his injury) and Tyler Shelast and goaltender Adam Russo were placed on injured reserve retroactive to the Mallards' December 23 loss at Missouri.

Obi on the Up By scoring the Mallards' first goal in yesterday's win over Bloomington, Aduba (12-17-29) moved past the injured McLean (11-17-28) into sole possession of the team point scoring lead. Aduba scored in each of the Mallards' three games over the weekend and added an assist last Saturday night against Missouri. He has now scored 12 goals and totaled 28 points in his last 25 games.

Special Teams The Mallards rank third in the league on the power play (21.2 percent). Only the Komets (26.0 percent) have a better power play on home ice than the Mallards (25.3 percent). The Flock ranks tenth in penalty killing (82.1 percent).

G-Man

Eric Giosa scored a goal and picked up an assist in each of the Mallards' last two games and totaled five points for the weekend. Last Saturday in Missouri, Giosa set the stage for Aduba's last second heroics by tying the game at two with 1:35 left in regulation. Giosa yesterday scored his thirteenth goal of the season in what was his thirty-first game after last season scoring 12 times in 57 games as a rookie with the Laredo Bucks.

Welcome Back Jerad Kaufmann, who signed with the Mallards last week, made 27 saves last Saturday at Missouri to earn the win in the first start of his second stint with Quad City. Kaufmann, who started this season in Scotland with the Dundee Stars, spent last year with the Mallards.

Adapt and Overcome With three forwards on injured reserve, Tyler Townsend- a defenseman by trade- spent most his ice time at forward during the Mallards' three games last weekend. Townsend (2-10-12) scored last Saturday against Missouri and assisted on both Mallard goals yesterday in Bloomington.

Firsts Forward Eric Slais (0-1-1), who signed with the Mallards last week, recorded his first point as a Mallard- an assist- in last Friday's win over Fort Wayne.

Ins and Outs McLean (lower body), Shelast (lower body) and winger Brandon Marino (hand) are all on 10-day injured reserve...Russo (lower body) is on 14-day goaltender injured reserve...Defenseman Adam Maccarone (CHL leave) returned to the lineup last Wednesday against Wichita after missing nine games.

Tulsa

The Oilers went 1-3-0 last week. Tulsa suffered a pair of one-sided losses to the league-leading Allen Americans over the weekend. The Oilers were routed 10-1 in Allen last Friday. After bouncing back to defeat the Texas Brahmas 6-2 on home ice one night later, Tulsa fell to the Americans 8-4 at home yesterday. The Oilers rank last in the league in goals allowed per game (3.7). Tulsa's Chad Costello ranks second in the CHL in goals (19) and third in points (48). Gary Steffes leads rookies in assists (16) and points (25). Friday's game is the second meeting of the season between the Mallards and Oilers. Tulsa defeated the Flock 3-0 on November 23.

Evansville

The IceMen have lost three straight games in regulation, gone winless in five (0-3-2) games, won just once (over the Mallards 4-2 on December 22) in their last 12 games (1-8-3) and picked up just two victories (2-11-4) in their last 17 outings. While Evansville is four points ahead of league cellar-dwelling Fort Wayne in the Turner Conference standings, the Komets have five games in hand on the IceMen. The IceMen rank sixteenth in the 18-team league in both goals scored per game (2.8) and goals allowed (3.6 per contest). Evansville's Nicklas Lindberg (12-28-40) ranks seventh in the CHL in assists and ninth in points. By the time they return home to take on the Mallards Saturday night, the IceMen will have played ten of their prior 11 games on the road. The IceMen have a slight edge over the Mallards in the season series between the two teams, having earned seven points from the first six meetings between the two clubs compared to the six points pocketed by the Flock.

Fort Wayne The Komets are unbeaten in regulation in their last six games overall (4-0-2) and have gone 3-0-1 in their last four home games. The Komets remain the lowest scoring team in the league. While Fort Wayne averages only 2.5 goals per game, the Komets have totaled 20 goals over their last four outings. Defenseman Frankie DeAngelis (7-16-23) leads the team in points while Leo Thomas (11-9-20) is the club's top goal scorer. The Mallards have gone 4-2-0 against the Komets. Colin Chaulk, who started this season playing in Italy, is expected to rejoin the Komets this week. Chaulk last season led Fort Wayne- and finished fourth in the IHL- with 85 points.

NEXT HOME GAME

Friday, January 7- Mallards vs. Tulsa Oilers

Kids' 40" Wooden Hockey Stick Giveaway Presented by CBS 4 and 97X

The first 1,000 fans ages 12 and under through the doors of the i wireless Center for the Mallards' game against Tulsa this Friday night will receive free kids' 40" wooden hockey sticks courtesy of CBS 4 and 97X.

TICKETS

Single Game Tickets

Tickets for all Mallards regular season home games are available in person at the i wireless Center box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, through www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday 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 other than Sunday from 10:00 a.m. until the end of the first period. On Sundays on which the Mallards play at home the ticket office will be open from 1:00 p.m. until the end of the first period.

Group Tickets Groups of at least ten can receive savings off the walk-up price and a host of other great group benefits when purchasing Mallards tickets. Mallard 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 and tickets@myqcmallards.com.

Mini Plans

Mallard mini plans are also available to meet any budget or schedule. For more information on ticket packages fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364.

ON THE AIR

Mallards Hockey Presented by Genesis Power Sports Performance

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 CHL-TV.

Between the Pipes

"Between the Pipes," the Mallards' weekly television show, has returned on Mediacom's MC22 channel for the 2010-11 season. New editions of "Between the Pipes" air each Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. and are rebroadcast several times each week. Full weekly listings of "Between the Pipes" broadcast times can be found throughout the season on MC22's website, www.mc22.net. The program features a condensed version of the Mallards' Game of the Week interspersed with interviews with Mallards Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Frank Anzalone and Mallards players, updates on the Mallards' activities in the community and more.

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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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