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Mallards Weekly Update

April 4, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


RAY MIRON PRESIDENTS' CUP PLAYOFFS, OPENING ROUND

Colorado Eagles vs. Quad City Mallards

Game One, Friday, April 1: Quad City 4 Colorado 3 (OT)

Brandon Marino scored at 4:50 of overtime to give the Mallards a 4-3 comeback win over the host Eagles. The Mallards erased a 3-0 third period deficit. Eric Giosa scored the tying goal with just 7.8 seconds left in regulation. Obi Aduba and Zac Pearson triggered the rally by scoring the first two Mallard goals in a span of 54 seconds. Matt Glasser, Riley Nelson and Adam Chorneyko scored the Colorado goals. The Mallards' David Brown made 38 saves and Quad City went 8-for-8 on the penalty kill.

Game Two, Saturday, April 2: Colorado 5 Quad City 4 (OT)

Daymen Rycroft scored his second goal of the game at 1:02 of overtime to give the host Eagles a 5-4 win over the Mallards. Colorado erased a 4-2 third period deficit with goals from Riley Nelson (2-1-3) and Joe Grimaldi. Giosa, Pearson, Adam Maccarone and Joel Gasper scored for Quad City. Andrew Penner (13 saves) earned the win in goal after replacing Kyle Jones in the Colorado crease in the second period.

Game Three: Colorado @ Quad City, Tuesday, April 5, 7:05 p.m.

Game Four: Colorado @ Quad City, Wednesday, April 6, 7:05 p.m. Game Five: Quad City @ Colorado, Saturday, April 9, 8:05 p.m. (if necessary)

Quad City Colorado

34-31-1 (69 points) 40-22-4 (84 points)

tied 7th place, Turner Conf. tied 1st place, Turner Conf.

Coach: Frank Anzalone Coach: Chris Stewart

QUACK TRACKS

Splitsville The Mallards went to Colorado last weekend for the first time ever and earned a split of the first two games of the series.

Comebacks The eventual winner of each of the first two games of the series trailed in the third period. In game one, the Mallards were down 3-0 before kicking off their comeback with a goal from Aduba with just 6:57 left in the third. Game two saw the Eagles score twice in the first five minutes of the third period to erase a 4-2 Mallard lead.

Worth the Wait

The Mallards last Friday night earned a playoff win for the first time since the Flock defeated the Rockford IceHogs 3-1 on April 18, 2007 in game three of an opening round United Hockey League postseason series. Rockford would go on to win that series four games to one.

Workin' Overtime Game one was the Flock's first post-season overtime game since Quad City defeated Danbury 5-4 in sudden death on April 29, 2006 in Moline. The Mallards lost game two in overtime after having gone 6-0 (regular season in playoffs combined) this year in games decided in the extra period up until last Saturday's setback.

First Is Worst'

The team that scored first not only lost each of the first two games of this series but has also dropped four of the five games- regular or post-season - played between the Mallards and Eagles this year. Quad City went 2-1-0 against Colorado during the regular season despite giving up the first goal in each of those three games.

Comebacks, Take 2 The Mallards rallied to win last Friday after trailing 3-0 with just under seven minutes left in the third period. Quad City came from behind to win its playoff opener after overcoming deficits in 19 of its 34 regular season victories.

Brown-Out

David Brown made 75 saves on 83 Colorado shots over the first two games of the series. Brown has gone 3-2-0 while playing all five regular season and playoff games against the Eagles and has posted a 2.57 goals against average and a .931 save percentage in those five outings.

G-Man

Giosa returned to the Mallards' lineup for the series opener after missing Quad City's final 11 regular season games because of a finger injury suffered in a February 27 game at Evansville. Giosa (2-0-2) made an immediate impact upon reentering the fray, forcing overtime in game one by scoring in the final seconds of regulation and scoring again in game two. Giosa, who led Quad City in regular season goals (26), is one of two Mallards- along with Pearson (2-1-3) - who scored in each of the first two games of the series.

Home Sweet Home

The Mallards won their final two regular season home games and finished the campaign 18-14-1 on home ice. The Mallards last played a playoff game at the I wireless Center on April 20, 2007 when they lost 3-1 to Rockford in game four of their opening round matchup with the IceHogs.

Workin' Overtime, Take 2 Marino's (1-1-2) overtime game winner in the series opener was the first playoff sudden death goal scored by a Mallard since Joel Pullman scored at 8:49 of the extra period to give the Flock a 5-4 victory over the Danbury Thrashers on April 29, 2006 in Moline. That win came in the fifth game of a best-of-seven UHL first round series the Trashers would go on to win four games to three. Marino settled game one after also providing a regular season overtime goal for the Flock. Marino delivered the O.T. decider in the Mallards' 2-1 home win over the Arizona Sundogs on November 13.

Regular Season Head-to-Head The series shifts to the i wireless Center- site of each of the three regular season meetings between the Mallards and Eagles- for games three and four. The Mallards defeated the Eagles 3-2 on January 21, fell to Colorado 2-1 one night later and clinched the season series with a 4-1 win on February 8.

Riddler Jake Riddle (0-3-3) is tied with Pearson for the team lead in playoff points and has now recorded 12 points in his last seven games (regular season and post-season combined).

Playoff 101

The eight opening round Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Playoff match-ups are best-of-five affairs. The four opening round winners in each conference will be reseeded for the best-of-five Conference Semi-Finals, which will be followed by the best-of-seven Conference Finals and Presidents' Cup Finals. The Allen Americans have already advanced to the Berry Conference Semi-Finals by sweeping the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in the opening round. None of the other seven opening round series has yet been decided.

Welcome Back The Mallards' postseason appearance is the first by a Quad City professional hockey team since the Mallards were knocked out of the 2007 UHL playoffs by Rockford. Eagles right wing Kevin Ulanski, then an IceHog, helped Rockford to victory by notching a goal and three assists in that opening round series. Three springs void of playoff hockey in the Quad Cities followed that loss to Rockford- the American Hockey League's Flames failed to reach the postseason in both 2008 and 2009 and the Mallards last season failed to qualify in what was their only International Hockey League campaign.

Special Teams The Mallards went 1-for-9 on the power play over the first two games of the series and went 11-for-12 on the penalty kill during those two contests. The Mallards survived a pair of two man disadvantages- including one in overtime- in game one. The Mallards finished the regular season third on the shorthand (84.4 percent) and thirteenth on the power play (16.3 percent).

Ins and Outs

Winger Jason Kostadine and defenseman Erik Spady- who joined the team last week to fill one of the two potential amateur slots on the Mallards' playoff roster- sat out the first two games of the series.

Colorado

Nelson (3-1-4) leads all players in the series in goals and points. Nelson notched three points (two goals and one assist) in game two...Rycroft (2-0-2) scored the Eagles' first and winning goals in game two...Last Saturday's win ended the Eagles' eight-game playoff losing streak. That victory was Colorado's first in the post-season since the Eagles defeated Texas 5-4 in overtime in game two of the 2009 Presidents' Cup Finals, a series the Brahmas would go on to win four games to one...Former Mallard Jones went 0-1 in the first two games of the series while posting a 4.81 goals against average and a .816 save percentage. Jones was replaced by Andrew Penner at 2:33 of the second period of game two. Penner stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced on the way to earning the win in relief...The Eagles outshot the Mallards 83-52 over the first two games of the series after outshooting Quad City 105-64 in the three regular season meetings between the two clubs...The Eagles have returned to the road after playing the first two games of the series on home ice. Colorado finished regular season with four straight away games. The Eagles lost their March 26 regular season finale 2-1 at Fort Wayne- a defeat that halted a four-game Colorado road winning streak. The Eagles posted identical 20-11-2 regular season records at home and on the road... Nelson (34-59-93) last week was named the CHL's Most Valuable Player. He was also voted to the All-CHL Team after finishing fourth in the league in points and assists, just behind linemate Ulanski (35-61-96), who finished third in each of those categories. Ulanski also ended up tied for seventh in goals... Kyle Peto (7-47-54) led defensemen in assists and was tied for second among blue liners in points... Jones, (29-10-3, 2.61, .913, 4 SO), who tended goal for Quad City last season, finished second in the league in wins, was tied for second in shutouts and ranked fifth in save percentage (.916)...Forward Adam Chorneyko (14-18-32) was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team.

TICKETS

Playoff Tickets

Mallards first round playoff tickets can be purchased 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 from 10:00 a.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.

2011-12 Season Tickets 2011-12 Mallards season ticket packages are now available. Season ticket holders save off walk-up ticket prices and receive a host of additional benefits. Fans can lock in seats for the next season with a $50 per-seat deposit. The Mallards offer early bird specials- discounted season ticket prices for seats paid for in full by April 1 or May 1- as well as convenient monthly payment plans. For more season ticket information, fans can contact the Mallards at (309) 277-1364 and tickets@myqcmallards.com.

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 postseason 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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