
Mallards Weekly Update
February 10, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release
QUACK TRACKS
Last Week
The Mallards last week went 3-1-0 while playing four games in five days. The Mallards split a two-game series with the Allen Americans on home ice before sweeping a home-and-home set from the St. Charles Chill.
High Five
With yesterday's win the Mallards broke a tie with the Brampton Beast and took over sole possession of fifth place in the CHL. The Mallards have six games in hand on Brampton and have played four fewer games than the fourth place Denver Cutthroats, who the Mallards trail by just two points.
Playing the Percentages
The Mallards, who have played fewer games (41) than any other CHL club, have the league's fourth best winning percentage (.634).
Busy
The Mallards yesterday finished a stretch of six games in ten days with a record of 4-2-0. Yesterday's game was also the sixth in a stretch that will see the Mallards play 31 games over the final 59 days of the regular season.
Rough Road
The Mallards are also in the midst of a stretch that sees them play 15 of their final 30 games- including three tilts this week- against the CHL's top three teams- Missouri, Rapid City and Allen.
Crowded House
The CHL's largest crowd this season- 8,761- saw the Mallards defeat the Chill 6-3 last Saturday at the iWireless Center.
Hat Trick
Gabriel Levesque last Friday scored the first Mallard hat trick of the season. Levesque's three-goal game was the first for a Mallard in exactly one year since Anthony Perdicaro scored three times in the Mallards' 9-6 win over the Bloomington Blaze on February 8, 2013. Levesque last Friday also matched the team season high for points in one game (4).
Fire Power
The Mallards have scored six goals in each of their last two games and have scored five or more goals in three of their last four games. While the Mallards rank fourth in the league in goal scoring (3.4 per game), no Mallard ranks in the top 20 in the CHL in point scoring.
Between the Pipes
Ty Rimmer has played five straight games in goal for the Mallards and has been between the posts for ten of the club's last 11 games. Rimmer's workload increased in the absence of Thomas Heemskerk, who spent 19 of the last 26 days in the American Hockey League and as a result was not on the roster for eight of the Mallards' last ten games before returning today.
O from D
Mallard defensemen scored nine of the team's 19 goals in four games last week. Blueliners provided at least two goals in each of those four outings. Matt Duffy scored in each of those four games while Mike Monfredo has scored in each of the last Mallards' last three tilts. On the season Mallard blue liners have scored 29 times. Only the Wichita Thunder's defensemen have scored more goals (34).
General Lee
Jeff Lee (1-3-4) yesterday joined Levesque as the second Mallard in three games to match the club single game season high for points. Yesterday's outburst was also Lee's second four-point game of the season. Lee has now piled up 13 points (four goals and nine assists) in his last nine games.
Streaking
Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel has nine points (two goals and seven assists) in his last eight games. Vladimir Nikiforov has six points (two goals and four assists) in his last six games.
Olympian
Former Mallard Juris Stals, who skated for the Flock in 2009-10, will play for Latvia at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Stals and Latvia will play their Olympic opener Wednesday against Switzerland. The 31-year old Stals has scored five goals and totaled 14 points in 19 Slovak league games with HK SKP Poprad this season. He scored 26 goals and totaled 52 points in 74 International Hockey League games in his lone campaign in the Quad Cities.
Leaders
Gergo Nagy is tied for ninth in plus/minus rating (+16)...Mike Hellyer is tied for fourth in game winning goals (5)...Among rookies, Frazee is tied for second in assists (18), ranks third in points (30) and ranks fourth in goals (12)...Heemskerk leads the league in goals against average (2.36) and save percentage (.923) and is tied for third in shutouts (2)...Rimmer is also tied for third in shutouts (3) and ranks eighth in goals against average (2.90) and save percentage (.905)...Duffy is tied for fourth among defensemen in goals (9)...Dieude-Fauvel ranks seventh among defensemen in assists (19), is tied for seventh in goals (8) and ranks eighth in points (27)...Monfredo is tied for eighth among defensemen in assists (18) and is tied for tenth in points (22).
Milestones
Darren McMillan has collected 98 career CHL assists.
Special Teams
While the Mallards rank last in the CHL in power play efficiency (13.4 percent), they did go 5-for-15 on the power play in their two games against St. Charles last weekend and have scored on the man advantage in each of their last five games, going 9-for-30 during that stretch. The Mallards rank sixth in penalty killing (82.8 percent). Yesterday the Mallards gave up two shorthanded goals. On the season they have scored six shorthanded goals and allowed five.
Head to Head
Friday's game is the fourth of six this season between the Mallards and Rush. The Rush have won two of the first three meetings. All-time the Mallards have gone 10-8-1 against the Rush and have posted a record of 5-4-1 at home. The Rush's Konrad Reeder (2-3-5) and Jesse Schultz (0-5-5) are the top point scorers in the season series. The season series will conclude when the Mallards visit Rapid City on St. Patrick's Day.
Ins and Outs
Goaltender Heemskerk returned to the Mallards today after signing a professional tryout agreement with the AHL's Abbotsford Heat last Monday...Goaltender Nick Niedert was waived today after signing with the Mallards last Friday...Forward Mike Stinziani missed yesterday's game (upper body injury)...Goaltender Eric Levine signed a PTO with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch last Friday after signing with the Mallards last Wednesday.
UPCOMING HOME GAMES
Friday, February 14, 7:05 p.m.- Mallards vs. Rapid City
$1 Dog/$1 Beer Friday Presented by 97X
This Friday is another $1 Dog/$1 Beer Night presented by 97X. $1 hot dogs and $1 beers are available at iWireless Center concession stands during each of the Mallards' 11 Friday night home games this season.
Saturday, Febuary 15, 7:05 p.m. Mallards vs. Rapid City
Terry Ruskowski Bobblehead Giveaway
The first 1,000 fans through the doors for Saturday night's game will receive Terry Ruskowski bobblehead dolls.
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- including this Saturday's tilt- will not air on Fox Sports Radio 1230 due to conflicts with University of Illinois basketball and football and Green Bay Packer football. Free audio webcasts of games that do not air on AM 1230 are available at myqcmallards.com . CHL-TV pay-per-view video webcasts of all Mallards games are also available at myqcmallards.com . For a full Mallards broadcast/webcast schedule, go to http://myqcmallards.com/schedule/broadcast_schedule/.
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.com for more information about tickets. Single game tickets are also available at the i wireless 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 at least ten 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.com .
Central Hockey League Stories from February 10, 2014
- Shots from the Point for February 10, 2014 - CHL
- Rush-ed News - Rapid City Rush
- Denver Cutthroats Update - Denver Cutthroats
- Schwab and Patterson Sweep Oakley Weekly Awards - Denver Cutthroats
- Allen Americans Weekly Update - Allen Americans
- Tulsa Oilers Weekly News and Notes - Tulsa Oilers
- Mallards Weekly Update - Quad City Mallards
- Denver Cutthroats Sweeps Oakley Weekly Awards - CHL
- Heemskerk Returns to Mallards - Quad City Mallards
- Allen Americans Coaches Show Tuesday at 1:00 pm - Allen Americans
- Brown, Timely Offense Help Thunder to 3-0 Win - Wichita Thunder
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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