Mallards Weekly Update

February 17, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


QUACK TRACKS

Last Week

The Mallards swept a pair of home games from Rapid City last Friday and Saturday before their four-game winning streak was snapped in Missouri yesterday.

Tight

The Mallards have climbed into a fourth place tie with the Allen Americans, who visit the Denver Cutthroats this afternoon. The Mallards are one point behind third place Rapid City- which takes on St. Charles this evening- and two points behind second place Denver. After today's games the Mallards will have four games in hand on Allen, Rapid City and Denver.

Playing the Percentages

The Mallards, who have played fewer games (44) than any other CHL club, have the league's fourth best winning percentage (.636).

Busy

The Mallards are in the midst of a stretch that sees them play seven games in ten days. Beginning Wednesday night they play four games in four cities in five nights. Yesterday's game was the ninth in a stretch that sees the Mallards play 31 games over the final 59 days of the regular season.

Rough Road

The Mallards are in the midst of a stretch that sees them play 18 of their final 30 games against the teams even with or ahead of them in the standings- Missouri, Rapid City, Denver and Allen.

Fire Power

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.

Shootout

Saturday night's win over Rapid City was just the Mallards' second victory in seven shootouts this season. Saturday's triumph also ended the Mallards' four shootout losing streak. The Mallards only prior shootout win was a 3-2 defeat of the Cutthroats in Denver on November 16. The Mallards, who have gone 1-3 in games settled in overtime this season, are now 3-8 in games that last longer than 60 minutes.

Between the Pipes

Thomas Heemskerk yesterday saw his seven game (6-0-1) regulation unbeaten streak come to an end. The defeat was just Heemskerk's (11-2-4) second regulation loss of the season. Ty Rimmer last Saturday made 32 saves in regulation and overtime before withstanding all seven Rapid City penalty shots on the way to his third straight win.

General Lee

Jeff Lee is on a six-game point-scoring streak (3-7-10) and has recorded 17 points (five goals and 12 assists) in his last 12 games. Lee scored the game winning goals against Rapid City- his former club- on Friday and Saturday. Lee leads the Mallards in goals (16) and has moved into a tie with Gergo Nagy for the team lead in points (38).

Leaders

Mike Hellyer is tied for fourth in game winning goals (5)... Among rookies, Thomas Frazee is tied for third in points (31) and goals (13) and is tied for fourth in assists (18)...Heemskerk leads the league in save percentage (.921) and ranks second in goals against average (2.43) and is tied for third in shutouts (2)...Rimmer is also tied for third in shutouts (2) and ranks eighth in goals against average (2.89) and save percentage (.906)...Matt Duffy is tied for fifth among defensemen in goals (9)...Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel is tied for seventh among defensemen in goals (8) and assists (20) and is tied for eighth in points (28)...Mike Monfredo is tied for ninth among defensemen in assists (19) and is tied for tenth in points.

Special Teams

The Mallards have gone 8-for-26 on the power play in their last five games and have scored on the man advantage in each of their last eight games- a stretch during which they have gone 12-for-41- to climb out of the league basement in power play efficiency and into ninth place (14.1 percent). The Mallards rank fifth in penalty killing (83.4 percent) after surviving each of their foes' last ten power plays.

Head to Head

The Mallards have gone 0-2-1 against Missouri this year. The Mavericks make their first visit of the season to the Quad Cities Wednesday night. After playing just one of their first 36 games against Missouri, the Mallards, starting with a 3-1 loss in Independence on Feburary 1, play nine of their final 30 tilts against the Mavericks. Since entering the CHL in 2010, the Mallards have gone 14-14-3 against the Mavericks and have posted a record of 5-6-2 at home... The Mallards and Oilers conclude their four-game season series Friday. The Mallards have won two of their first three meetings with the Oilers. All-time, the Mallards have gone 8-6-0 overall against Oilers and have gone 2-3-0 in Tulsa...The Mallards and Thunder wrap up their three-game season series Saturday. The Mallards fell to the Thunder 3-2 in a shootout on January 10 at the iWireless Center before suffering a 7-1 defeat- Quad City's most lopsided loss this season- one week later in Wichita...All-time the Mallards have gone 5-12-1 against the Thunder overall and 2-7-0 on the road...The Mallards and Americans have split two meetings this season. The Mallards dropped Allen 5-2 on February 5 before losing to the Americans by the same score two nights later. Sunday's game is the Mallards' first in Allen this season. The two clubs will meet for the fourth and final time during the regular season on March 26 in the Lone Star state. All-time, the Mallards have posted a record of 2-4-1 against the Americans. The Mallards have gone 0-1-1 at the Allen Event Center.

Ins and Outs

Forward Frazee missed yesterday's game (upper body)...Forward Hellyer returned yesterday after missing two games (lower body)...Forward Mike Stinziani returned to the lineup last Friday after missing the Mallards' February 9 game in St. Charles (upper body).

NEXT HOME GAME

Wednesday, February 19, 7:05 p.m.- Mallards vs. Missouri

Wednesday's game is a Winning Wednesday presented by T.G.I. Friday's. If the Mallards win Wednesday, each fan in attendance will receive a free ticket to the Mallards' next Wednesday home game courtesy of T.G.I. Friday's. Fans also have the opportunity to purchase $2 hot dogs and beer at iWireless Center concession stands during each Wednesday home tilt. After the game fans can join the Mallards at T.G.I. Friday's in Moline for a postgame party.

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 Wednesday'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 17, 2014


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