THIS WEEK
Wednesday, March 18, 7:05 p.m.
iWireless Center, Moline
Tulsa Oilers vs. Quad City Mallards

Friday, March 20, 8:05 p.m.
Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Rapid City
Quad City Mallards vs. Rapid City Rush

Saturday, March 21, 8:05 p.m.
Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Rapid City
Quad City Mallards vs. Rapid City Rush

LAST WEEK
Wednesday, March 11
Quad City 3 Missouri 2 (OT)

Saturday, March 14
Quad City 3 Wichita 1
 
Sunday, March 15
Missouri 3 Quad City 1
 
Quad City
31-24-7, 69 points
2nd place, Central Division
Coach: Terry Ruskowski

Tulsa
31-25-4, 66 points
4th place, Central Division
Coach: Bruce Ramsay
 
Rapid City
31-26-5, 67 points
3rd place, Central Division
Coach: Joe Ferras

QUACK TRACKS
Tight
The Mallards are in second place in the ECHL’s Central Division and are locked in a tight four-team struggle for the final three playoff spots in the division.  With yesterday’s loss Mallards missed the chance to open up a four point lead over third place Rapid City and remain two points ahead of the Rush.  The Mallards are three points ahead of fourth place Tulsa and five points ahead of fifth place Wichita.  While the Mallards and Rush have both played sixty-two games, the Oilers have two games in hand on the Mallards and the Thunder has three games in hand on the Flock.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Mallards Wednesday night finish an eight game homestand.  They have gone 3-3-1 over the first seven games of what is their longest homestand of the season.  

Working Overtime
Nicholas Rioux’s power play goal at 3:25 of overtime gave the Mallards a 3-2 win over the Mavericks last Wednesday.  With that victory the Mallards improved to 2-4 in games settled in overtime this season.  Both of the Mallards’ sudden death wins have come thanks to power play goals.  The Mallards produced their first overtime victory when Mario Lamoureux scored on the power play to give the Mallards a 4-3 win over Wichita on January 7.
 
Firing Blanks
The Mallards allowed a team single game season low 16 shots on goal in Wednesday night’s win over Missouri.
 
Stingy
The Mallards have allowed three goals or fewer in each of their last nine games.  They rank fifth in the ECHL in goals against per game (2.6).  

Red Light District
The Mallards have scored three goals or fewer in each of their last seven games and now rank nineteenth in the league in goals per game (2.9).

Special Teams
The Mallards are twelfth in the ECHL on the man advantage (17.5 percent).  The Mallards have survived 11 of their last 12 shorthanded situations and are tied for fifth in the league in penalty killing (85.2 percent).

Baked
Kevin Baker is on a five-game point (5-4-9) scoring streak during which he has recorded a plus/minus rating of +6.
 
Super Mario
Mario Lamoureux ranks fourth in the ECHL in assists (43) and ninth in points (61).  Lamoureux has climbed within four points of his career high set when he recorded 65 points with the Ontario Reign as a rookie in 2012-13.
 
Two-for-Two
Mason Baptista scored in each of his first two professional games (Wednesday against Missouri and Saturday against Wichita) after signing with the Mallards last Wednesday.  Austin Coldwell recorded assists in each of his first two professional games (Saturday against Wichita and yesterday against Missouri) after signing with the Mallards last Thursday

Between the Pipes
Parker Milner has given up five goals while winning three straight games and has gone 5-1-0 in his last six games, a stretch during which he has allowed a total of just nine goals.  Milner ranks third in the ECHL in goals against average (2.22) and fourth in save percentage (.921).

Full Nelson
Logan Nelson scored six goals (and added an assist) in six games before suffering a lower body injury in last Wednesday’s game against Missouri.  Nelson has recorded ten points (eight goals and two assists) in his last ten games.
 
Milestones
Terry Ruskowski is closing in on 100 wins as Mallards coach.  Ruskowski has gone 98-73-23 since taking over behind the Quad City bench for the 2012-13 season…Mike Monfredo has played 194 straight games since joining the Mallards as a rookie in 2012-13.

Head to Head
The Mallards have gone 3-3-0 against the Oilers this season and have gone 1-2-0 against Tulsa on home ice.  All-time the Mallards have gone 11-10-0 against the Oilers and have registered a 7-4-0 home record against Tulsa… The Mallards have gone 6-2-1 overall and 2-1 in Rapid City this season.  The Mallards are 19-9-3 all-time against the Rush overall and 7-5-2 on the road against the Rush.

Ins and Outs
Goaltender Evan Mosher returned to the Mallards from the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters last Saturday  after signing a professional tryout agreement with Lake Erie last Wednesday…The Mallards released emergency backup goaltender Jake Reed last Saturday after signing Reed last Wednesday…Defenseman Austin Coldwell made his professional debut last Saturday after signing with the Mallards Thursday…Forward Joe Perry and defenseman Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel both returned to the Mallards from the AHL’s Iowa Wild Thursday.  Perry had signed a PTO with Iowa on February 5; Dieude-Fauvel had done so on December 13…Forward Johnny Rogic returned to the Mallard lineup last Saturday after missing 22 games (upper body)…Forward Logan Nelson has missed the Mallards’ last two games (lower body)…Forward Pearce Eviston has missed the last three games (lower body)…Defenseman Nicholas Rioux signed a PTO with Iowa last Tuesday, returned to the Mallards last Wednesday and signed another PTO with Iowa last Thursday…Forward Antti Pusa is on 21-day injured reserve retroactive to February 7 and has missed 18 games (upper body).

NEXT HOME GAME
Wednesday, March 18, 7:05 p.m.- Mallards vs. Tulsa Oilers
Four Tickets for $20
Fans can get four tickets for just $20 for each Mallards Wednesday home game.  

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 will not air on Fox Sports Radio 1230 due to conflicts with University of Illinois basketball and football and Green Bay Packer football.  ECHL-TV pay-per-view video webcasts and free audio webcasts of all Mallards games are also available at myqcmallards.net.

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 iWireless 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.