P.J. Musico made 33 saves and Kyle Follmer's second period goal proved to be the game winner as the Quad City Mallards (29-25-6) defeated the host Evansville IceMen (24-28-8) 4-1 Sunday night.

With the victory, the Mallards opened a three point lead over the Tulsa Oilers in the race for the eighth and final playcff berth in the ECHL's Western Conference.

After Tanner Eberle's tip-in gave the Mallards a 1-0 lead at 18:17 of the first period, Follmer doubled the advantage by burying Mike Monfredo's cross-ice pass at 15:47 of the second.

The IceMen clawed back within one when Andrew Hiimelson banked the puck in off Musico at 9:26 of the third period but the Mallards would Evansville put away with goals from Zach Pochiro, who one-timed the puck home from the slot at 13:13 of the third, and Matt Carey, who scored an empty netter at 17:11.

The Mallards return to action on the road Friday night against the Fort Wayne Komets. The Mallards next play at home next Sunday at 4:05 p.m. against the Indy Fuel. The first 1,000 fans ages 12 and under through the doors for next Sunday's game will receive free Mallards youth replica jerseys courtesy of WQAD News 8.

Single game tickets for all Mallards regular season home games- including next Sunday's contest- are on sale now at the iWireless Center box office, Ticketmaster outets, ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The box office is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available for $10, $16, $20 and $24.