MOLINE, Ill. (April 23, 2014) - Bruce Graham had a goal and an assist, Jamie Schaafsma scored what proved to be the game winner in the third period and Bryan Pitton made 33 saves as the Allen Americans defeated the host Quad City Mallards 4-2 Wednesday night to take a two games to one lead in the best-of-seven Central Hockey League semi-finals.

The Americans survived a Mallard third period comeback bid that started when Jordan Mayer pounced on a loose puck in the goalmouth to cut what had been a 2-0 Allen lead in half at 8:40 of the third.  Schaafsma responded with the goal that would stand up as the difference by burying the rebound at 14:12 after Mallard goaltender Ty Rimmer (32 shots) foiled Graham's breakaway bid.  The Mallards closed the gap to a single goal a second time when Matt Boyd scored in a goalmouth scramble with two minutes and thirty-nine seconds remaining only for Greger Hansen's empty net goal to clinch victory for Allen with just 17.5 seconds left.

The Mallards never quite recovered after surrendering a pair of special teams goals late in the first period.  The Americans were on the power play when Bruce Graham swept the opening goal home from the slot at 15:38 of the first.  Jonathan Lessard's shorthanded breakaway goal doubled the Allen lead at 18:35.

The Mallards host game four Friday evening and game five Saturday night.  Each of those contests will face off at 7:05 p.m.  Should a sixth game be required, the series would move back to Allen on Tuesday night, April 29.  If the series goes the distance, the Americans would host the seventh and deciding game on Wednesday evening, April 30.

Friday evening brings not only game four between the Mallards and Americans but also the return of the Mallards' popular $1 Dog/$1 Dollar Beer Night presented by 97X.  iWireless Center doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Friday and $1 beers will be available at arena concession stands from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  $1 hot dogs will be available throughout the game.

Tickets for Mallards home playoff games can be purchased in person at the iWireless Center box office, online at ticketmaster.com, at Ticketmaster outlets or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000.  The ticket 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.

ALLEN, Texas (April 18, 2014) - Thomas Frazee and Jordan Mayer both provided a goal and an assist and Thomas Heemskerk made 32 saves as the Quad City Mallards defeated the host Allen Americans 4-2 Friday night in game one of the best-of-seven Central Hockey League semi-finals.

Frazee provided the perfect response at 13:24 of the second period after the Americans scored twice in two minutes and 18 seconds to wipe out what had been a 2-0 Mallard lead.  Frazee shoveled in Jeff Lee's goalmouth feed to put the Mallards back on top for good.

The Mallards grabbed their second two goal lead when Mayer tipped in Darren McMillan's drive from the right point at 4:19 of the third period.  Heemskerk shut the door on the Americans by making 16 saves in the third.

The Mallards had first moved in front with a goal from Jordan Fox at 11:02 of the first period.  Fox stole the puck from the Americans' Mike Berube at the Allen blue line, raced in alone through the right wing circle and jammed the puck in from the side of the net.

The Mallards widened the gap to two when Gergo Nagy deflected the puck home from close range at 4:03 of the second period.  The Americans rebounded with rapid-fire goals from Bruce Grahame and Anthony Maiani.  Graham pounced on a loose puck on the doorstep at 7:28; at 9:46 Maiani jumped on a rebound to cash in an Americans power play and even the score at two.  Frazee, however, would step up to provide what proved to be the game winner just under five minutes later.

The Mallards and Americans meet again in game two Sunday evening in Allen.  The series will shift to the Quad Cities for game three next Wednesday night, April 23 and game four next Friday evening, April 25.  Both of those contests will face off at 7:05 p.m., as would a potential fifth game which, if necessary, will be played next Saturday, April 26 at the iWireless Center.  Should a sixth game be required, the series would move back to Allen on Tuesday night, April 29.  If the series goes the distance, the Americans would host the seventh and deciding game on Wednesday evening, April 30.

Game three tickets (other than glass seats) are available for just $3.  Tickets for Mallards home playoff games can be purchased in person at the iWireless Center box office, online at ticketmaster.com, at Ticketmaster outlets or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000.  The ticket 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.

 

About the Quad City Mallards
A proud affiliate of the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild and the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild, the Quad City Mallards are in the midst of their seventeenth season their fourth in the Central Hockey League.  One of the winningest teams in all of minor league hockey, the Mallards competed in the United Hockey League from 1995 through 2007 and in the International Hockey League in 2009-10.  The Mallards' proud history has seen them capture the UHL's Colonial Cup Championship three times (1997, 1998, 2001) and secure that league's Tarry Cup four times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002) for the best overall regular season record.  In 2001, the Mallards made professional hockey history, recording their sixth consecutive season with 50 or more wins, a feat that has yet to be matched.  The iWireless Center provides a unique environment for hockey and features one-of-a-kind seating areas such as the Nest for groups and functions and the exclusive Drake Club.  For more information on the Quad City Mallards or for Mallards tickets go to www.myqcmallards.net.  Fans can also follow the Mallards via Twitter at twitter.com/myqcmallards and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quadcitymallards.

-### Quad City Mallards ### -

 

CENTRAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS

Quad City Mallards vs. Allen Americans

Game One: Friday, April 18 @ Allen, 7:05 p.m.

Game Two: Sunday, April 20 @ Allen, 5:05 p.m.

Game Three: Wednesday, April 23 @ Quad City, 7:05 p.m.

Game Four: Friday, April 25 @ Quad City, 7:05 p.m.

Game Five*: Saturday, April 26 @ Quad City, 7:05 p.m.

Game Six*: Tuesday, April 29 @ Allen, 7:05 p.m.

Game Seven*: Wednesday, April 30 @ Allen, 7:05 p.m.

*- if necessary

 

ROUND ONE

Quad City defeats Rapid City four games to three

Friday, April 4 at Rapid City: Rapid City 5 Quad City 1

Saturday, April 5 at Rapid City: Quad City 3 Rapid City 2 (OT)

Wednesday, April 9 at Quad City: Quad City 5 Rapid City 1

Friday, April 11 at Quad City: Rapid City 3 Quad City 1

Saturday, April 12 at Quad City: Quad City 3 Rapid City 1

Tuesday, April 15 at Rapid City: Rapid City 2 Quad City 1

Wednesday, April 16 at Rapid City: Quad City 3 Rapid City 1

 

Allen defeats Brampton four game to one
Wednesday, April 2 at Allen: Allen 7 Brampton 2

Thursday, April 3 at Allen: Allen 5 Brampton 3
Thursday, April 10 at Brampton: Allen 4 Brampton 1

Friday, April 11 at Brampton: Brampton 4 Allen 2
Sunday, April 13 at Brampton: Allen 4 Brampton 1

 

REGULAR SEASON

Quad City
33-23-10, 76 points
5th place
Coach: Terry Ruskowski

Allen
39-22-5, 83 points
3rd place
Coach: Steve Martinson

 

QUACK TRACKS
Round One

The fifth-seeded Mallards knocked off the fourth-seeded Rapid City Rush in seven games in round one.  The Mallards closed out the tightly contested series by winning game seven 3-1 Wednesday night in Rapid City.

 

Winning
The Mallards' round one win was their first playoff series victory in 11 years.  Prior to this year, the Mallards last won a playoff series when they downed the Muskegon Fury in six games in the 2003 United Hockey League Colonial Cup semi-finals.  The Mallards were eliminated in the first round in each of six straight postseason appearances (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013) before this spring.

Seven

Wednesday night the Mallards played in a seventh game for the first time since falling to the Danbury Trashers 6-4 in the deciding tilt of the opening round of the 2007 UHL playoffs.  The Mallards Wednesday won a game seven for the first time since they claimed the UHL Colonial Cup by title defeating the Flint Generals 3-2 in overtime in the seventh game of the 1998 finals.  All-time, the Mallards are now 3-3 in game sevens.

 

Quick Change
While the Americans have been idle since eliminating the Beast in Brampton Sunday, the puck will drop on game one of round two tomorrow night 43 hours and 40 minutes after the Mallards finished game seven of the opening round.

Tight
The Mallards finally saw off the Rush in game seven after both teams had gone 6-5-1 in 12 head-to-head meetings (regular season and playoffs combined) heading into Wednesday night.

 

Goals, Goals, Goals

The Mallards-Rush match-up was the lowest scoring of the four first round series.  The two clubs averaged 4.6 goals per game.  The losing team scored just one goal in six of the seven games.

 

Streaking

Thomas Frazee (4-4-8) scored the winning goal and added an assist in game seven to move into a tie with Vladimir Nikiforov (2-6-8)- who also scored in the seventh game- for the team lead in playoff points and for sixth in the CHL in postseason points.  Frazee is also tied for second in the league in goals while Nikiforov is tied for third in assists.  Jordan Mayer also had a goal and an assist in game seven and, after sitting out the first two games of the series, produced five points (three goals and two assists) in his first five career playoff games.

 

Between the Pipes
Thomas Heemskerk, who made 26 saves in game seven, went 3-1 in round one and leads the league in playoff goals against average (1.76) and ranks second in save percentage (.937).

 

Special Teams
In round one, the Mallards went 21-for-23 on the penalty kill and 5-for-30 on the power play after finishing the regular season first in shorthanded goals (12), fourth in penalty killing (83.7 percent) and ninth on power play (14.3 percent).

 

Home and Away

The Mallards went 2-1 at home in round one and 2-2 on the road.  During the regular season the Mallards went 19-11-3 at home and 14-12-7 on the road.

 

Working Overtime
Their game two win in round one was the Mallards' first postseason overtime victory since April 1, 2011, when they defeated the Colorado Eagles 4-3 in game one of an opening round series.  The Mallards had lost their three most recent playoff overtime contests- a 5-4 defeat at the hands of Colorado on April 2, 2011 and 3-2 losses to the Fort Worth Brahmas on March 30 and April 3 of last year- before winning game two.

 

Head to Head

The Mallards and Americans have never before met in the playoffs.  The two clubs split their four regular season meetings.  The Mallards went 1-1-0 at home against the Americans during the regular season and 1-1-0 in Allen.  All-time, the Mallards have posted a record of 3-5-1 against the Americans: 2-3-0 at home and 1-2-1 at the Allen Event Center.  Allen's Jamie Schaafsma (4-2-6) and Alex Lavoie (1-5-6) were the top point scorers during the regular season series while Matt Duffy (3-1-4) and Vladimir Nikiforov (0-4-4) were the Mallards' top point producers against the Americans.

 

Ins and Outs
Forward Mike Hellyer (upper body) played in game seven of round one after missing the final 22 regular season games while on injured reserve and the first six games of the playoffs...Joe Perry (upper body) missed the last five games... Jordan Mayer made his professional playoff debut in game three of round one....Jim McKenzie missed game seven of round one.  McKenzie returned April 1 the AHL's Iowa Wild, with whom he signed a professional tryout agreement January 8...Perry signed an amateur tryout agreement March 31... Ty Rimmer returned March 31 after being recalled by the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons March 25... Forward Gabriel Levesque (lower body) is on 14-day injured reserve.

 

WATCH PARTIES
The Mallards have teamed again with T.G.I. Friday's in Moline and the Lodge in Bettendorf to host watch parties tomorrow night and Sunday evening when the Mallards play games one and two of their semi-final series against the Americans.  T.G.I. Friday's is located at 1425 River Drive in Moline, adjacent to the iWireless Center.  Fans who prefer to watch the Mallards in Iowa can enjoy the playoff action in the lounge of the Lodge Hotel and Conference Center, which is located at 900 Spruce Hills Drive in Bettendorf.  T.G.I. Friday's will offer half price appetizers to Mallards fans during the watch party.  Fans who flock to the Lodge can join the watch parties for just a $3 cover charge and enjoy $1.50 drafts and hot dogs.

UPCOMING HOME GAMES
Wednesday, April 23, 7:05 p.m. - Mallards vs. Allen

CHL Semi-Finals, Game Three

The third game of the series will see the Mallards return home for the first time since game five of round one.  Tickets for game three are available for just $3.

 

Friday, April 25, 7:05 p.m. - Mallards vs. Allen

CHL Semi-Finals, Game Four

The Mallards and Americans will clash in the second of the Mallards' two guaranteed semi-final games.

 

Saturday, April 26, 7:05 p.m. - Mallards vs. Allen (if necessary)

CHL Semi-Finals, Game Five

The Mallards will host the fifth game of the semi-finals should it prove necessary.

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.  Audio webcasts of games that do not air on AM 1230 are available at myqcmallards.net.  CHL-TV pay-per-view video webcasts of all Mallards games are also available at myqcmallards.net.  For a full Mallards broadcast/webcast schedule, go to http://myqcmallards.net/schedule/broadcast_schedule/.

 

TICKETS
Single Game Tickets
Single game tickets for Mallards home playoff tilts 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.

 

-### Quad City Mallards ### -

MOLINE, Ill. (April 12, 2014) - Gergo Nagy and Justin Fox provided a goal and an assist apiece as the host Quad City Mallards defeated the Rapid City Rush 3-1 Saturday night to take a three games to two lead in the best-of-seven opening round of the Central Hockey League President's Cup playoffs and move within one win of advancing to the CHL semi-finals.

Nagy finished off a give-and-go with Fox to give the Mallards a 1-0 lead at 6:06 of the first period.  The advantage doubled at 10:26 of the first when Fox drove a power play goal home from the top of the left wing circle.

The Rush cut the gap to 2-1 at 5:28 of the third period when Kevin Harvey pounced on a loose puck in the slot only for the Mallards to move back in front by a pair when Vladimir Nikiforov buried Jeff Lee's centering pass just 39 seconds later.

The series will shift to Rapid City on Tuesday for game six.  If a seventh game is required, the Rush would host the deciding contest on Wednesday.

About the Quad City Mallards
A proud affiliate of the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild and the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild, the Quad City Mallards are in the midst of their seventeenth season their fourth in the Central Hockey League.  One of the winningest teams in all of minor league hockey, the Mallards competed in the United Hockey League from 1995 through 2007 and in the International Hockey League in 2009-10.  The Mallards' proud history has seen them capture the UHL's Colonial Cup Championship three times (1997, 1998, 2001) and secure that league's Tarry Cup four times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002) for the best overall regular season record.  In 2001, the Mallards made professional hockey history, recording their sixth consecutive season with 50 or more wins, a feat that has yet to be matched.  The iWireless Center provides a unique environment for hockey and features one-of-a-kind seating areas such as the Nest for groups and functions and the exclusive Drake Club.  For more information on the Quad City Mallards or for Mallards tickets go to www.myqcmallards.net.  Fans can also follow the Mallards via Twitter at twitter.com/myqcmallards and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quadcitymallards.

 

-### Quad City Mallards ### -