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/
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
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.
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