MOLINE, Ill. – Gabriel Levesque scored twice and picked up an assist as the host Quad City Mallards ripped off five unanswered goals on the way to a 5-1 win over the Missouri Mavericks Wednesday night. The win lifted the Mallards (26-15-8, 60 points) into fifth place while the defeat was the league-leading Mavericks’ (33-16-2, 68 points) second in as many nights.
The Mallards took control in the second period by scoring three times in just over four and a half minutes. Nick Grasso’s drive from the right wing circle started the onslaught and tied the game at one at 3:31 of the second. Just a minute and 19 seconds later Justin Fox buried Levesque’s feed from the side of the net to give the Mallards a 2-1 lead. Nicholas Rioux- who would finish the night with a goal and two assists- extended the gap to 3-1 with a power play one timer from the right wing circle at the 8:06 mark.
Levesque struck twice in the third period to put the Mavericks away. He converted a Mallard two man advantage with a blast from the high slot at 4:15 of the third and capped off the win by burying Jeff Lee’s centering pass from the doorstep at 12:17.
The Mallards started rolling only after the Eric Castonguay pounced on a rebound to give Missouri a 1-0 lead while up a man at 5:43 of the first period.
The Mallards next play at home Friday night at 7:05 p.m. against the Brampton Beast. That game is the season’s penultimate $1 Dog/$1 Beer Night presented by 97X. $1 hot dogs and $1 beers are available at iWireless Center concession stands during each of the Mallards’ 11 Friday night home games this season.
Tickets for Friday night’s game and all Mallards regular season home games can be purchased at the iWireless Center ticket office, Ticketmaster outlets, through ticketmaster.com 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.
With Quad City Mallards team release
Photos courtesy of Rich Guill (Sean Flynn Photography)