MOLINE, Ill. – Logan Nelson scored twice, Jeff Lee provided what proved to be the game winning goal in the third period and Parker Milner made 29 saves as the host Quad City Mallards (14-9-5) defeated the Brampton Beast (8-15-1) 4-3 Saturday night. The victory was the Mallards third in a row and sixth in seven games.
Lee scored from the left wing circle at 8:59 of the third to expand what had been a one-goal Mallard lead to 4-2 and trigger the replacement of Brampton starting goaltender Trevor Cann by Grant Rollheiser. Lee’s goal loomed even larger after Calin Wild one timed Stephon Thorne’s centering feed past Milner and cut the gap to 4-3 with just over four minutes remaining, but the Mallards would hold off Brampton the rest of the way- even after the Beast pulled Rollheiser for an extra attacker.
Nelson twice gave the Mallards the lead in the first period. Nelson’s blast from the top of the right wing circle opened the scoring just two minutes and 12 seconds into the game. Tyler Donati cut in front of the Mallard net alone to even the score at 12:28 of the first. Nelson put the Mallards back on top with a another drive from the right wing circle at 16:40.
At 10:31 of the second period Pearce Eviston gave the Mallards a two-goal lead for the first time by swooping through the right wing circle and firing the puck home on the short side. Mathew Maione’s rising backhander trimmed the Quad City advantage to 3-2 at 15:58 of the second but the Beast never could produce an equalizer.
The Mallards host the Beast again tomorrow evening at 6:05 p.m. Sunday is Kids’ Day at the iWireless Center this season. Tickets for children 12 and under are just $5 for all Sunday home games. In addition, Great Clips tomorrow night will provide hair cuts in order to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House during the Mallards’ rematch with Brampton. Fans can head to Mo’s Madhouse below section 102 to both get a trim and donate to Ronald McDonald House.
Tickets for all remaining Mallards regular season home games- including tomorrow night’s contest- are on sale now at the iWireless Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets, 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., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period. Tickets are available for $10, $16, $20 and $28.
With Quad City Mallards team release
Photos courtesy of Rich Guill (Sean Flynn Photography)
