MOLINE, Ill. – The Kalamazoo Wings (15-19-4) jumped out to a 4-0 first period lead and never looked back on the way to a 7-2 win over the host Quad City Mallards (19-16-3) Sunday.
Dane Fox scored twice for the Wings while Curtis Valk, Lane Scheidl and Justin Taylor provided a goal and an assist apiece and Brett Ponich piled up three assists.
Though the loss halted the Mallards’ three game winning streak, Quad City does remain in second place in the ECHL’s Midwest Division.
Valk started the Kalamazoo onslaught from the doorstep just 17 seconds into the game. Fox buried Valk’s centering feed to double the Kalamazoo advantage at 2:26 of the first. Alex Mallet’s wraparound stretched the gap to 3-0 at 8:22. The Wings finished the period with a flourish when Scheidl jammed in a power play goal with just 1.6 seconds left. Steve Michalek was replaced in the Mallard net by Brody Hoffman after the first period.
Kevin Henderson got the Mallards on the scoreboard by sweeping home a shorthanded goal from the right wing circle at 1:33 of the second period. At 3:57 Kyle Follmer pounced on a rebound to cut the Kalamazoo lead to 4-2.
The Wings put the Mallards away with three third period goals. Justin Taylor’s shorthanded breakaway goal widened the gap to 5-2 at 3:38 of the third. The Wings were up 5-on-3 when Fox scored his second and Kalamazoo’s sixth from the high slot at 8:36. Justin Kovacs capped off the evening for the Wings by tipping the puck in at 12:15 of the final frame
The Mallards return to action on the road Friday night against the Indy Fuel. The Mallards next play at home Wednesday, February 3 at 7:05 p.m. against the Rapid City Rush.
With Quad City Mallards release
Contact the photographer: Rich.Guill@prohockeynews.com (Sean Flynn Photography)
