BRAMPTON, Ontario (December 27, 2013) - Gabriel Levesque and Mike Monfredo both provided a goal and an assist and Thomas Heemskerk made 28 saves as the Quad City Mallards defeated the host Brampton Beast 5-4 Friday night.
The Mallards turned the game in their favor with three unanswered second period goals. Levesque finished off a give-and-go with Matt Boyd from point-blank range to deadlock the contest at three at 3:12 of the second period. Monfredo gave the Mallards'their first lead by knocking in Jim McKenzie's centering feed at 9:20 of the second. Mike Hellyer's tip-in stretched the Mallard lead to 5-3 and chased Brampton starting goaltender Grant Rollheiser from the game at 15:18.
Hellyer's goal would stand up as the game winner after Scott Howes scored his second of the evening from the slot to cut the Mallard lead to 5-4 at 18:22 of the third period. Heemskerk and his teammates had to hang on for the win after the Beast pulled relief goalie Kristofer Westblom in favor an extra attacker and poured on the pressure late in regulation.
The Mallards were in need of a second period rally after the Beast emerged from a wild first period with a 3-2 lead. Brampton's Matt Caruana buried Andrew Fournier's centering pass to open the scoring at 6:29 of the first. The Beast lead doubled when Howes tipped the puck home just 57 seconds later.
The Mallards responded to the early Brampton onslaught by battling back to tie the game. Levesque sent Jeff Lee down the slot alone and Lee snapped in the first Mallard goal at 8:26 of the first- exactly one minute after the second Brampton goal. At 11:55 Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel's blue line blast evened the score at two, but Josh McQuade's wrist shot from the top of the left wing circle would put the Beast back on top at the 15:53 mark.
The Mallards return to action tomorrow night in Brampton. The Mallards next play at home Friday January 3 at 7:05 p.m. against the Chill. January 3 is another $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 the January 3 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.
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 and 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 i wireless 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.com. Fans can also follow the Mallards via Twitter at twitter.com/myqcmallards
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