INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (December 22, 2014) - Justin Fox, Joe Perry- who also scored in the third period- and Jeff Lee- who provided the deciding goal- scored in the shootout as Quad City Mallards (13-9-5) outlasted the host Missouri Mavericks (12-12-1) to claim a 4-3 shootout win Monday night.
With their second victory in a row and fifth in six games the Mallards took over sole possession of second place in the ECHL's Central Division.
The Mallards had to battle back from 1-0 and 2-1 shootout deficits after Josh Brittain and David Rutherford converted in the first two rounds for the Mavericks. Fox and then Perry deadlocked the shootout, setting the stage for Lee to give the Mallards the lead in round six and for Quad City goaltender Evan Mosher (30 saves) to clinch the win by denying Andrew Courtney, the sixth Missouri shooter.
The shootout provided an appropriately dramatic conclusion to a roller coaster evening. After Perry broke a 2-2 tie by snapping the puck past Maverick goalie Maxime Lagace from the slot at 10:16 of the third period it briefly seemed the Mallards might be on course for a regulation win. However, just 43 seconds later Courtney scored the goal that would force overtime and- in the end- the shootout with a deflection from the doorstep.
The Mallards had first moved in front in the second period. Quad City battled back from a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead with goals 40 seconds apart from Logan Nelson and Todd Fiddler in the middle frame. The Mallards were on the power play when Nelson tied the game from the slot at 4:45 of the second. At 5:25 Fiddler's wrist shot from the left wing circle put the Mallards on top. The Mavericks rebounded when Brittain jammed in a power play equalizer at 8:44.
The Mavericks' Evan Vossen tipped in the opener at 4:20 of the first period but that goal proved to be just the start of the fireworks.
Monday night also saw Mallard captain Darren McMillan play his three hundredth game for the club.
The Mallards next play at home Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. again against the Brampton Beast.
Tickets for all remaining Mallards regular season home games- including Saturday 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.
