Rioux, 27, has scored two goals and totaled 12 points while posting a plus/minus rating of +11 in 28 games with the Mallards this season. The 6' 1", 205-pound Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec native Sunday night notched an assist and was a +2 as the Mallards secured their sixth win in seven games by defeating the host St. Charles Chill 5-0. Rioux returns to Des Moines after taking part in Iowa's preseason training camp. He joins goaltenders Thomas Heemskerk and Ty Rimmer as the third Mallard to be called up to the AHL this season.
Rioux joined the Mallards after spending last year with the Central Hockey League's Bloomington Blaze, for whom he scored seven goals and totaled 27 points while turning in a plus/minus rating of +3. The durable blue liner played in each of the Blaze's 66 regular season games and has missed just a single game over his first three professional campaigns.
This season is Rioux's second under Mallards coach and general manager Terry Ruskowski. Rioux first skated for Ruskowski as a rookie with the CHL's Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in 2011-12. Rioux scored five times, produced 21 points and posted a plus/minus rating of +5 in 65 games with the Killer Bees.
Rioux turned pro after a three-year college career at St. Cloud State during which he totaled three goals and four assists in 26 games. Rioux played two seasons of junior hockey in the British Columbia League- with the Quesnel Millionaires and Prince George Spruce Kings- before heading to St. Cloud.
The Mallards return to action on home ice Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. against the Brampton Beast. That game is the Mallards' first Winning Wednesday presented by T.G.I. Friday's. If the Mallards win a Wednesday night home game all in attendance win free tickets for the next Wednesday game. In addition, $2 beer and hot dogs will be available during Wednesday night tilts. After each Wednesday night game, fans can join the Mallards for a postgame party at T.G.I. Friday's next to the iWireless Center.
Tickets for Wednesday 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.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 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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