MOLINE, Ill. (October 29, 2014) - Quad City Mallards defenseman Nicholas Rioux has been signed to a professional tryout agreement by the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild, the Mallards announced today.
Rioux, 28, returns to the AHL after playing six games for the Wild last season. The 6' 1", 205-pound Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, native skated in each of the Mallards' first three games this year, helping the club start its first ECHL season 2-1-0-0. Rioux finished eighth among Central Hockey League defensemen in assists (27) last year while also scoring five times to total 32 points in 58 games with the Mallards. He posted a plus/minus rating of +16.
Rioux joined the Mallards after scoring seven goals and registering 27 points with a plus/minus of +3 for the CHL's Bloomington Blaze in 2012-13. The durable Rioux played in each of the Blaze's 66 regular season games and missed just a single game over his first two professional campaigns.
Rioux first played under Ruskowski as a rookie with the CHL's Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in 2011-12. Rioux scored five times, produced 21 points and turned in a plus/minus of +5 in his first professional season.
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 next play at home Friday evening - Halloween night- at 7:05 against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Kids 12 and under wearing Halloween costumes to next Friday's tilt will receive free tickets to that game. Next Friday is also another $1 Dog/$1 Beer Night presented by 97X and MetroLINK. $1 hot dogs and beer are available at iWireless Center concession stands during all Mallards Friday night home games.
Single game tickets for all remaining Mallards regular season home games- including Friday's- are on sale now at the iWireless Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.comand 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.
About the Quad City MallardsA 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 eighteenth season and their first in the ECHL. One of the winningest teams in all of minor league hockey, the Mallards competed in the United Hockey League from 1995 through 2007; in the International Hockey League in 2009-10; and in the Central Hockey League from 2010 through 2014. 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 iWireless 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.net. Fans can also follow the Mallards via Twitter at twitter.com/myqcmallards
