Box Score

Mallards Halt Killer Bees 3-1
 
MOLINE, Ill. (March 17, 2012) – Justin Chwedoruk provided a goal and an assist, Brandon Marino’s league-leading thirty-ninth goal proved to be the game winner and David McKee made 21 saves as the host Quad City Mallards defeated the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 3-1 Saturday night.  With the win, the Mallards improve to 35-25-2 (72 points) and remain four points behind the Missouri Mavericks in the race for the fourth and final Turner Conference playoff spot.  
 
“The effort was certainly there tonight,” said Mallards coach and general manager David Bell.  “I wouldn’t count this group out until the season is over.”
 
Chwedoruk tipped in Justin Hofstetter’s blue line blast to give the Mallards a 1-0 lead at 11:14 of the first period.  With just under a minute and a half remaining in the first, Marino doubled the Mallard advantage by swooping around Rio Grande Valley goaltender John Murray and tucking the puck into the gaping net.
 
After a scoreless second period, the Mallards gained even more breathing room when Sean Flanagan redirected Mickey Lang’s (two assists) shot home at 2:21 of the third period.
 
Aaron Lee darted through the right wing circle to wrist the lone Killer Bee goal past McKee at 15:08 of the third period. 
 
Marino (39-47-86) has now moved within one goal of becoming the first player in the CHL to reach the 40-goal plateau this season and the first Mallard to do since 2006-07.  By scoring on Saturday night, Marino also extended his point scoring streak to 11 games (10-9-19).  He trails only Evansville’s Todd Robinson (90) in the league point-scoring race.
 
Saturday night also saw the Mallards retire former Mallard great Steve Gibson’s number 55 in a pre-game ceremony.  Gibson joins Kerry Toporowski and Mark McFarlane as the third player in team history to see his number raised to the rafters of the i wireless Center.  

Gibson, a left wing, played 320 games for the Mallards over seven seasons between 1997 and 2004 and won two United Hockey League Colonial Cup titles with the team.  The Listowel, Ontario, native helped propel the Mallards to five straight seasons of 50 or more wins between 1997 and 2002.  Gibson scored 151 goals and totaled 359 points in a Quad City uniform and topped 30 goals in a season three times.