Mallards Take Down Mavericks, 5-2

The Missouri Mavericks were defeated by the Quad City Mallards, 5-2, Saturday night in front of the ninth consecutive sellout at Independence Events Center. The Mallards scored the final four goals of the game for their first regulation win over the Mavericks in their last six games. Anthony Perdicaro and Michael Monfredo each had a goal and an assist, and Mickey Lang had two helpers for the Mallards (19-18-5).  Missouri (21-16-5) lost their second straight game in regulation and their fourth game in their last five outings. The teams will battle again on Tuesday night in Quad City.

Quad City took a 1-0 lead at the 11:24 mark of the first period when Obi Aduba tipped a shot past Mavericks’ goaltender Mike Clemente. The power play goal was also assisted by Shane Toporowski.  Missouri bounced back and scored the next two goals just 1:27 apart. First, Ryan Jardine scored in a scrum in front of the net, and then Andrew Courtney’s shot was redirected by Kenton Miller and into the back of the net. Missouri took the 2-1 lead into the first intermission and had a 14-7 edge in shots.

Mallards’ defenseman Derek Matheson scored the lone goal of the second period at the 5:09 mark on assists from Anthony Perdicaro and Jason Kostadine. Missouri again outshot the Mallards 11-9 in the period, but the teams were tied, 2-2, after 40 minutes of play.

Quad City scored three more unanswered goals in the third period. Perdicaro banged home a rebound on a Mickey Lang breakaway to take a 3-2 lead at the 7:46 mark. Mike Hellyer made it 4-2 when his wrist shot from the left circle beat Clemente. Finally, Michael Monfredo scored in the final minute into an empty net to finalize the scoring at 5-2.

Missouri heads on the road for a pair of games in Quad City on Tuesday and Allen on Friday, February 8.  The Mavs are back home on Saturday, February 9.