Mike Stinziani broke loose for a hat trick and an assist to lead the Quad City Mallards to a 5-2 win over the host Bloomington Blaze Thursday night. After Mike Hellyer buried a rebound to open the scoring just 1:29 into the game, the Mallard lead stretched to 2-0 when Stinziani scored his first goal off a centering pass from Mickey Lang- who also assisted on Hellyer's goal- at 8:36 of the first period. The Blaze was on the power play when Jay Barriball cut the gap in half from the doorstep at 17:35 of the first. Stinziani struck for a second time with a blast from the top of the left wing circle to again give the Mallards a two-goal lead at 1:31 of the second period. Bloomington responded when Ryan Palmer's wrist shot from the left wing circle trimmed the margin to 3-2 at 7:36 of the second. The Mallards, however, would pull away with a pair of third period goals. Stinziani completed his hat trick on a shorthanded breakaway at 5:23 of the third. At 10:10, Anthony Perdicaro capped off the win with a drive from the left wing circle. The Mallards and Blaze meet again tomorrow night in Bloomington. The Mallards next play at home next Friday evening, January 18 against the Fort Worth Brahmas. On January 18, the Mallards will wear Turn "Back to Back" the Clock jerseys that mark the fifteenth anniversary of the second of the two consecutive championships won by the Mallards in 1997 and 1998. Those jerseys will be auctioned off immediately after the Mallards wear them against the Brahmas. The auction - the first of two Genesis jersey auctions this season- will benefit the Genesis Flu Free QC program. January 18 is also the first of the Mallards' College Nights- fans will be able to purchase $1 beer and $1 hot dogs through the end of the second intermission that evening. Tickets for the January 18 tilt- as well as seats for all remaining Mallards regular season home games- can be purchased in person at the i wireless Center ticket office, at Ticketmaster outlets, through www.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. The Mallards also now offer the Partial Punch Plan. The Punch Plan provides flexibility and affordability- each Punch Plan punch card can be redeemed for ten tickets- whether those tickets are for ten different games, all for the same game or anything in between- subject to availability. Partial Punch Plans can be had for as little as $70 for youth 12 and under. For more ticket package information, fans can call the Mallards at 309-277-1364.
