(Photo Credit: Quad City Mallards)
Chill defenseman Steve Makway blasted in his second goal of the game and sixth of the season with under three minutes left in regulation to bring St. Charles within one goal but Quad City withstood a late flurry to hang on to a 4-3 win Friday night.
The Mallards (6-3-4) outshot the Chill 20-10 in the first period but goalie Linus Lundin was at the top of his game, turning aside multiple chances before Mike Stinziani blew one in the back door for a 1-0 lead with under five minutes left in the period. St. Charles (3-10-3) would respond quickly when Kyle O’Kane took a backhanded feed from Phil Bushbacher and snapped it in the short side for a 1-1 game.
Midway through the second Makway and Steven Anthony skated in two-on-one after a nifty pass from Jordan Fox. Anthony ripped the shot and the rebound popped off the pads and back to Makway who buried it for a 2-1 St. Charles lead at the 13:25mark. That lead would stand until the middle of the third as the Chill penalty kill shut down Quad City four times in the game.
At the 10:21 mark of the third period the tide shifted. The Mallards tied the score at two on a goal from Jim McKenzie and the stage was set for an outstanding finish. Jeff Lee got the lead back for Quad City with under four minutes left and Thomas Frazee made it a two-goal game 18 seconds later but St. Charles continued to battle. Makway whipped in his second just 12 second later to close the score to 4-3 and the Chill pulled Lundin for the extra attacker but could not punch it in with a final push.
The Chill is back on the ice Saturday at 7:05 against the Brampton Beast for what is expected to be the largest crowd in franchise history as St. Charles gets set to Pink the Rink to raise money for the fight against cancer. There will be a postgame jersey auction and concert from Brookroyal, Southwest Airlines will be giving away two tickets and Ameristar has an overnight package to giveaway as well. Rally towels will be giving to the first 1,000 fans in the doors and the Rams’ cheerleaders will be selling swimsuit calendars with all the money going to Gateway to Hope. The American Lung Association will be raising money with Chuck-A-Puck, which has climbed to $1400 as the Chill look for their first winner in the promotion.
Single-game tickets start as low as $5 and are available through MetroTix and at The Family Arena box office. For group ticket packages, sponsorships, and more information on the St. Charles Chill visit StCharlesChill.com or call (636) 724-SHOT (7468).
