The Ol' Girl Heads for Quad City, The Haunted Hotel, Injury Report, Left Shooters Dominate

- The Allen Americans departed the Allen Event Center shortly after 9:00 pm last night headed for Quad City where they will play the Mallards tomorrow (Wednesday), Friday and Saturday in the best of seven semifinals. The teams are tied at one game a piece. Everyone was on the bus with the exception of Garrett Klotz who is on injured reserve for this round of the playoffs. Kale Kerbashian boarded the bus without the cast he has been wearing the last few weeks. The team will arrive in Quad City this morning and will have a full practice since they did not practice on Monday.

- I have been asked numerous times what and where is "Quad City" so here is the short answer: The cities that make up the Quad Cities are in Illinois and Iowa and they all border the Mississippi River. The four cities that have been called the Quad Cities since the early 1960s are Davenport, Iowa and the Illinois cities of Moline, Rock Island, and East Moline. Bettendorf, Iowa grew large enough in the 1970s to be included, but the name change to the Quint Cities never caught on. The hockey games are played at the iWireless Center which is in Moline but the team stays across the river at a hotel in Bettendorf that is well worn and supposedly haunted.

The Lodge Hotel

After 12 -14 hours on the road, no matter how creepy or quirky the Lodge Hotel might seem to players, it is a welcome sight. On the other side of the Mississippi River in Bettendorf, Iowa, the Lodge was built in the early 1970s but feels a century older. From the outside it appears modeled on the Disney Tower of Terror ride. Inside, the decor looks like it is from the mind of a manic German hunter, replete with mounted animal heads, carved wooden bears, huge fireplaces, dark wood paneling and countless large oil portraits; the type with eyes that follow a visitor around the room.

I have heard  some of the players, so unnerved at being watched,  cover the paintings in their rooms with bathroom towels. Broadcaster Tommy Daniels is convinced the place is haunted. I've heard one player say, “I’ve got the Mona Lisa in my room,” of some anonymous framed baroness on his wall. “She’s got one eye looking at you and one eye looking for you.” UPDATE: Heard from a Quad City fan (thanks Quacky) who shared this information, This will be the last year for visiting teams to be spooked by The Lodge! It's undergoing a renovation over the summer and will be a Doubletree by Hilton. Going to keep some of the character, but betting the modernization will get rid of the creepiness!!!

-  Here is part of what writer Bobby Metcalf reported in the Quad City Times (qctimes.com). The Mallards resume practice today after having Monday off, looking to recover from a 2-0 loss to the Americans on Easter Sunday. Quad-City was shorthanded in that loss, losing leading goal-scorer Thomas Frazee before the game to dehydration and defenseman Matt Duffy in the second period with an upper body injury. Frazee said he felt better Monday after receiving treatment during Game 2 and expects to be ready to go in Game 3. "I didn't get to see the game but I heard the boys played really well," Frazee said. "We just couldn't capitalize on our chances. Hopefully Wednesday we have a lot of fan support and it will be a good game." Duffy's availability for Game 3 is less certain after he suffered a hard check that sent him to the ice for several moments before finally skating off under his own power. He did not return in the game. "He says his shoulder is feeling fine. That's not a problem but he's still got a bit of a headache," Ruskowski said. "I think he got his bell rung. He got hit and he tried to get up but he was pretty wobbly." The Mallards still have an open roster spot they can fill with another amateur forward if they so choose, but if Frazee can return with no problems, Ruskowski said he was hesitant to make another addition unless the injury to Duffy was serious or they lost another defenseman.



- The Arizona Sundogs will host Game 3 of their semifinals against the Denver Cutthroats tonight (Tuesday) and Game 4 on Wednesday in Prescott Valley. The best of seven series is tied 1-1. Remember, this series is a 2-2-1-1-1 so after these two games in Arizona the teams return to Denver for game five.

Courtesy CHL Memes

DID YOU KNOW: About 62% (423 of 683) of NHL skaters are left shooters. The Allen Americans have 63% (12 of 19 ) left shooters and the Dallas Stars have 77% (17 of 22) left shooters.