The Quad City Mallards, proud International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, today announced that the club has teamed up with the Quad-City Times to launch the Mallards Junior Reporter program, which will give young fans the chance to get an up-close look at the Mallards and write about the team for the club’s web site.
 
“The Mallards Junior Reporter program enables us to provide area students with a unique Mallards experience and the chance to see how the team operates behind the scenes,” said Mallards Executive Vice President and General Manager Shawn Hackman.  “The program also gives students who may be interested in eventually pursuing a career in sports and/or journalism firsthand exposure to both of those areas.”
 
Elementary, junior high and high school students can enter for the chance to be a part of the Junior Reporter program and win two free tickets to a Mallards home game at the i wireless Center and the opportunity to have their story about that game posted on www.myqcmallards.com.  Junior reporters will also, when possible, be interviewed on the Mallards’ radio broadcast of the game they attend and will have the chance to meet Mallards radio broadcaster Brian Lavelle and the Quad-City Times reporter covering the game.
 
Julie Bechtel, publisher of the Quad-City Times, said, “We are thrilled to participate in this great program promoting journalism to the young people in the area.  The Quad-City Times continues to be a strong advocate of education with our Newspapers  in Education program, which brings the Quad-City Times to the classrooms of area schools.  The Junior Reporter Program will allow for some of these students to have first-hand experience and will help foster interest for our future reporters!”
 
The Quad-City Times will provide all junior reporters with reporter’s notebooks like the ones the
professionals use and other official Times supplies and will feature junior reporters in the “Quadsville” online community at www.quadsville.com.  At the end of the season all junior reporters and their parents will be welcomed to a pizza reception at the Quad-City Times which will include the chance to meet and speak with Times reporters and photographers and tour the Times’ offices.

To enter for a chance to become a Mallards Junior Reporter, students can email the Mallards at blavelle@myqcmallards.com and explain in 300 words or less why they would like to be a Mallards junior reporter.  Submissions should also include the student’s name, date of birth, home telephone number, email address, school, mailing address, the name of the student’s favorite Mallards and the name of the adult who would accompany the student to the Mallards game.  Full rules and requirements can be found at http://myqcmallards.com/commuity/juniorreporter/. 
 
Single-game tickets for the Mallards’ inaugural IHL regular season, beginning with “Faceoff Rocks” on October 24 featuring not only the Mallards’ home opener against Fort Wayne but also hard rock legends Night Ranger live in concert outside the i wireless Center, are now on sale.  “Faceoff Rocks” is also the start of Opening Week for the Mallards in the Quad Cities.  The Flock will play at the i wireless Center twice in seven days- “Faceoff Rocks” will be followed on Friday, October 30, by a home battle with Flint, an evening that will also feature the World’s Largest Indoor Trick-or-Treat and, for the first 1,000 fans through the doors, the Genesis Official Game Puck Giveaway.

Mallards tickets are available at the i wireless Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000.  The box office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. through the end of the second period. 

The Flock will open the regular season this Saturday evening on the road against the Flint Generals.  Fans can listen to all the action of “Mallards Hockey Presented by Genesis Health System” Saturday night and throughout the season on 93.9 WYEC-FM and on www.myqcmallards.com.  The Mallards pre-game show starts at 6:00 p.m. Saturday; opening faceoff is slated for 6:30 p.m.

On October 24, “Faceoff Rocks” will kick off a 38-game home schedule loaded with special events, unique promotions and giveaways.  The Mallards and the i wireless Center have alsoteamed up to offer fans new Dollar Value Menus and free parking for home games all season long.

“Faceoff Rocks” festivities begin at 4:00 p.m. on October 24; admission to all events -- including the Night Ranger concert -- is free with a ticket to the Mallards’ game.  The first 2,500 fans to arrive for “Faceoff Rocks” will receive a free Mallards opening night t-shirt.  The Mallards will also give away free team magnet schedules and Mallards Thunderstixx.  Fans taking in the Night Ranger concert will also have the chance to enjoy an outdoor beer garden and giant screen plasma television outside the i wireless Center.  The fun will not stop there. “Faceoff Rocks” will also feature a Hockey Hall of Fame Fan Fest including the Hall’s largest collection of Legends of Hockey travelling exhibits and memorabilia and interactive games. 
 
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