Billy Christopoulos named Goaltender of the Week

The Fuel’s Billy Christopolous was named the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goalie of the Week for the week of Jan. 18–24. He went 2–1–0 with 1.65 goals against average and a .950 save percentage.

It is the second such honor for Christopolous; his first came as a member of the Toledo Walleye last season. Prior to his professional career, he appeared in 93 games for the Air Force Falcons, where he went 42–35–11 with a 2.29 goals against average and a save percentage of .913. He had eight career college shutouts.

Fuel goalie Taran Kozun traded to Rapid City

The Fuel traded goaltender Taran Kozun to Rapid City for future considerations. Kozun signed with the Fuel on Jan. 20 and appeared in one start against the Tulsa Oilers. He stopped 42 of 43 shots in the victory.

Kozun has appeared in 11 career ECHL games between Kansas City, Manchester, Utah and Indy. Through his 11 games, he has a career save percentage of .897 and a goal against average of 3.06.

Patrick McGrath signs a PTO with AHL Rochester Americans

The Fuel’s Patrick McGarth signed a professional tryout with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. McGarth signed with Fuel this offseason and appeared in seven games. For his career, McGarth has appeared in 162 ECHL games, tallying seven goals and eight assists. McGrath has also appeared in 95 AHL games between Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and the Iowa Wild. He has three goals and four assists in the AHL.

Indy signs forward Dylan Malmquist

The Fuel inked forward Dylan Malmquist to a standard player contract. Malmquist comes to the Fuel after starting this season with the Kansas City Mavericks. Prior to coming to the ECHL, Malmquist spent the 2019–20 season in the Elite Hockey League (EIHL) with the Nottingham Panthers. He tallied eight goals and 19 assists in 45 games.

Before turning pro, Malmquist skated in 150 NCAA games for the University of Norte Dame. He helped the Irish to back-to-back Big Ten Championships in 2017 and 2018.

Saturday, Jan. 30 — Fuel 5, Wheeling Nailers 4

The Indy Fuel took on a familiar opponent in their first game of a home-and-home series.

The Fuel’s Nic Pierog got the scoring started with a wrist shot past Wheeling goaltender Brandon Halverson. Less than a minute later, Pierog picked up his second goal of the game on a Fuel power play. To cap off the first period in style, Peter Krieger tripled the Indy lead by backhanding a puck past Halverson.

In the second period, Wheeling started to chip away at the Fuel lead. Kreiger committed the third Fuel penalty of the game. Nailers center Austin Fyten wristed a shot past Christopoulos to get Wheeling on the board. Fyten was fed by Matt Alfaro on the power play. The Fuel responded with a power play goal of their own, as Joe Sullivan buried a pass from David Broll to extend the Fuel lead back to three at 4–1.

With the Fuel still leading by three goals, the Nailers got an even-strength goal to cut the lead in half. Wheeling’s Aaron Thow fired a puck from the blue line that deflected off a Fuel player for the goal.  With the lead down to 4–2, the Fuel responded with a goal of their own, with center Michael McNicholas one-timing a Sullivan pass for the Fuel’s fifth goal of the game.

Onto the third period, Wheeling attempted a comeback. Fyten led the charge with his second goal of the game. A little more than a minute later, Wheeling cut the lead to one goal at 5–4 with a goal from Joshua Winquist. The Nailers’ barrage continued for the duration of the third, but Christopolus and the Fuel stood tall and emerged victoriously.

Sunday, Jan. 31 — Fuel 5, Wheeling Nailers 4

In the second game of the home-and-home, the Fuel struck first. Spencer Watson led the rush and started a tic-tac-toe passing play with a pass to Jared Thomas, who tapped the puck to Cedric Lacroix for the tap-in goal. With the Fuel leading 1–0, Wheeling defenseman Matt Miller went coast to coast and drew iron with a quality chance. The first period ended with the Fuel leading by one goal.

In the second period, Nailers center Cody Sylvester blasted a shot past Fuel goalie Dan Bakala for the equalizer. The lead changed hands when Watson stickhandled himself into some daylight. Waston then backhanded a shot for the goal. Watson continued on his scoring tear on the power play. Fuel defenseman Keoni Texeira found Watson in the right circle and blasted it past Halverson for the 3–1 lead.

With the lead, the Fuel should have been on easy street; instead their two-goal lead collapsed. Wheeling earned a power play three minutes into the period. On the power play, Sylvester blasted a shot from the blue line. The shot was fended off by Bakala, but the rebound was stuffed home by Wheeling’s Hayden Hodgson.

Wheeling tied the game on an even-strength goal from Winquist. With three periods in the books, Wheeling and the Fuel headed into overtime. In overtime, the Fuel felt the wrath of Sylvester, as he notched the game-winning tally. It was Sylvester’s second goal of the game and third point on the night.

Splitting the series with Wheeling pushed the Fuel’s record to a league-leading 12–2–1. Please stay tuned to The Rink for all your Fuel and ECHL news.

The post Fuel Tank: Indy splits home-and-home with Wheeling Nailers appeared first on The Rink.

The Nailers currently have multiple players with confirmed cases of COVID-19 on their active roster. The ECHL has postponed the games to ensure the health and safety of all its players, staff and fans. The Fuel have rescheduled the series against Wheeling for April 2 and 3. The promotional nights that were scheduled will also be rescheduled for those dates.

Currently, the ECHL schedule goes through Feb. 11. On Feb. 12, teams can join the ECHL for the remaining 50 games of the season, which will end in June.

Please stay tuned to The Rink for all your Fuel and ECHL news.

The post Indy Fuel postpones weekend series against Wheeling Nailers appeared first on The Rink.

Friday, Dec. 18 — Fuel 4, Kansas City Mavericks 3

The Fuel needed a third-period comeback to stay undefeated.

In the first period, after trading high-danger chances, Indy defenseman Keoni Texeira blasted a shot at Mavericks goalie Taran Kozun. Kozun gave up a juicy rebound that Indy right wing Matthew Marcinew, who banged home the putback for the goal. The Fuel would retain a one-goal lead for the remainder of the period.

In the second period, the Mavericks got back into the game. Kansas City forward Ross Olsson snuck a long wrist shot past Fuel goalie Dan Bakala to level the score. This was the second goal for the veteran this year.

Later in the second period, Texeria struck again with a wrist shot goal. However, the Fuel lead was short lived. Nine seconds later, second-year Mavericks forward Bryan Lemos wired a shot past Bakala to tie the game at 2–2. After Indy defenseman Willie Raskob committed a hooking penalty, KC forward Rob Bordson diverted a shot into the Fuel net for a 3–2 Mavericks lead.

In the third period, the Fuel tried to hand the game to Mavericks, giving them seven minutes of power play time. Despite being shorthanded for most of the period, Indy would tie the game up on a nifty passing play. Marcinew saucered a cross-ice pass to forward Alex Rauter, who buried a wrist shot past Kozun.

Once again, the Fuel and Mavericks would proceed into overtime. With only one shot each in overtime, Indy forward Nic Pierog capitalized on their lone chance, beating Kozun with a wrister to give the Fuel the victory.

Marcinew named ECHL Player of the Week from Dec. 14–20

Macinew was named Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week. He recorded one goal and three assists against the Mavericks on Dec. 18. The veteran forward is tied for fourth in the ECHL with four points in three games.

In his career, Macinew has amassed 97 points in 130 games with Indy, Greenville and Manchester. He has also appeared in 41 AHL games, recording 14 points between Ontario, Springfield and Stockton.

Saturday, Dec. 26 — Fuel 2, Wheeling 1

The Fuel played their first game in a home-and-home series against the Wheeling Nailers. At Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indy would be donning Double Dare-themed jerseys for their Nickelodeon Night promotion.

Despite riding high on slime, the Fuel could not break through the Nailers defense. The first period would finish knotted at 0–0. In the second period, Indy finally got on the scoreboard with a goal from defenseman D.J. Busdeker. It was Busdeker’s first professional goal. He joined the Fuel after being reassigned from Rockford earlier this year. Immediately following the Fuel goal, Wheeling answered with a wrist shot goal from center Matthew Alfaro.

After swapping chances for 20 minutes in the third period, the Fuel and Wheeling went into overtime. It was the third time in four games that Fuel would need overtime to secure a victory. In overtime, after trading power play chances, the Fuel’s Tim Shoup sprung a streaking Peter Krieger on a breakaway. Kreiger’s first shot was denied, but his rebound struck gold. The Krieger goal secured the 2–1 win for the Fuel.

Sunday, Dec. 27 — Fuel 4, Wheeling 3

On Sunday, the Fuel finished their home-and-home with a victory over Wheeling. In the first period at WesBanco Arena, the Nailers jump on the scoresheet first. Nailers center Felix Robert blasted a one-timer past Fuel goalie Tom Aubrun. Less than four minutes later, Krieger, who scored the game-winner the night prior, whistled a power play goal past Wheeling goalie Brandon Halverson. After the power play, Marcinew took advantage of a poor Nailers line change and buried the puck for the Fuel’s second goal and a 2–1 Indy advantage.

In the second period, Nailers rookie Tyler Drevitch upper-decked a backhanded shot for the tying goal. The Fuel jumped back out to the lead again when Pierog swiped an errant puck in the Nailers zone and cashed it in for a shorthanded goal. Krieger would continue his scoring barrage with his second power play goal of the night. Kriger has three goals and two assists this season.

In the third period, Wheeling’s Matt Alfaro scored a backhanded goal to breathe life into the Nailer bench. Sadly for Wheeling, they could not complete the comeback, as the Fuel held on for the victory.

In addition to securing the victory for the Fuel, Indy also secured the first professional win for Aubrun. Aubrun had joined the Rockford IceHogs on an AHL contract this season and was reassigned to the Fuel prior to the beginning of the ECHL season.

The former Division III NCAA goalie figures to get a few more starts with Indy before the AHL season begins on Feb. 5.

The Fuel will end 2020 with another game against the Wheeling Nailers on Dec. 31. Stay Tuned to The Rink for all your Fuel and ECHL news!

The post The Fuel Tank: Indy keeps blazing a trail at 5–0–0 appeared first on The Rink.

3:05 PM Eastern

WesBanco Arena

Watch Live: ECHL.TV

Team Statistics:

Power Play

Indy (16.0%, 18th)

Wheeling (20.4%, 4th)

Penalty Kill

Indy (85.5%, 6^th)

Wheeling (83.7%, 14^th)

Shots For/Against Per Game

Indy (28.05, 26^th – 32.46, 17^th)

Wheeling (32.22, 11^th – 28.44, 5^th)

Shooting%

Indy (11.6%, 5^th)

Wheeling (10.9%, 6^th)

Avg. Height/Weight

Indy – 6’1”, 195 lbs

Wheeling – 6’1”, 194 lbs

Analysis:

This is the second game of a back-to-back at WesBanco Arena between the Indy Fuel and the Wheeling Nailers. The Fuel fell to Wheeling last night 3-2 in a tightly contested battle. Brett Welychka and Logan Nelson scored for Indy, but both were followed up no more than 30 seconds later by Nailers goals.

The Fuel and Nailers are even at three wins a piece for the season series. Defenseman Alex Brooks is the leading point scorer for the Fuel against Wheeling with seven points in six games.

Players To Watch

Indy: Brett Welychka

Welychka looks to stay on fire, as he has collected four goals and an assist in his last five games. In four games against the Nailers this season, he has netted two goals.

Wheeling: Zac Lynch

Lynch added a goal to the scoresheet for the Nailers last night for his ninth point (1G, 8A) in six games. The 26-year-old is Wheeling’s leading point getter against Indy with seven points in six games.

The post PREVIEW: Indy Fuel vs. Wheeling Nailers appeared first on The Rink.

To protect this winning record against Wheeling, Jason Pawloski backstopped the Fuel in net. Pawloski entered the game with an 0-3-0 record along with a 5.57 goals-against-average and an .806 save percentage.

At the home team’s end, Matt O’Connor was in the starter’s crease. O’Connor entered with a 7-4-1 record alongside a 2.93 goals-against-average and a .903 save percentage.

FUEL STARTING LINEUP

Kevin Dufour-Mathew Thompson-Brett Welychka

Alex Brooks-Robert Powers

Jason Pawloski

The Fuel and Nailers ended a bland first period scoreless. That was the second night in a row the Fuel finished a first period with no score.

Brett Welychka tipped in a point shot from Robert Powers just 17 seconds into the second period for his eighth of the season. With the goal, Welychka now has points in his last five games.

Just 30 seconds later, Zac Lynch buried his tenth of the season on an international goal with assists by Renars Krastenbergs and Yushiroh Hirano.

With two minutes remaining in the middle frame, in his first professional game, Alec Butcher tallied his first pro goal to give the Nailers their first lead of the game at 2-1.

Logan Nelson tied the game up at 2 for the Fuel 6:39 into the third period with his sixth of the season.

Again, 22 seconds later, Craig Skudalski answered for Wheeling with just his second of the year. That turned out to be the game winner, as the Nailers hung on for a 3-2 victory.

By The Numbers

5 – Number of points for Welychka in as many games

16 – Number of shots the Fuel allowed in the second period

30 – Longest amount of time that the Fuel had the lead (in seconds)

The post RECAP: Fuel Unable to Maintain Lead, Fall in Wheeling 3-2 appeared first on The Rink.

7:05 PM Eastern

WesBanco Arena

Watch Live: ECHL.TV

Team Statistics:

Power Play

Indy (16.5%, 14th)

Wheeling (20.9%, 4th)

Penalty Kill

Indy (85.2%, 7^th)

Wheeling (83.2%, 15^th)

Shots For/Against Per Game

Indy (28.19, 26^th – 32.58, 17^th)

Wheeling (32.34, 10^th – 28.60 – 5^th)

Shooting%

Indy (11.6%, 4^th)

Wheeling (10.9%, 7^th)

Avg. Height/Weight

Indy – 6’1”, 195 lbs

Wheeling – 6’1”, 194 lbs    `

Analysis:

The Indy Fuel are traveling to Wheeling following a 3-2 overtime loss in a bloodbath match against the Fort Wayne Komets.

Zach Miskovic was sucker punched multiple times by Komets forward Justin Hodgman and had to be taken off for eight stitches to his forehead. Radovan Bondra was also sucker punched at the bottom of a doggy pile by Komets forward Taylor Crunk.

Crunk was suspended four games and fined, along with Hodgman, who was also fined an undisclosed amount.

The Wheeling Nailers are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Utah Grizzlies at WesBanco Arena the night prior. Don’t sleep on this team though. In their last divisional game against the powerhouse Toledo Walleye, the Nailers beat the Walleye at Huntington Center in Toledo 8-2.

The Fuel are 3-2 this season against the Nailers. In Indy’s last game against Wheeling on Jan. 4, they defeated the Nailers 3-2 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Fuel defenseman Alex Brooks recorded a goal and an assist, while Ryan Rupert tallied two assists.

Wheeling’s leading point scorer against the Fuel, Nick Saracino, is still in the AHL with the Binghamton Devils. Saracino has recorded three goals and four assists in three games against Indy this season.

Players To Watch

Indy: Alex Brooks

The defenseman is Indy’s leading point scorer against the Nailers this year, with three goals and three assists in five games this season against Wheeling. Brooks was paired with Robert Powers last night against the Komets, amidst a depleted Indy defensive corp.

Wheeling: Renars Krastenbergs

This rookie has had a great season, thus far. Krastenbergs has five points in four games against Indy, and 21 points in 28 games overall, this season. We’ll see if Brooks and the Indy defense can stop this Wheeling offense.

The post PREVIEW: Indy Fuel vs. Wheeling Nailers appeared first on The Rink.

Team Statistics:

Power Play
Indy (15.2%, T-19th)
Wheeling (22.2%, 3rd)

Penalty Kill
Indy (83.3%, 17^th)
Wheeling (83.6%, T-13^th)

Shots For/Against Per Game
Indy (27.91, 26^th)
Wheeling (32.94, 6^th)

Shooting%
Indy (12.0%, 3^rd)
Wheeling (10.7%, 8^th)

Avg. Height/Weight
Indy – 6’1”, 195 lbs
Wheeling – 6’1”, 195 lbs

Analysis:

The Fuel are coming off a 4-1 loss at the hands of their in-state rivals, the Fort Wayne Komets.

Matt Rupert and Miles Liberati both left the game with injuries. Both players had a bad limp after the game. It remains to be seen if there will be any roster moves made by head coach Bernie John ahead of tonight’s game.

The Nailers fell to the Toledo Walleye last night 6-2. Renars Krastenbergs and Troy Josephs got the lone goals for Wheeling.

The Fuel have split the season series with the Nailers so far, going 2-2 against the Wheeling club. The Fuel took the previous game against Wheeling, winning 5-2 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Dec. 27.

Wheeling’s top three point scorers (Nick Saracino, Cam Brown, and Kevin Spinozzi) are currently employed by AHL clubs.

Players To Watch

Indy: Josh Shalla

Shalla is Indy’s leading scorer against Wheeling this year and the team’s leading point-getter. Five of Shalla’s 29 points this season have come against the Nailers. The 27-year-old has only played in three of the Fuel’s four games against Wheeling this year.

Wheeling: Renars Krastenbergs

Krastenbergs is on a four-game point streak, tallying five points (1G, 4A) in that span. The 20-year-old rookie has a goal and three assists in three games against Indy so far this season.

The post PREVIEW: Indy Fuel vs. Wheeling Nailers appeared first on The Rink.

At the other end for the Nailers, Matt O’Connor got the start. The 26-year-old netminder boasted a 7-2-1 record and a 2.48 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage.

FUEL STARTING LINEUP

Josh Shalla – Quentin Shore – Brett Welychka

Alex Brooks – Neil Manning

Matt Tomkins

Olivier Labelle got the goal-scoring started early, as he put home a bouncing puck 51 seconds in to give the Fuel an early 1-0 lead. That was Labelle’s 11^th of the season and the assists went to Shalla and Neil Manning.

And just like that Olivier Labelle makes it 1-0 Fuel on a bouncing puck in front. 51 seconds in.

— Evan Miller (@evanfmiller) December 28, 2018

Just over halfway through the opening frame, the Nailers tied it up at one. Josh Couturier buried his first professional goal on a cross-crease one-timer from Zac Lynch.

Defenseman Alex Brooks re-took the one-goal lead for the Fuel just over two minutes later, as he made his way down the wing to tally his second goal of the season. Manning recorded his second assist of the first period on the goal.

Alex Brooks re-takes the Fuel lead. 2-1.

— Evan Miller (@evanfmiller) December 28, 2018

Kevin Dufour continued to stay hot as he dangled his way past the Wheeling defense and stuck with the play by burying his own rebound while falling. Dufour’s team-leading 15^th goal of the season gave the Fuel a 3-1 lead.

3-1 Fuel. What. A. Goal. Kevin Dufour is filthy ladies and gentlemen.

— Evan Miller (@evanfmiller) December 28, 2018

The second period came and went as it began, as the Fuel were able to hang on to a 3-1 lead. A quick skirmish between Labelle and Mark Petaccio was the most action see in the middle frame.

The final frame started with yet another beautiful goal from Dufour to make it 4-1 Indy. Dufour’s 16^th of the year came on a goal where he blew around the Nailers’ defenseman and tucked it past O’Connor.

And another two-goal game for Kevin Dufour. Wow. Speed. 4-1 Fuel.

— Evan Miller (@evanfmiller) December 28, 2018

Yushiroh Hirano tipped in a Renars Krastenbergs shot from the left circle on the power play to cut the Fuel lead in half 13:33 into the third period.

An empty netter sealed the deal for the Fuel as Ryan Rupert shot home his sixth of the season to lead the Fuel to a 5-2 victory over the hottest team in the ECHL.

Ryan Rupert puts in an empty netter. 5-2 Fuel with 16.9 remaining.

— Evan Miller (@evanfmiller) December 28, 2018

Quotebook

Brooks on playing with five defensemen: “Going into it, we just tried stay simple, keep people in front of us, get pucks going north and just really not try to get running around too much. We simplified our game and I think it showed with a nice 5-2 win there.”

John on the consistency of the Labelle-Thompson-Dufour line: “It’s good. They’re playing at a high level right now. Dufour’s feeling it. He’s feeling confident. I think Thompson’s taken a big step here. He’s been playing the right way. Then, you’ve got a grinder like Labelle.  I think what we’ve done here, you look at our lines, we’ve got three lines that can contribute. We’ve got, I think, a guy on each line that has double-digit goals, if not more and they’re all doing the same thing. So, if we can keep that and that’s what we want to have, that balance because you want to be able to put one line out there and they can shut it down. We know if [the other team] puts their top line out there against the Dufour line, we’ll be all right with the other lines we’ve got. They can compete and score goals for us, so we’ve got to keep doing that.”

By The Numbers

3 – Number of consecutive multi-goal games for Dufour

16 – Number of goals for Dufour this year (T-5^th in the ECHL)

4 – Consecutive 5-goal outings for the Fuel

The post RECAP: Dufour continues multi-goal streak, Fuel defeat red-hot Nailers 5-2 appeared first on The Rink.

Team Statistics:

Power Play
Indy (15.1%, 21st)
Wheeling (20.7%, 3^rd)

Penalty Kill
Indy (83.1%, 20^th)
Wheeling (85.7%, 8^th)

Shots For/Against Per Game
Indy (28.0, 26^th – 32.7, 17^th)
Wheeling (32.8, 8th – 28.5, 4^th)

Shooting%
Indy (11.6%, T-3rd)
Wheeling (10.9%, T-8^th)

Avg. Height/Weight
Indy – 6’1”, 194 lbs
Wheeling – 6’1”, 195 lbs

Analysis:

The Indy Fuel are looking to keep rolling following a 5-4 victory in Kalamazoo against their division rivals, the Kalamazoo Wings.

In that game, captain Zach Miskovic was taken off on a stretcher following a hit from behind that was delivered by Wings forward Zach Saar. Saar was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount by the ECHL.

Miskovic was released from the hospital and rejoined his teammates at Wings Event Center after the game. The veteran defenseman thanked the trainers and medical staff on Twitter for their help that night.

Thank you to all the medical staff and hospital staff that took care of me this evening. https://t.co/ZNh80j2vdH

— Zach Miskovic (@ZachMiskovic) December 23, 2018

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The Fuel are 1-2 this season against the Wheeling club. In their first game in Wheeling, the Fuel spoiled their home opener with a five-goal second period which carried them to a 5-3 victory.

The last two meetings in West Virginia went in Wheeling’s favor as they defeated the Fuel by a four-goal margin both times.

The Wheeling Nailers continue to be one of the hottest teams in the ECHL. They are coming in to Indiana Farmers Coliseum riding an eight-game point streak and winning eight of their last nine. They are also on a three-game road winning streak which is going to make this an even bigger challenge for the Fuel.

If there is a silver lining in all this, it would be that Nailers forward Nick Saracino just got sent up to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. Saracino is second in the league in points (37) and was just named ECHL Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks.

Players To Watch

Indy: Labelle-Thompson-Dufour line

There is more than one player that is feeling it right now for the Fuel. This whole line has been on fire and is responsible for Indy’s five-goal outings in their last two games.

The line was first put together two games ago when they faced the Toledo Walleye on Dec. 21. Forward Mathew Thompson had just returned from injury and replaced newly acquired forward Avery Peterson as center on the line.

The line has combined for 12 points in the last two games.

Forward Kevin Dufour has scored two goals in each of the last two games and has seven points (5G, 2A) in his past four games.

Thirty-three-year-old Olivier Labelle has showed no signs of slowing down this year. He has six points (2G, 4A) in four games.

To cap it off, Thompson had a four-point outing (2G, 2A) when the line was first formed by head coach Bernie John in their game against the Walleye.

Wheeling: Cam Brown

It’s hard to tell if Brown’s success has been because of Saracino’s presence on the ice. Nevertheless, Brown has been red-hot lately.

The 25-year-old is the active point leader on the Nailers with 32 points in 28 games. Brown has six straight multi-point games and at least one point in his last ten games. In three of those ten games, he has three or more points. In two of those three games, he has had four-point outings.

The Fuel’s defense, along with goaltender Matt Tomkins, is going to have to be sharp tonight in front of a blazing hot Nailers’ offense.

The post PREVIEW: Indy Fuel vs. Wheeling Nailers appeared first on The Rink.

7:05 PM Eastern

WesBanco Arena

Watch Live: ECHL.TV

Team Statistics:

Power Play

Indy (19.4%, 8^th)

Wheeling (23.5%, 3^rd)

Penalty Kill

Indy (84.6%, 13^th)

Wheeling (81.3%, 19^th)

Shots For/Against Per Game

Indy (28.9, 24^th – 33.4, T-18^th)

Wheeling (37.5, 2^nd – 31.3, 16^th)

Shooting%

Indy (12.2%, 2^nd)

Wheeling (6.0%, 27^th)

Avg. Height/Weight

Indy – 6’1”, 192 lbs

Wheeling – 6’1”, 192 lbs

Analysis:

The Indy Fuel are looking to bounce back from a 5-2 loss at the hands of their in-state rivals, the Fort Wayne Komets. This is the Fuel’s third game in as many days and their fourth in five days.

The Fuel go into this game at .500 for the second time this season. The last time they were at .500 was on Thursday when they defeated the Utah Grizzlies 4-1.

The Wheeling Nailers are looking to recover from a 5-2 loss themselves to the Reading Royals.

The Nailers are playing in their home opener tonight, as they look to improve on a 1-3 record, which is good for last in the league. Their lone win came in a shootout against the Royals.

Players To Watch

Indy: Josh Shalla

Shalla is going to look to continue his season-long point streak, in which he has recorded 11 points (3G, 8A) in eight games. He is currently tied for ninth in the league in points.

Wheeling: Winston Day Chief

Day Chief has always had the Fuel’s number. The 30-year-old played with the Cincinnati Cyclones last season, which meant that he saw Indy quite a lot in Central Division matchups.

The forward has recorded a goal and an assist in three games with the Nailers so far this season. Last season with the Cyclones, Day Chief put up 22 goals and seven assists in 60 games.

The post Preview: Indy Fuel vs. Wheeling Nailers appeared first on The Rink.