Fuel top Fort Wayne 3-1 in preseason opener

INDIANAPOLIS - In the first game of a two-games' home-and-home pre-season series Friday night at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, the Indy Fuel claimed a hard-earned 3-1 triumph over their principal archrivals the Fort Wayne Komets.

Timely goal-scoring combined with superior goalkeeping were the keys to victory for the Fuel. Left Wing Tommy Olczyk's goal at 2:29 of the second period snapped a 1-1 tie which the visitors had created through a Jamie Schaafsma strike at the 8:51 mark of the opening period. Schaafsma's goal came a mere 1:04 after Indy had been staked to a 1-0 advantage on left wing Matt Johnson's first goal for the Fuel at 7:47 of the same frame.

Olczyk's goal proved to be the game winning thrust as rookie goaltender Collin Delia preserved his club's lead with a masterful 38-saves performance in his Fuel debut.

First year left wing Will Smith added an empty net goal at the 19:14 mark of the third period to cement the success for Indy. The Fuel were outshot, 39-23.

Both teams failed to capitalize on their power play advantages as the Fuel were 0-3 while the Komets went 0-2.

The same two teams will engage in an encore Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne with game time set for 7:30 pm and the live broadcast on the docket for 7:00 pm on 1070 The Fan.com.

Opening Night of the 2017-18 Indy Fuel season arrives on October 21, and Ticket Plans are now on sale! Join the team for year four at Indiana Farmers Coliseum and receive priority access to seats for the 2018 CCM/ECHL All Star Classic! Learn more by visiting IndyFuelHockey.com or calling 317-925-FUEL. Keep tabs on the team during the offseason by following the Fuel on Twitter and Instagram (@IndyFuel) and don't forget to ‘Like' the Fuel on Facebook.

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