Indy finishes weekend slate with matinee against Toledo

GAME PREVIEW: FUEL VS. WALLEYE

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5 - 3:05 P.M.

INDIANA FARMERS COLISEUM, INDIANAPOLIS

TICKETS: TICKETMASTER, INDIANA FARMERS COLISEUM BOX OFFICE

BROADCAST INFO: 1070TheFan.com, ECHL.TV

The Story: The Indy Fuel (2-4-1-1) aim to finish their weekend with a victory as they welcome the Toledo Walleye (5-2-1-0) to Indiana Farmers Coliseum Sunday afternoon. The 3:05 p.m. start time marks Indy's first Family Fun Day of the 2017-18 season, with all fans invited to partake in a free post-game skate with the team. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or the Indiana Farmers Coliseum box office.

The Fuel hope to rebound from Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Wheeling Nailers, which spoiled the club's first home appearance in a two week span. The visiting Nailers strung together five unanswered goals before the three minute mark of the second period, before Tommy Olczyk got Indy on the board shortly afterward. The Fuel gained some momentum as the game progressed but could not solve goaltender Sean Maguire, who finished the night stopping 41 out of 42 shots for the win.

Winless in their last three games, the Fuel have a valuable chance Sunday to gain some ground in the tight Central Division standings. Though starting the day in seventh place with six points, Indy can jump to a fourth-place tie with a win over Toledo. The Walleye (11 points) seized the top spot in the Central Saturday with a 5-2 truimph over the Kalamazoo Wings.

After starting 2017-18 with a 2-2-1-0 mark over their first five games, Toledo has now won three straight. Following a two-game split last weekend in Glens Falls, N.Y. against the Adirondack Thunder, the Walleye defeated the Worcester Railers 3-2 on Halloween night, before downing Kalamazoo at home on Saturday.

Staging A Coux: Through two games this weekend a bright spot for the Fuel has been the play of rookie netminder Étienne Marcoux. The 24-year-old made his season debut Friday in Quad City, stopping 44 of 47 shots faced in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Mallards. Marcoux followed that up by turning aside all 16 shots he saw in 37 minutes of relief Saturday against Wheeling.

Central Time Zone: Though only one of their first eight games have been against a divisional opponent, the Fuel are about to get reacquainted with the Central Division. Sunday is the first of five straight games within the Division for Indy, which heads to Quad City next weekend for a pair before welcoming Toledo and Kalamazoo to Indianapolis on Nov. 14 and 17. In all, 21 of the Fuel's next 26 games through the All-Star Break will be against Central opponnets.

Just Keep Shooting: Indy's 42 shots Saturday was the club's second-highest output of the season, next to the 43 shots the Fuel put up in their home opener against Tulsa on Oct. 21. The forward duo of Alex Wideman (6 shots) and Cam Reid (5 shots) combined for 11 shots on Wheeling's Sean Maguire, while 15 of Indy's 16 dressed skaters recorded at least one shot on goal.

Inside the Matchup: The Fuel and Walleye will kick off game one of their nine game season series tonight for the 2017-18 season, the first of six appearances at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Last season, Indy finished with a 1-4-0-0 record against Toledo. The Detroit Red Wings affiliate have controlled the all-time series, winning 15 of the 17 games between the two clubs. In the ten games held in Indianapolis, the Fuel have skated to a 1-8-0-1 record.

Scouting Report: Walleye forward Tyler Barnes (3g, 2a) enters Sunday on a four game point streak, which includes goals in three straight games. The former Fuel winger leads Toledo with a pair of game-winning tallies ... Forward A.J. Jenks (4g, 2a) marked a pair of goals in Saturday's win over Kalamazoo, giving him three points (2g, 1a) in his last two games ... Goaltender Pat Nagle has given up two goals or fewer in six of his seven starts so far this season, ranking fourth in the ECHL with a 1.95 goals against average.

ECHL MEDIA KIT