Fuel halt skid; overwhelm Cincinnati 7-4

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indy Fuel exploded for 7-goals on Saturday night and defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, 7-4.

Left wing Tommy Olczyk spearheaded the Fuel full frontal assault with a record-breaking, history-making 3-goal “hat trick” with all 3-goals scored shorthanded, including 2-SHG in the third period to cement the triumph.

Indy seized a 2-1 first period advantage on goals from defenseman Anthony Cortese, his first-ever pro goa,l and Darian Dziurzynski with the latter's strike stoked late in the opening stanza at 19:42, only 2:24 after the Cincinnatians had tied it at 1-1. For Dziurzynski it was a dynamic debut for the Fuel, as he later assisted on linemate Johnny McInnis goal at the 3:15 mark of the middle period.

The McInnis goal ignited a Fuel 3-goal second period uprising in 4:23, climaxed by goals from Olczyk, his first SHG, and former Cyclones' defenseman Troy Vance, with Vance goal proving to be the game winning strike.

Taking a 5-3 lead into the third period, the Fuel completed the carnage when Olczyk delivered 2-more SHG with the latter streamlined into the empty net at 19:52. The third period 2-goals' output represented a major breakthrough for the Fuel who had been outscored, 7-0, in that fateful final frame of the game in losing 4 of their last 5-starts.

Spicing up the entertainment in the contest was a third period altercation featuring the two goaltenders, Matt Tomkins for the Fuel and the Cyclones' Anthony Peters, who replaced starting goalkeeper Jason Kasdorf in the second stanza. Both goalies were removed from the game as Kasdorf returned for the Cyclones and “ET” Marcoux finished the game for the victors from Indy. Cincinnati outshot the Fuel, 44-38. The Cincinnati power play was 0-6 while the Fuel were 0-1.

With the win, the Fuel halted a Cincinnati 4-game win streak as they elevated their record to 26(9-14-3)21-points and 6th place in the Western Conference Central Division standings.

After the brief Christmas recess, the Fuel will face 4-games in 5-nights with 3 of those on the road. The Fuel will be in Toledo Wednesday night, travel to Kalamazoo Thursday night before returning home next Saturday night, December 30th for an encore duel with Cincinnati. Indy will close the 2017 portion of their schedule Sunday, December 31st in Wheeling against the Nailers.

Single-Game tickets are now available for the entire 2017-18 Fuel season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum! Fans can also take advantage of a wide variety of Ticket Plans by calling 317-925-FUEL or visiting IndyFuelHockey.com. Don't miss a second of the action during the 2017-18 season - follow the Fuel on Twitter and Instagram (@IndyFuel) and ‘Like' the Fuel on Facebook.

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