Fuel visit Cincinnati for final time this season

GAME PREVIEW: FUEL AT CYCLONES

TUESDAY, MARCH 23 - 7:35 P.M.

U.S. BANK ARENA, CINCINNATI

BROADCAST INFO: 1070THEFAN.COM, ECHL.TV

The Story: The Indy Fuel (30-29-3-1) make the trip down I-74 for the second time in five days Tuesday to take on the Cincinnati Cyclones at U.S. Bank Arena. The early-week clash in the Queen City is slated for a 7:35 p.m. puck drop, with live coverage starting at 7:15 on 1070TheFan.com/IndyFuel and through ECHL.TV.

Indy begins the week two points behind the Kalamazoo Wings and Kansas City Mavericks in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division, with nine games left to play in the regular season. Following Tuesday's tilt in Cincinnati, the Fuel return to Indiana Farmers Coliseum Friday to take on the Fort Wayne Komets, before heading north of the border Sunday in a matinee match-up against the Brampton Beast.

Heading into the sixth meeting between the two rivals since Feb. 20, Indy is looking to avenge a 6-1 loss suffered on Friday night in Cincinnati. Following the lopsided defeat, the Fuel picked up an overtime point Saturday, but saw the ECHL-leading Toledo Walleye rally from a three-goal deficit to claim a 4-3 victory in the extra session.

On the other side, the Cyclones have dropped a pair of 4-1 contests following Friday's win against Indy. The third-seeded Cincinnati squad fell in Kalamazoo Saturday night before coming up short on home ice Sunday afternoon to Toledo. Despite the brief skid, the Cyclones remain in the driver's seat for the third spot in the Central Division, holding a six-point cushion over the Wings and Mavericks with 10 games left to play.

Multi-Point Inspection: Forwards Ryan and Matt Rupert combined for two goals and two assists Saturday against Toledo ... Robin Press (9g, 28a) is one point away from tying the Fuel single-season franchise record for points by a defenseman (38), set in 2014-15 by Nick Bruneteau ... All but one of Indy's remaining games will be played against Central Division opponents ... The Fuel are 19-1-1-1 when leading after two periods ... Forward Darian Dziurzynski has six points (1g, 5a) over his last four games.

Inside the Matchup: Playing each other for the fourth time in 19 days, the Fuel and Cyclones wrap up the Cincinnati portion of their 2017-18 season series Tuesday at U.S. Bank Arena. Indy has a 6-2-0-0 record against their nearby rivals through eight of 10 meetings this season, although the Cyclones have won each of the last two games taking place in the Queen City. In the previous encounter, Cincinnati used five unanswered goals to cruise to a 6-1 victory over Indy on Friday night at U.S. Bank Arena

Scouting Report: Cincinnati's power play ranks second in the ECHL both on home ice (24.3%) and overall (20.1%) ... In four games against Indy forward Daniel Muzito-Bagenda (14g, 24a) has four goals, three assists, and a +5 rating ... Leading scorer Jesse Schultz (17g, 49a) has points in five straight games, picking up one goal and five assists over that span ... The Cyclones are 23-9-1-0 (.712) when scoring first.

ECHL MEDIA KIT