2017-18 FUEL PERFORMANCE REVIEW: TOMMY OLCZYK
#14 | FORWARD | LONG GROVE, ILL.
2017-18 STATS: 48 GP, 10 G, 3 A, 13 PTS, 2 PPG, 3 SHG
Beginning 2017-18 on an American Hockey League contract with the Rockford IceHogs, Tommy Olczyk spent the majority of the season in Indianapolis. The forward skated in 48 games for the Fuel, providing secondary scoring to the tune of 10 goals and three assists.
Right before the ECHL's holiday break, the second-year professional joined an exclusive group with an incredible individual performance. During a 7-4 win over Cincinnati on Dec. 23 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Olczyk became just the fourth player in the 30-year history of the league to record three shorthanded goals in a single game; the first since Fort Wayne's Shawn Szydlowski completed the feat in March 2015.
The native of Long Grove, Ill. earned his first AHL recall on Jan. 18, making his Rockford debut two nights later in a 4-3 loss in Grand Rapids before returning to Indy on Jan. 26. A surplus of available forwards late in the season limited Olczyk's ice time down the stretch, though the forward was reinserted into the Fuel lineup for Games 2, 3 and 4 of the Central Division Semifinals against Toledo.
"Tommy was good for us. He fell victim to the numbers game at the end of the season and didn't play as much as he'd like to, but when he was in the lineup he did what he was supposed to do. and kept the game simple. He was good on the kill and scored timely goals for us." - Head Coach Bernie John
Here is the first of Tommy Olczyk's THREE SHORTHANDED GOALS for @IndyFuel tonight...
With the SH Hat Trick, Olczyk will have his name etched in the ECHL Record Book alongside Shawn Szydlowski, Chad Costello and Jamey Hicks who accomplished the same feat. pic.twitter.com/iFQRa5V2uq
— ECHL (@ECHL) December 24, 2017
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