Fuel denied on Black Friday in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indy Fuel (8-8-0-0) could not find a way to beat goaltender Jonas Johansson on Friday night, as they fell 3-0 to the Cincinnati Cyclones at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The reigning ECHL netminder of the week was stellar from the drop of the puck, turning aside all 32 Indy shot attempts as the Cyclones evened the season series with the Fuel at two games apiece.

The victory was the fifth straight for Cincinnati, which maintains its position atop the Central Division. Meanwhile, Indy continued its stretch of alternating wins and losses with Friday's setback - the club's second shut out loss in three games.

In what quickly became a goaltenders' duel, Johansson and the Fuel's Matt Tomkins (28 saves) were both perfect in a high-paced first period. Each team generated several quality scoring opportunities in the opening frame, but neither could find the back of the net. Indy held a 15-9 edge in the shot column heading into the first intermission.

The scoreless tie lasted until 3:09 into the second period, when Justin Vaive capitalized on a strong shift for the Cyclones forecheck. With Indy pinned deep in its defensive zone, Vaive took a centering feed from Jesse Schultz from behind the goal line and beat Tomkins with a pinpoint shot over the glove.

Taking advantage of four consecutive power plays in the middle frame, Cincinnati doubled its lead at 8:49 when Brady Vail scored the first of his two goals on the night. Working the puck around with the extra skater, Schultz again provided the helper as Vail blasted a seeing-eye shot through traffic and behind Tomkins.

Up by two heading into the third period, the Cyclones were able to tighten things up down the stretch, limiting Indy to six shots in the final 20 minutes of play. Tomkins kept his team within striking distance with a pair of breakaway stops on forward Myles Powell - the latter coming on a penalty shot.

Vail tacked on an empty net goal with 45 seconds left in regulation to cap the win for Cincinnati, snapping Indy's three game home winning streak.

The Fuel finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play, while holding the Cyclones to one goal on seven opportunities.

Indy wraps up a three-game homestand Saturday night when they take on the Kalamazoo Wings during Marvel Super Hero™ Night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Fans are invited to meet Star-Lord, Black Panther and Captain America while the Fuel and Wings both don Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired uniforms.

Single-game tickets are now on sale for the Fuel's 5th anniversary season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum! Lock up your seat for every second of the action at Indiana Farmers Coliseum with a Fuel Ticket Plan - grab yours by heading to IndyFuelHockey.com or by calling the Fuel front office at 317-925-FUEL. Don't forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (IndyFuel) for news, updates, contests and much more throughout the 2018-19 season.

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