Indy begins holiday homestand with 3-2 win over Toledo

INDIANAPOLIS - Just like the wishbone on a Thanksgiving turkey, the Indy Fuel (8-7-0-0) snapped the Toledo Walleye's 10-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Josh Shalla picked up a goal and an assist and goaltender Matt Tomkins stopped 30 of 32 shots for the Fuel, who improved to 6-2 on home ice in 2018-19. Indy continues a three-game homestand against divisional opponents this weekend when the Cincinnati Cyclones visit on Friday night.

Now 2-0 against Toledo to start the season, Indy handed the Walleye their first setback since a 4-3 overtime loss to the Fuel at Indiana Farmers Coliseum back on Oct. 20. Indy's third straight win in Central Indiana also ended an 11-game point streak for Toledo.

Making their first appearance on home ice in nearly two weeks, the Fuel grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period despite not registering a shot until nearly halfway through the frame. That first shot happened to open the scoring, as Neil Manning threaded a point shot through a crowd and behind Walleye goaltender Pat Nagle (25 saves) at 9:21 of period.

The first of Shalla's two points helped Indy double its lead at 14:59. Finding himself alone on a breakaway, the Fuel's leading scorer missed high and wide, but was able to retrieve his own rebound behind the Toledo net. Shalla quickly found Connor Moynihan open in the slot, who beat Nagle for his fifth goal of the season.

The Walleye cut Indy's lead in half early in the middle frame, when Trevor Yates banked a shot behind Tomkins from a sharp angle. Shalla restored the Fuel's two-goal lead at 10:54 on another odd man rush - this time snapping a pinpoint wrist shot inside the left post. With the goal, Shalla has now found the net in three of his last four games, while his 18 points paces all Indy skaters.

After killing off an extended Fuel power play to start the third period, Toledo was able to pull back within one with a strike from Jordan Topping at 5:23 of the final frame. The forward cut to the middle after gaining Indy zone before firing a mid-range shot that eluded Tomkins.

The Fuel goaltender was perfect the rest of the way, stopping nine of 10 third period shots to secure his second straight victory. Tomkins was at his best during a pair of third period penalty kills, backstopping the Fuel shorthanded unit to a perfect 3-for-3 performance.

Indy finished the night 0-for-4 on the power play.

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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