Fuel and Walleye clash in Toledo

FANIMATION GAME PREVIEW: FUEL AT WALLEYE

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 - 7:15 P.M.

HUNTINGTON CENTER - TOLEDO, OHIO

BROADCAST INFO: ECHL.TV

THE MATCHUP: The Indy Fuel (9-8-0-0) make their first visit of the season to Huntington Center on Saturday night to take on the Toledo Walleye. Puck drop from northern Ohio is set for 7:15 p.m., with coverage coming live on ECHL.TV.

Meeting each other for the second time in a week and a half, the Fuel enter Saturday's contest looking for their third straight victory over the Walleye to start the season. Indy claimed each of its first two encounters against the defending Central Division champions, both taking place at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The two teams last squared off in Indianapolis back on November 21, a contest the Fuel won by a 3-2 score.

Fuel forward Josh Shalla leads both teams in the season series with four points (1g, 3a) in two games, while defenseman Matt Register tops all Walleye skaters with three assists. Saturday is the third of eight meetings between Indy and Toledo, the first of four coming from Huntington Center.

LAST TIME OUT: The Wheeling Nailers used three second period goals to break a 1-1 stalemate on Friday night, handing the Fuel a 6-2 loss at WesBanco Arena. The Nailers outscored Indy 5-1 over the final 40 minutes of regulation, led by two goals and an assist from forward Kevin Spinozzi. Alex Brooks picked up his first goal of the season in the first period, while Radovan Bondra rounded out the offense for the Fuel, who outshot Wheeling 26-23.

TALE OF TWO TEAMS: Friday's setback in Wheeling capped off an up-and-down month of November for the Fuel. Finishing the month with a 6-6-0-0 record, Indy has now alternated wins and losses for 13 consecutive games, beginning on Oct. 30 when the club dropped a 5-3 decision to Idaho. The Fuel enter the month of December looking to find more consistency, especially away from Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Through 18 games in 2018-19, Indy is 2-6-0-0 on the road, compared to a 7-3-0-0 mark on home ice.

BACK TO THE FISH POND: Saturday marks the first of four trips Indy will take to Huntington Center this season, and the first since Games 1 and 2 of the Central Division Semifinals this spring. The Fuel came up short in two painstakingly close games in Toledo to begin the first round playoff series, falling 4-3 in double overtime in Game 1 on April 13, before suffering a matching 4-3 setback in regulation on April 15. Indy holds a 2-7-0-1 all-time regular season record at Huntington Center, winning one of the club's three tests in Toledo in 2017-18.