Indy Fuel Pit Stop – Week 16 (Jan. 21-27, 2019)

INDY FUEL WEEK 16 RESULTS: 2-1-0-0, 22-19-2-1 Overall, T-3rd Central Division

Friday, January 25 - Fuel 5 vs. Fort Wayne 0:Goaltender Matt Tomkins made 30 saves to record his first professional shutout as the Fuel cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Fort Wayne Komets Friday at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Indy scored twice in both the first and second periods to build a 4-0 lead through 40 minutes, before adding one more tally late in regulation to earn its second straight win against the Komets. Brett Welychka (1g, 2a), Connor Moynihan (1g, 1a), Mathew Thompson (1g, 1a) and Logan Nelson (2a) all finished with multi-point outings, while Ryan Rupert and Josh Shalla also found the back of the net for Indy.

Saturday, January 26 - Fuel 4 vs. Kalamazoo 2: Indy rallied from a first-period deficit before scoring three third period goals to defeat the Wings 4-2 Saturday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Josh Shalla scored twice, while Kevin Dufour provided the game-winning tally with a power play strike halfway through the third period. Goaltender Matt Tomkins helped weather an early Kalamazoo surge with 31 saves through the first two periods of play, finishing the night with 37 stops.

Sunday, January 27 - Fuel 3 at Kalamazoo 4: The Wings used a three-goal third period to steal a 4-3 victory over the Fuel in Sunday's rematch at Wings Event Center. Zach Saar's second goal of the night gave Kalamazoo its first lead of the night with just over five minutes remaining in regulation, as the Wings erased Fuel leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 over the course of the contest. Logan Nelson tallied a goal and an assist for Indy, while Brett Welychka and Matt Rupert also found the back of the net. Goaltender Gordon Defiel made his Fuel debut in net, stopping 31 of 35 shots in the loss.

INDY FUEL WEEK 17 SCHEDULE:

Friday, February 1 - Fuel at Wheeling (7:05 p.m. ET, WesBanco Arena)

In a rare one-game week, the Fuel head to West Virginia for a Friday night face-off with the Wheeling Nailers. The Fuel hold a 3-3-1-0 record against the Nailers, heading into the eighth of 11 meetings this season against the Central Division rival. Wheeling has won four straight against the Fuel at WesBanco Arena, with the most recent meeting ending in a 4-3 overtime triumph for the Nailers on Jan. 13.

(NEXT HOME GAME - Friday, February 8 vs. Kalamazoo Wings, 7:35 p.m. ET)

OIL DROPS:

-The Fuel enter Week 17 with 47 points, finding themselves in a third place tie with the Fort Wayne Komets in the Central Division standings.

-Indy has picked up at least a point in each of its last six home games (4-0-1-1), owning a 16-6-1-1 overall record through 24 contests at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

-The Fuel's 16 wins on home ice is tied for the most in the ECHL, along with the Idaho Steelheads. Indy's franchise record for home victories in a season is 20, reached both in 2015-16 and 2017-18.

-Indy leads the ECHL in penalty kill efficiency at 86.9%, and has now gone six straight games without giving up a power play goal (23-for-23).

-In 12 games dating back to January 4, the Fuel have successfully killed off 51 of 53 of their opponents' power play opportunities (96.2%).

-Indy has scored at least one power play goal in four of its last five contests, operating at a 38.9% success rate over that span (7-for-8).

-Seven of the Fuel's next eight games take place on the road.

-Goaltender Matt Tomkins recorded his first career professional shutout Friday, making 30 stops in a 5-0 victory over the Komets.

-In two starts this weekend, Tomkins picked up a pair of victories while stopping 67 of 69 shots (.971)

-Tomkins has led the Fuel to at least a point in each of his last seven starts (4-0-3), posting a 2.26 goals against average and a .933 save percentage over that span.

-Josh Shalla's first of two tallies during Saturday's win over Kalamazoo was his 150th ECHL goal.

-Shalla is nine points away from reaching the 300-point plateau in his eight-year ECHL career, collecting 151 goals and 140 assists over 346 career games with Indy, Wheeling, Toledo and Cincinnati.

-Forward Logan Nelson has registered points in seven of his last eight games (5g, 5a).

-Rookie forward Brett Welychka recorded two goals, three assists and a +5 rating in three games during Week 16.

-Goaltender Gordon Defiel made his Fuel debut Sunday in Kalamazoo.

UPCOMING EVENTS & PROMOTIONS:

Watch Party At Big Woods Speedway: The next Fuel Watch Party takes place Sunday, February 17 at Big Woods Restaurant in Speedway! Join fellow fans, enter to win prizes and cheer on the Fuel as they take on the Wichita Thunder at 5:05 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Individual tickets for all Fuel home games at Indiana Farmers Coliseum are available at IndyFuelHockey.com, or by visiting the Indiana Farmers Coliseum box office. A variety of Ticket Plans are also still available for the 2018-19 season, call the Fuel ticket office at 317-925-FUEL for learn more today!

BROADCAST:

Catch every home game this season with a free online stream at IndyFuelHockey.com! Click the “Watch/Listen Live” button to hear Voice of the Fuel Andrew Smith bring you all of the action from Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Fans can also watch all 72 games at home and on the road live through ECHL.TV!

FOLLOW THE 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! Join the Fuel's 5th Anniversary Celebration by using the hashtag #Fuel5 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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