Indy Fuel Pit Stop – Week 20 (Feb. 11-24, 2019)

INDY FUEL WEEK 20 RESULTS: 1-1-0-0, 26-25-2-1 Overall, 5th Central Division

Tuesday, February 19 - Fuel 3 vs. Wichita 5: Indy rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in a wild five-goal second period, but the Wichita Thunder found a way to escape with a 5-3 victory Tuesday morning in front of over 5,300 students on Education Day at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Lane Bauer's go-ahead goal five minutes into the third period proved to be the difference for Wichita, which added a late empty net tally to seal the road victory. Olivier Labelle registered a goal and an assist for the Fuel, while Logan Nelson and Josh Shalla also found the net in the setback. Gordon Defiel turned aside 26 of 30 shots in net for Indy, while Ty Rimmer made 35 saves to pick up the win for the Thunder.

Saturday, February 23 - Fuel 4 vs. Wichita 3: In front of the second-largest crowd in franchise history, the Fuel used four unanswered goals to defeat the Thunder 4-3 on Wizard Night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Indy scored twice in each of the first two periods to bounce back from an early deficit, before holding off a late Wichita push. Matheson Iacopelli tallied a pair of goals, while Josh Shalla added a goal and an assist for the Fuel, who snapped a two-game losing streak on home ice. Matt Tomkins made 20 stops to pick up his league-leading 21st victory of the season.

INDY FUEL WEEK 21 SCHEDULE:

Friday, March 1 - Fuel at Cincinnati (7:35 p.m. ET, U.S. Bank Arena):

The Fuel begin a critical three-in-three weekend against Central Division foes Friday as they head to U.S. Bank Arena to take on the league-leading Cincinnati Cyclones. Indy enters the weekend with a 3-4-0-1 record against the Cyclones this season, though Cincinnati has won four of the last five meetings in the I-74 rivalry. The Cyclones picked up a 5-0 victory during the Fuel's last trip to the Queen City back on Feb. 13.

Saturday, March 2 - Fuel vs. Kalamazoo (7:35 p.m. ET, Indiana Farmers Coliseum)

SHAVING PRICES presented by Indiana Farmers Insurance - The Fuel and Indiana Farmers Insurance are teaming to bring you the lowest ticket prices of the season, while helping out a great cause! Select seats are still available on Ticketmaster for as low as $5, courtesy of Indiana Farmers. Be sure to visit the crew from the St. Baldrick's Foundation while at the game, and make a donation to help fight pediatric cancer.

Sunday, March 3 - Fuel at Toledo (5:15 p.m. ET, Huntington Center)

Indy wraps up its weekend slate with a Sunday trip to the Huntington Center to face the Toledo Walleye. After winning two in a row against Toledo to start the season, the Fuel have since dropped four straight to the Walleye, three of the losses coming in Ohio.

OIL DROPS:

-Indy finished a string of four straight games against the Wichita Thunder with a 3-1-0-0 record, splitting a pair of meetings in Week 20 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

-The Fuel hold a 26-25-2-1 record at the three-quarter mark of their 2018-19 regular season schedule, two points off the pace the club set last season (27-24-2-1 after 54 games)

-Out of Indy's 18 remaining games this season, nine take place at Indiana Farmers Coliseum and nine are on the road.

-Through 27 games on home ice in 2018-19, the Fuel hold a 17-8-1-1 record - just three wins short of tying the franchise record for home wins in a season.

-After playing four consecutive games against the Mountain Division, the Fuel begin a stretch of seven straight games against Central Division opponents Friday in Cincinnati.

-With three wins over Wichita over the past two weeks, Indy improved its record to 9-5-0-0 this season against the Mountain Division.

-Fifteen of Indy's 18 final games come against divisional opponents. The only games remaining outside of the Central are a two-game series in Reading on March 15-16 and a home meeting with the Kansas City Mavericks on March 31.

-Saturday's sellout crowd of 6,517 marked the second-largest attendance figure in Fuel franchise history, and the biggest since 6,549 fans watched Indy defeat Tulsa on January 14, 2017.

-Over the last four games at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, the Fuel have drawn an average attendance of 5,898.

-Josh Shalla tallied a goal and two assists in Week 20, leading the Fuel in goal scoring this season with 22 goals in 51 games.

-Shalla is just two points away from reaching the 300-point mark in his ECHL career, entering the weekend with 154 goals and 144 assists in 356 career ECHL contests since the 2012-13 season.

-Forward Quentin Shore has points in four straight games, tallying three goals and four assists over that span.

-The Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Matheson Iacopelli to the Los Angeles Kings Sunday night in exchange for forward Spencer Watson. Watson has been on a point-per-game pace with the ECHL's Manchester Monarchs this season, putting up 22 goals and 25 assist in 47 games.

UPCOMING EVENTS & PROMOTIONS:

Fuel Night at Chick-fil-A Broad Ripple: Drop by the Chick-fil-A in Broad Ripple this Wednesday for Fuel Night! From 6-7:30 you can hang out with Nitro and meet Matt Rupert, Ryan Rupert and Woody Hudson. Additionally, guests can receive a free kids meal with the purchase of any regular meal.

90s Night: The Fuel are getting ready to throw things back to the 90s on Friday, March 8 when they take on the Cincinnati Cyclones at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The fun night will be highlighted by a special guest appearance - stay tuned to the Fuel's social media channels this week to find out who will be dropping by!

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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