Fuel aim to wrap up weekend with win over Walleye

FANIMATION GAME PREVIEW: FUEL VS. WALLEYE

SUNDAY, MARCH 10 - 3:05 PM

INDIANA FARMERS COLISEUM, INDIANAPOLIS

TICKETS: TICKETMASTER

BROADCAST INFO: INDYFUELHOCKEY.COM, ECHL.TV

THE MATCHUP: The Indy Fuel (28-28-2-1) look to end their weekend with two straight wins as they host the Toledo Walleye (33-17-5-3) Sunday afternoon at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

Indy returns home on the heels of a huge 2-1 triumph Saturday night in Kalamazoo, which pulled the club right back into the thick of the Central Division playoff picture. Sunday marks the Fuel's final chance to pick up points on home ice before embarking on a four-game road trip starting Tuesday in Wheeling.

On the other side, Toledo visits the Circle City for the final test of a three-game road trip. The Walleye have struggled away from the Huntington Center as of late, winning just one of their last 10 road contests since January 5 (1-6-1-2). Still holding a firm grasp on second place in the Central, Toledo has dropped a pair of 4-1 outings this week to start the three-game swing, falling in Brampton on Wednesday before coming up short in Fort Wayne last night.

Following back-to-back wins by the Fuel to start 2018-19, the Walleye have rattled off five straight victories in the season series between the division rivals. Each of Toledo's last three wins have taken place at Huntington Center, with the most recent being a 5-0 blanking of the Fuel one week ago. Indy holds a 2-1 record against the Walleye in Indianapolis this season, and are meeting Toledo on home ice for the first time since a 6-5 loss suffered on Dec. 21.

LAST TIME OUT: A pair of power play goals from Travis Brown broke a scoreless tie in the third period, lifting the Fuel to a critical 2-1 road victory over the Kalamazoo Wings Saturday at Wings Event Center. Brown found the net twice during a double-minor assessed to Kalamazoo's Tanner Sorenson, with Ryan Rupert picking up an assist on each. Matt Tomkins was steady in net for Indy, stopping 22 of 23 shots to register his 23rd victory of the season.

STILL IN THE HUNT: With Saturday's crucial victory, the Fuel were able to gain valuable ground in the ultra-competitive Central Division playoff race. With 13 games left to play in the regular season, Indy sits two points back of the fifth-place Wheeling Nailers, while trailing Kalamazoo by five points for possession of the fourth and final spot in the postseason. Several key head-to-head matchups remain on the Fuel's schedule, including three with Wheeling and one more against the Wings.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Indy continued to get offensive contributions by its back end Saturday when Travis Brown broke through with two third period power play goals. The defenseman - assigned to the Fuel last week by the AHL's San Antonio Rampage - registered his 11th and 12th markers of the season to help his team to victory, his first goals in an Indy uniform. In four games with the Fuel, Brown has two goals and one assist.

OTHER NOTABLES: Each of the Fuel's last four goals over the past two games have been scored by defensemen ... Matt Tomkins set a new Fuel franchise single-season record Saturday with his 23rd victory, breaking Étienne Marcoux's mark of 22 set in 2017-18 ... Forward Ryan Rupert has points in three straight games, picking up one goal and four assists over that span ... Toledo forward Dylan Sadowy has nine points over his last five games (5g, 4a), including goals in four straight from March 1-6.

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