Indy Fuel Pit Stop – Week 22 (March 4-10, 2019)

INDY FUEL WEEK 22 RESULTS: 1-2-0-0, 27-27-2-1 Overall, 6th Central Division

Friday, March 8 - Fuel 2 vs. Cincinnati 4: The Fuel carried a two-goal lead into the first intermission, but the first-place Cincinnati Cyclones rallied with four unanswered tallies to leave Indiana Farmers Coliseum with a 4-2 victory on Friday night. The Cyclones scored twice in the third period to break a 2-2 tie, with Myles Powell providing the go-ahead goal at 4:36 of the frame. Zach Miskovic and Samuel Thibault found the net for Indy, while Matt Tomkins turned aside 20 of 23 shots in the loss.

Saturday, March 9 - Fuel 2 at Kalamazoo 1: 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.

Sunday, March 10 - Fuel 4 vs. Toledo 0: The Fuel grabbed the lead 20 seconds into play Sunday and never looked back, skating to a convincing 4-0 victory over the Toledo Walleye at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Matt Tomkins stopped 29 shots for his second shutout of the season, while Radovan Bondra, Josh Shalla and Mathew Thompson each tallied a goal and an assist. Bondra and Shalla helped Indy build a 2-0 lead before the first intermission, before Thompson and Eric Schurhamer found the net in the second and third period respectively to secure the win. The Fuel were in control throughout the contest, outshooting Toledo by a 45-29 margin.

INDY FUEL WEEK 23 SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, March 12 - Fuel at Wheeling (10:45 a.m. ET, WesBanco Arena)

Indy wraps up a stretch of four games in five days Tuesday as they head to West Virginia for a school day showdown with the Nailers. The Fuel and Wheeling have identical 4-3-1-0 records through eight meetings this season, with the Nailers winning four of the six previous encounters in their building. The two clubs square off for the first time since Feb. 1, when the Fuel grabbed a 3-2 overtime victory on a game-deciding tally from Kevin Dufour.

Friday, March 15 - Fuel at Reading (7:00 p.m. ET, Santander Arena):

Saturday, March 16 - Fuel at Reading (7:00 p.m. ET, Santander Arena)

The Fuel make their first trip to Pennsylvania in over two years for a two-game set with the Royals at Santander Arena. The weekend doubleheader will be the first time Indy and Reading square off since the Royals swept a two-game series on home ice on Dec. 9-10, 2016.

OIL DROPS:

-The Fuel enter Week 23 one point back of the Wheeling Nailers for fifth place in the Central Division, while trailing the Kalamazoo Wings by five points in the race for the final playoff spot in the Central.

-Indy plays Wheeling three times over the last four weeks of the season, with one game remaining against the Wings.

-The Fuel are 19-9-1-1 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum this season, one win shy of tying a franchise single-season record for home victories (20 - 2015-16, 2017-18).

-Over the club's two victories this weekend, Indy scored three goals on nine power play opportunities (33.3%)

-The Fuel begin a stretch of four straight games on the road Tuesday morning in Wheeling, before playing six of their final eight contests on home ice.

-Five of Indy's eight goals in Week 22 came from defensemen, with Travis Brown (2), Zach Miskovic, Samuel Thibault and Eric Schurhamer all finding the back of the net.

-Forward Ryan Rupert has points in four straight games, tallying one goal and five assists across that span.

-Rupert's assist Sunday against Toledo was his 55th point of the season, tying the Fuel single-season scoring record set in 2016-17 by Alex Wideman.

-Josh Shalla became the second player to reach the 50-point plateau this season with two points Sunday. Indy's all-time point-scorer has 26 goals and 25 assists in 57 games.

-Shalla has registered at least one point in six of his last eight contests dating back to Feb. 19 in Wichita, collecting a total of six goals and three assist during the same period.

-Defenseman Samuel Thibault scored his first professional goal Friday against Cincinnati.

-Goaltender Matt Tomkins has held opponents to one or fewer goals in three of his last four starts.

-Tomkins broke the Fuel's single-season win record with his 23rd victory of the season Saturday in Kalamazoo.

FUEL ECHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE: Matt Tomkins (2-1-0, 1.33 GAA, .947 SV%, 1 SO)

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!

UPCOMING EVENTS & PROMOTIONS:

2019-20 Season Tickets Now On Sale:Don't just be a fan - join the team. Full Season Ticket Plans for the 2019-20 Indy Fuel season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum are now on sale! Become part of the Fuel family for year six at Indiana Farmers Coliseum and enjoy more exclusive benefits than ever before. Purchase or renew your Full Season Ticket Plan by April 1 and receive a free ticket to the 2019 Indy Fuel Awards Banquet at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, taking place on Sunday, April 7.

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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