Fuel announce 2018-19 Team Award Winners

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indy Fuel, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs, announced the team's end-of-season award winners Sunday night at the 2018-19 Indy Fuel Awards Banquet at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

Selected by Fuel Head Coach Bernie John and Assistant Coach Ryan McGinnis, the 2018-19 Indy Fuel Award Winners are listed below in the order which they were revealed on Sunday.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: MATHEW THOMPSON

Joining the Fuel late in the 2017-18 season on an amateur tryout contract, Mathew Thompson was stellar during his first full professional season. The forward finished 2018-19 with 50 points (21g, 29a) shattering Indy's previous franchise record for rookie scoring set by Daniel Ciampini back in 2015-16. Thompson caught fire down the stretch, finding the scoresheet in 14 of the Fuel's final 17 games, piling up nine goals and 12 assists during that span. In March the product of Adrian College became the second Indy player to earn ECHL's Rookie of the Month honors.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR: DMITRY OSIPOV

A steady presence on the Fuel blue line all season, Dmitry Osipov appeared in 62 straight games to start the season before signing a PTO with the Rockford IceHogs on March 16. In 66 total games with Indy in 2018-19, Osipov tallied one goal and 12 assists, while playing a key role in all phases of the game. The 22-year-old from Moscow has also seen action in five games with Rockford this season, logging an assist and a +1 rating.

LEADING SCORER: RYAN RUPERT

Ryan Rupert set new Fuel single-season records with 64 points and 39 assists in 2018-19, becoming the first Indy skater to ever cross the 60-point threshold in a single season. The fifth-year professional set career high marks in every offensive category, while logging multiple points on 16 different occasions - including a career-best five points on Feb. 17 at Wichita. Rupert was a major weapon on special teams as well, leading Indy in both power play points (23) and shorthanded points (5), setting a new club record with 19 power play assists.

PENALTY KILLER AWARD: MATT RUPERT

His third straight season as the recipient of the Fuel's Penalty Killer Award, Matt Rupert set career highs with 22 goals and 43 points in 2018-19, while tying his brother for the team lead with five shorthanded points. In his third full season in Indianapolis, Rupert now ranks second in club history in all-time games played (212), points (120), and goals (62).

GAME CHANGER AWARD / MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: MATT TOMKINS

Indy's workhorse between the pipes this season, goaltender Matt Tomkins delivered a stellar sophomore season in the ECHL. The native of Sherwood Park, Alberta set single-season club records in wins (29), games played (54) and minutes played (3,221), finishing the season with a 29-19-4 record, a 3.04 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and two shutouts. Tomkins was named the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week three times in 2018-19, helping the Fuel to at least a point in 12 of his last 16 starts (10-4-2).

Full Season Ticket Plans for the 2019-20 Indy Fuel season are now on sale, visit IndyFuelHockey.com or contact the front office at 317-925-FUEL to learn more. Don't forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for news, updates, contests and much more throughout the offseason.

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