Wichita, KS - The Indy Fuel (1-0-0-0) take the first game of the 2019-20 season on the road in a 5-4 overtime win over the Wichita Thunder (0-0-1-0). Derian Plouffe fired a rebound from Tim Shoup with less than three minutes to go in overtime to the lead the team to the first victory of the season.
In a fight to the finish the Thunder pushed the game into overtime when Beau Starrett found open space in the right circle and launched the puck between goaltender Charles Williams (24 saves) and the post for his first professional goal at 15:02 in the third period.
Coming down the left boards Shoup crossed a shot that goalie Dylan Wells (33 saves) made the original save but gave up the rebound when Plouffe was waiting in front to lift the puck to the right corner. His first goal with the Fuel, Plouffe is no stranger to scoring with 23 points (13g,10a) with the 2019 Kelly Cup Champions the Newfoundland Growlers last season.
The Fuel came out strong in the first period getting on the board at 2:30 with a pass from Liam Coughlin from behind the net and a one timer from Spencer Watson that opened the scoring for the game. Not long after a three-on-two rush allowed Alex Krushelnyski to find Mat Thompson open in front of the goal to give Indy a 2-1 lead. Watson fired another one-timer from Plouffe at 9:43 to give Indy three goals in the first ten minutes of the game.
Wichita came out the gates hot in the second period with a goal from Chris Crane from the right circle at 0:25 to give the Thunder their first point of the game. Determined to keep their three goal lead Thompson launched a deep shot from the top of the left circle to bring to the score to 4-1.
Confusion in front of the net allowed the Thunder to slide the puck past Williams at 17:08 in the second. A wrist shot from Luke Shiplo found Brendan Smith on the left side of the net who deflected the puck to bring the Thunder to three goals in the second.
The Fuel finished 0-for-2 on the power play and finished 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Indy continues their opening road trip to Kansas City to take on the Mavericks at the Silverstien Eye Centers Arena tomorrow at 8:05 EST.
Single-Game tickets are now available for the entire 2019-20 Fuel season at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum! Fans can also take advantage of a wide variety of Ticket Plans by calling 317-925-FUEL or visiting IndyFuelHockey.com. Don't miss a second of the action during the 2019-20 season - follow the Fuel on Twitter and Instagram (@IndyFuel) and ‘Like' the Fuel on Facebook.
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