THIRD TIMES A CHARM: After losing their third straight game in three days to the Wheeling Nailers the Fuel play their fourth game in five days against the Kalamazoo Wings. In a New Year's Eve matchup, the Fuel will be looking to get back on the winning track and put more distance between them and the sixth-place team in the Central Division.
THE MATCHUP: Kalamazoo enters Tuesday's matchup two points behind the Fuel in the Central Division standings. The Fuel have met the Wings twice this season, previously falling 7-3 on December 27 and winning 5-2 on December 14. The Fuel come into Tuesday having lost three straight games but have won six out of their last ten games. As a franchise the Fuel have put together a 9-8-0-0 record when visiting the Wings.
TEAM LEADERS: Through 30 games this season, the Fuel are led by the league's 4th highest point-getter in Spencer Watson. The third-year forward has appeared in 29 of Indy's 30 games this season, tallying 17 goals and 17 assists. Dylan McLaughlin follows behind Watson having earned 12 goals and seven assists, putting him in third place in goals among rookies. Dylan Sadowy leads the Wings this season, having earned 17 goals and 16 assists in 27 games in a Wings uniform. Sadowy is currently second in the ECHL in power play goals, earning 6 goals.
SPECIAL TEAMS BATTLE: Although struggling on the power play this weekend, the Fuel sits in 4th place in the ECHL in power play percentage, scoring on 22.3% of the time when on the man advantage. In the previous matchup between Indy and Kalamazoo, the Fuel went 2/7 on the power play but gave up two goals on the penalty kill. The Wings enter Tuesday's game having the second-worst penatly kill, giving up goals on 24.4% of their penalties. Along with being lowest in the league, Kalamazoo averages the most penalty minutes per game, earning 18.62 penalty minutes per game.
LOOKING AHEAD: After Indy's New Year's Eve matchup with the Wings, the Fuel will return home on Thursday and Friday to host the Cincinnati Cyclones and Fort Wayne Komets and will head to Toledo on Saturday for their seventh game in nine days.
--IndyFuelHockey.com--
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