Komets erupt in third period to overpower the Fuel

FORT WAYNE, IN. — The Indy Fuel (26-20-2-1) lead the game 3-0 heading into the third period but the Fort Wayne Komets (23-19-6-2) exploded, scoring five unanswered goals, taking down the Fuel in Fort Wayne Friday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

The Fuel opened the scoring of the night when Indy forced a turnover in the Komets zone allowing Bobby MacIntyre to drive the puck down the length of the ice and roofing a wrist stop from the right circle at 3:17 in the first.

Indy deepened their lead when Spencer Watson scooped up a turnover along the left boards passed it to MacIntyre in the right circle who found Derian Plouffe in the crease to tap it in at 14:15.

The Fuel had the lone goal in the second period when Watson was able to finesse the puck out of a scramble and fire a wrist shot from the top right circle into the back of the net to bring the score to 3-0 at 7:48 in the second.

Fort Wayne was knocking on Indy's door all night, outshooting the Fuel 43-19 by the end of the contest. Their first break of the night came at 7:37 in the third when Olivier Galipeau snuck a shot from the slot to give them their first goal of the night.

Less than a minute later Max Gottlieb rocketed a shot from the blue line that cut the Fuel's lead to one at 8:20.

Fort Wayne's momentum continued when Shawn Szydlowski launched a one timer from the left circle to tie the game halfway through the third.

Anthony Petruzzelli delivered the game winning goal on the power play with a shot from the left circle that fell in the right corner of the net at 13:21.

Chaz Reddekopp had the empty netter to bring the final score to 5-3.

Netminder Dan Bakala had 41 saves on 45 shots for the Fuel while Dyan Ferguson had 18 saves on 21 shots.

The Fuel's next home game is February 18 at 10:30 a.m. for Education Day! Come and see your Fuel take on the Fort Wayne Komets and 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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