Fuel Close Week with Afternoon Match Against Wheeling

In their third and final game of the week, the Indy Fuel host the Wheeling Nailers for an afternoon matchup at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The Fuel enters Sunday afternoon having lost five out of their last six games while Wheeling has only one win since the month of March began. 

TIME: 3:00 p.m. ET

TV/Stream: FloSports, Mixlr.com/indyfuel

TEAM RECORDS

IND: 21-8-2-0, 44 PTS 

WHL: 8-18-5-0, 21 PTS

TEAM LEADERS

IND

Matt Marcinew - 23 points (10G, 13A)

Nic Pierog - 21 points (16G, 5A)

Mike Lee - 17 points (5G, 12A)

WHL

Matt Alfaro - 22 points (9G, 13A)

Cody Sylvester - 21 points (10G, 11A)

Patrick McNally - 18 points (4G, 14A)

LAST TIME OUT

In the first of two meetings between the Fuel and the Nailers this week, Wheeling would score four goals in the second period from Cody Sylvester, Nick Rivera, Lawton Courtnall and Matt Alfaro to help propel them to a 6-0 victory at WesBanco Arena on Tuesday Night. 

TESTING DEPTH

Battling multiple injuries from a heavy month of February as well as multiple call-ups to the American Hockey League, the Fuel have had to rely heavily on their roster depth. With top scorer Peter Krieger currently playing for the Manitoba Moose in the AHL, Fuel players Diego Cuglietta and Michael McNicholas have had to pick up where Krieger left off. While defensemen Alec McCrea and Cliff Watson are currently plying their trade in the AHL, Head Coach Doug Christiansen traded veteran forward David Broll to acquire defensive reinforcements in Ryan Zuhlsdorf and Tim Davison. “Our five-on-five play the last couple of weeks, whether it’s guys getting hurt or call-ups or different personnel, just hasn’t been where we want it to be,” said Doug Christiansen. “What we really tried to make as an adjustment is ‘let’s get to the puck first, let’s get out first and not necessarily have to have those long stretches to defend.” 

TOUGH SLEDDING 

Coming into Thursday’s game, the Fuel have lost five out of their last six games, most recently losing 2-1 to the Fort Wayne Komets in a tightly contested game. Indy has been shutout twice in their last six as well as giving up eight goals to the Fort Wayne Komets on Saturday, February 27. “We have more than enough offense to generate consistently,” said Doug Christiansen before Thursday’s game against Fort Wayne. “We just have to make sure that when we get the puck and the opportunities, that we put the puck in the back of the net.” Having been stomped 6-0 by the Nailers on Tuesday, the Fuel will enter Sunday expecting to earn their 10th win of the season against Wheeling. 

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