Indy Fuel Pit Stop: Week 14

INDY FUEL WEEK 14 RESULTS: 1-2-0-0, 22-8-2-0  Overall

Tuesday, March 9 - Fuel 0 at Wheeling 6:

In the first of two meetings between the Fuel and the Nailers last 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. 

Thursday, March 11 - Fuel 1 vs Fort Wayne 2:

In their second game during a three-game week, the Indy Fuel hosted the Fort Wayne Komets for the fifth time this season. Indy would score early in the first period only to give up two unanswered Fort Wayne goals and fall 2-1 on Thursday night.

Sunday, March 14 - Fuel 3 vs Wheeling 1:

In their third and final game of the week, the Fuel hosted the Wheeling Nailers on Sunday afternoon. The Fuel would score a goal in each period and see Diego Cuglietta score twice on their way to a 3-1 win over the Nailers to close out week 14. 

INDY FUEL WEEK 15 SCHEDULE: 

Wednesday, March 17 - Fuel at Wichita (8:05 p.m. ET, INTRUST Bank Arena)

Friday, March 19 - Fuel at Kansas City (8:05 p.m. ET, Cable Dahmer Arena)

Saturday, March 20 - Fuel at Kansas City (8:05 p.m. ET, Cable Dahmer Arena)

Sunday, March 21 - Fuel at Kansas City (5:05 p.m. ET, Cable Dahmer Arena)

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 forwards Diego Cuglietta and Michael McNicholas have picked up where Krieger left off, scoring a combined nine goals and seven assists. While defensemen Alec McCrea and Cliff Watson are currently plying their trade in the AHL, Head Coach Doug Christiansen acquired defensive reinforcements in Ryan Zuhlsdorf and Tim Davison to give more speed to the offensive unit. “By adding Davison and by adding Zuhlsdorf, we got faster,” said Doug Christiansen “We wanted to get back to our core as to how our team was built. I think that now we’ve got a lot of guys who can skate and our forward group is even faster.”

BRICK WALL BAKS

Stopping 35 out of 36 shots on Sunday afternoon, Dan Bakala earned his 13th win of the season. Sitting in second place in the ECHL in wins, Bakala has cemented himself as one of the best goaltenders in the league. Through 17 games this season, Bakala has earned a 2.35 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. The Calgary, Alberta native currently sits in 4th in the ECHL in both categories. 

OIL DROPS:

• Diego Cuglietta had his third two-goal game on Sunday against Wheeling
• Dan Bakala is 2nd in the ECHL in wins (13)
  • Bakala has played the fourth most minutes
• Michael Pelech has 4 goals and 3 assists in eight games with the Fuel
• Mat Thompson has one goal and three assists since returning from injury on March 3
• Nic Pierog is tied for 2nd in the ECHL in goals (16)
• Mike Lee leads all rookies in power play points (8)

Team notes: 

• Indy snapped a three game losing skid on Sunday
• Fuel begin a seven game road swing on Wednesday
  • This road strand will be the second longest of the season
• The Fuel have the best road power play in the ECHL (22%)
• Indy has the third best power play in the league (20.7%)

TICKET INFORMATION:

Various ticket options are now on sale for the Fuel’s 7th season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum! Lock up your seat for every second of the action at Indiana Farmers Coliseum with a Fuel Ticket Plan – grab yours by heading to IndyFuelHockey.com or by calling the Fuel front office at 317-925-FUEL.

BROADCAST: 

Catch every home game this season with a free online radio stream at IndyFuelHockey.com! Click the “Watch/Listen Live” button to hear Andrew Smith and Nick Olczyk bring you all of the action from Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Fans can also watch all 72 games at home and on the road live through FloSports! 

FOLLOW THE FUEL: 

Don’t forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (IndyFuel) for news, updates, contests and much more throughout the 2020-21 season! Join the Fuel by using the hashtag #NoBrakes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

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