Indy Fuel Pit Stop: Week 20

INDY FUEL WEEK 20 RESULTS: 1-2-0-0, 28-19-4-0 Overall

Friday, April 23 - Fuel 3 vs Orlando 5:

Beginning a three-game series on Friday night, the Indy Fuel hosted the Orlando Solar Bears at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Throughout the game, both teams would trade goals before a deflected shot by Orlando’s JJ Piccinich in the third period handed the Solar Bears the game-winning goal. Orlando would put in an empty netter with a second remaining to take the 5-3 win on Friday night.

Sunday, April 25 - Fuel 8 vs Orlando 2:

Playing their second game of the weekend after a postponement on Saturday night, Indy hosted the Orlando Solar Bears on Sunday afternoon. Indy would score three goals in the first period and add on five more in the second and third before going on to win 8-2 on Sunday.

Monday, April 26 - Fuel 1 vs Orlando 5:

Resuming Saturday’s postponed game on Monday, the Indy Fuel hosted the Orlando Solar Bears for the final game of a three-game series. The Solar Bears started the game with a 2-0 lead that they held from Saturday’s contest. They would go on to add two more goals in the second period and one in the third. Indy’s Alex Rauter would score in the final minutes but they would eventually fall 5-1 on Monday night. 

INDY FUEL WEEK 21 SCHEDULE: 

Wednesday, April 28 - Fuel at Wheeling (7:10 p.m. ET WesBanco Arena)

Friday, April 30 - Fuel vs Florida (7:00 p.m. ET, Indiana Farmers Coliseum)

Saturday, May 1 - Fuel vs Florida (7:00 p.m. ET, Indiana Farmers Coliseum)

Sunday, May 2 - Fuel at Wheeling (4:10 p.m. ET, WesBanco Arena)

CRUCIAL DIVISION MATCHUPS

Entering this week’s four games against East Division opponents, Indy is one game ahead of Orlando for third place. Taking on Wheeling on Wednesday, Indy needs a win to hold on to the third spot in their division. “At the end of the day, it’s important hockey,” said Doug Christiansen following Monday’s loss. “Every game is going to be important down the stretch. We need to make sure we follow the game plan, stick to it and stay out of the box. When we’ve done that, we’ve been explosive. For us as a hockey team, we have to learn that lesson and put it to work on Wednesday.”

OIL DROPS:

• Scoring on Sunday and Monday, Alex Rauter is on a two game goal streak since returning from injury
• Michael Pelech finished the weekend with one goal and four assists 
  • With an assist on Sunday, Pelech took sole possession of 3rd place on the ECHL’s all-time assist list
• Tommy Apap scored his first professional goal on Sunday
  • Apap finished the game with a Gordie Howe hat-trick
• Nic Pierog picked up his first points since March 27 on Sunday
• Matt Marcinew is tied for 2nd in the ECHL in game winning goals (6)
• Dan Bakala picked up his 17th win of the season, keeping him in 2nd in the league
• Willie Raskob is 2nd in the league in goals by defensemen

Team Notes

• Dropping two out of three games this weekend, Indy is 16-8-1-0 against the East Division
• Winning 8-2 on Sunday, Indy tied franchise records for goals scored and largest win margin
• Indy closed out the weekend in 3rd place in the East Division
• The Fuel are 17-4-3-0 when scoring the first goal of the game
• Finishing the weekend 4/11 on the man advantage Fuel have the 2nd best power play in the ECHL (19.4%)
• The Fuel are 4th in the league in average penalty minutes per game (15.14)
• Indy has been outscored 63-53 in the second period this season
• The Fuel have the lowest shots per game in the ECHL (27.86)

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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