FUEL INSIDER PRESENTED BY IVY TECH

Coming off of back-to-back losses to the South Carolina Stingrays, Indy turns their sights to the Fort Wayne Komets, who they face on Sunday after a rare Friday and Saturday off. Indy dropped two straight games to the South Carolina Stingrays, falling 3-1 on Tuesday and 5-4 on Wednesday. Although, Head Coach Doug Christiansen thought Tuesday’s game could have gone the other way. “To be honest, if you look at the goals that went in for them, they got a couple of bounces,” said Christiansen. “We didn’t get those bounces. When we had opportunities to score, we didn’t. I thought their goaltender played outstanding. I thought that overall we had a good team effort, but didn’t get the result on Tuesday. ” 

Even though they dropped Wednesday’s game in overtime, the Fuel picked up a point. Coming into Sunday’s contest against the Fort Wayne Komets, the Fuel have earned points in two out of their last three games. Earning points is important in every season, but due to the standings being based on winning percentage this season, earning a win is the best way to guarantee moving up in the standings. 

“The math of it is, we went down .001,” said Christiansen. “That matters. Let’s be completely honest. In a winning percentage world, it’s different than points. For us, getting an overtime loss last night helps us. But at the end of the day, that’s a game we needed to win and we didn’t. We’re going to have to find a way to pick up a win somewhere along the line because we’ve got another stretch of road games coming up.”

Scoring two goals in Wednesday’s loss, Nic Pierog has strung together a four-game point streak. Since returning from injury on April 23, the third-year forward has registered three goals and nine assists, tying him for the team lead in points with 41. Playing alongside Jared Thomas and Diego Cuglietta, the trio has combined for five goals and 11 assists in their last three games. 

“I think that’s huge,” said Christiansen. “You need your best players to be playing well down the stretch. I think him, Jared Thomas, Cuglietta as a group have done a really nice job since they’ve come together as a line. They’ve been on the scoresheet every night.”

With only 12 games remaining in the season, the Fuel have seen a handful of players return from injuries. Antoine Waked, Cedric Lacroix and Spencer Watson all returned to the lineup on Tuesday and Wednesday, giving the Fuel lineup a much-needed boost. 

“We haven’t had a full lineup in a long time,” said Christiansen. “If you add Marcinew and Dickinson and maybe some guys next week, all of a sudden we could be a much deeper team. At the same time, those guys coming back from long injuries, it takes a little bit. We need those guys to work their way back in and maybe manage their minutes a little bit. At the end of the day, it’s great to have them back. Because we all know what they can do.”

The American Hockey League is coming to a close, meaning several Indy Fuel players on PTO’s could make their much-anticipated return. With so many players possibly returning to Indy, there is a chance for a very deep Fuel team to take the ice down the stretch. 

“I think at the end of the day, we want to have the best possible players and people in our group down the stretch,” Christiansen said. “For us as a hockey team, we need to have the best players in our lineup. The players that we’ve had that have been in the American League are all really good people. We’re not bringing anyone back that we’re concerned about their character. Everybody that comes back is a high-level person and high-level player. That’s what we need right now.”