In the first of back to back games at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, the Indy Fuel are looking to defeat their I-69 rival for the first time since April 10. The Komets enter Friday’s matchup looking to earn their sixth win in seven games and fourth straight against Indy.
TIME: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: FloSports
TEAM RECORDS
IND: 28-19-5-0, .587 PCT
FW: 23-9-3-1, .694 PCT
TEAM LEADERS
IND
Matt Marcinew - 41 points (20G, 21A)
Nic Pierog - 34 points (20G, 14A)
Willie Raskob - 31 points (11G, 20A)
FW
Anthony Petruzzelli - 26 points (9G, 17A)
Shawn Szydlowski - 25 points (3G, 22A)
Randy Gazzola - 24 points (3G, 21A)
LAST TIME OUT
Playing their only game of the weekend, the Indy Fuel hosted their I-69 rival Fort Wayne Komets on Sunday night. The scoring wouldn’t start until the second period but after that, both teams would trade goals throughout the final 40 minutes. The Komets would score with 20.2 seconds remaining in regulation to force an overtime period where Stephen Harper netted the overtime winner with one minute remaining.
POWER PLAY SPECIALISTS
Entering Friday’s contest, Indy’s power play is ranked second in the ECHL. Scoring on three out of their four chances against Fort Wayne on Sunday night, the Fuel power play is 7-for-15 in their last four games. Indy will be facing a Fort Wayne team that leads the league in power play percentage, scoring on 28.2% of their power play chances.
TALKIN’ ABOUT PRACTICE
With Tuesday’s game not being played, the Fuel have taken the opportunity to practice on what would have been days off. “There’s no question that we’ve had a heavy load of games,” said Head Coach Doug Christiansen. “This stretch where we haven’t played games has allowed us to get healthy. It has allowed us to work on areas we need to improve and it also helps us evaluate our players.”
CRUNCH TIME
Coming into this week’s matchups, Indy sits in third place in the East Division. With an overtime loss on Sunday and Greenville winning in regulation, Indy put themselves in third place behind the Swamp Rabbits who have a .596 win percentage. A win in regulation on Friday night and a Swamp Rabbits loss to Orlando will put the Fuel the second-place spot in the East with a .594 win percentage.
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