INDIANAPOLIS - Playing their second game in as many days, the Indy Fuel hosted the Iowa Heartlanders on Saturday night. Although heading into the first intermission trailing by a goal, the Fuel would score three goals throughout the game and eventually earn the 4-3 win in overtime.
Getting on the board four minutes into the game, Jan Mandat walked along the blue line and fired a shot past a screened Corbin Kaczperski. The Heartlanders would respond four minutes later when Connor Graham jumped on a rebound and tucked it past Fuel goaltender Mitch Gillam. Jake Smith gave Iowa their first lead of the game when he went streaking down the sideboards and wristed a puck past Gillam.
Scoring his first goal of the season, Ryan Zuhlsdorf tied the game for the Fuel when he fired a wrist shot from the slot and beat Kaczperski. The Fuel would outshoot the Heartlanders 8-3 through the first half of the second period but Kaczperski would hold them at bay. Mandat would score his second goal of the game when Kirill Chaika sprung him on a breakaway and he put a wrist shot over the shoulder of Kaczperski to send the Fuel into the locker room with a 3-2 lead.
Killing off a long 5-on-3 penalty, the Fuel held on to their one-goal lead through the first 10 minutes of the third period. After a barrage of chance, the Heartlanders would eventually tie the game when Adrien Beraldo launched a shot from the blue line that would sneak past a screened Gillam.
Neither team would score in the remaining minutes, sending the game to a seven-minute overtime period. With the only two shots in the overtime period, the Fuel eventually earned the win when Jared Thomas tucked a puck past Kaczperski.
Various ticket options are now on sale for the Fuel’s 8th 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. Don’t forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (IndyFuel) for news, updates, contests and much more throughout the 2021-22 season.
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