KALAMAZOO - Following an electric season opening win at home the previous night, the Indy Fuel traveled to Kalamazoo for their second game in two days and first road trip of the 2022-23 season. The Fuel’s power play dominated the game, scoring four of their five goals in the night’s 5-3 victory against the Wings. 

The first period kicked off with Kalamazoo having a 5-on-3 man advantage after penalties from Indy’s Cam Bakker and Seamus Malone, which resulted in the Wings taking an early 1-0 lead thanks to Matheson Iacopelli. It didn’t take long for the Fuel to bounce back however – Alex Wideman (assisted by Mitch Hoelscher and Chad Yetman) and Kale Howarth (assisted by Hoelscher and Wideman) each scored a power play goal less than a minute apart to give the Fuel a 2-1 lead. The first period ended with each team having four penalties and the Fuel having a one-goal lead.

Just a minute and a half into the middle frame, Howarth once again scored on the power play, bringing the Fuel’s lead to 3-1. 4:36 into the second period, current Kalamazoo Wing and former Indy Fuel forward Anthony Collins was called for high-sticking after knocking into Indy’s Lang, who quickly got revenge with a power play goal of his own at 4:55. Hoelscher and Wideman got credited with assists on Lang’s goal, giving them their third and fourth points of the night respectively. Despite having three power play chances of their own, Kalamazoo remained scoreless in the second. 

Kalamazoo cut their deficit in half two minutes into the third period with a goal from Logan Lambdin. Indy’s Spencer Watson gave the Fuel some insurance with the help of Bakker and Jan Mandat, bringing their lead to 5-2. The Fuel had the only two penalties of the third, both occurring with less than three minutes left in the game and less than a minute apart, giving the Wings another brief 5-on-3 advantage. Iacopelli capitalized on the opportunity for his second goal of the game, but it wasn’t enough for the Wings who ultimately fell to the Fuel 5-3.

The Indy Fuel travel to Reading, PA next weekend for back-to-back games against the Royals before returning home to Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Friday, November 4 for Military Appreciation Night vs the Iowa Heartlanders.

ABOUT THE INDY FUEL:The Indy Fuel, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks and the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs, have returned to Indiana Farmers Coliseum for their ninth season. Check out all the Fuel’s promotions, theme nights and get your tickets now HERE.

Don’t forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube for news, updates, contests and much more.