CORALVILLE - The Indy Fuel made the trek to Iowa Wednesday night for their seventh game this season against the Heartlanders. Despite being scoreless and down by one headed into the third, the Fuel scored four goals in a row to mount the comeback and claim a 4-1 victory.
1ST PERIOD
The first period was uneventful. Indy outshot Iowa 12-9. The Heartlanders’ Ryan Wheeler was given two minutes for kneeing, the only penalty of the period, but the Fuel weren’t able to take advantage of the opportunity. The teams went to intermission tied 0-0.
2ND PERIOD
The Fuel outshot the Heartlanders 17-6 but ended the middle frame down 1-0. Shane Kuzmeski took the Fuel’s only two penalties of the second. Indy killed off the first penalty, but Iowa’s Bo Hanson capitalized on the second opportunity to give the Heartlanders a 1-0 lead. Despite outshooting Iowa and having one power play opportunity, Indy was unable to catch up.
THIRD PERIOD
The Fuel once again led in shots with 15 over the Heartlanders’ three, but unlike the first two periods, they were able to get pucks past Iowa’s very strong goaltender Hunter Jones.Â
Fuel defenseman Andrew Perrott took a slapshot from the blue line to tie the game at 3:11. Carson Rose was called for hooking at 4:25 but the Fuel successfully killed off his penalty. Iowa’s Hanson took a slashing penalty at 10:32 and Rose took advantage of it, giving Indy the lead 2-1. Just 16 seconds later, Chad Yetman notched his 20th goal of the season making it 3-1. With less than five minutes remaining in the third, Alex Wideman scored an equal-strength goal. He was assisted by Spencer Watson, who returned tonight after missing the last seven games due to injury.Â
Iowa did not match Indy’s comeback and the game ended with a final score of 4-1. The Fuel are now 6-1 against Iowa in the 2022-23 season.
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, return home this Friday, February 10 at 7 p.m. for Indy 500 and Do317 Night versus Iowa. The 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson will be in attendance to meet fans and help Indianapolis Motor Speedway reveal the ticket design for the 107th Indy 500. It’s also Do317 Night, so fans can enjoy $3 beverages, $1 hot dogs and $7 t-shirts. Get your tickets HERE.
Don’t forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube for news, updates, contests and much more.
--INDYFUELHOCKEY.COM-