FUEL WIN OT THRILLER OVER NAILERS

INDIANAPOLIS- The Fuel hosted the Wheeling Nailers for Yellowstone Night on Saturday and in their third game in four days, Indy brought Wheeling to overtime and ultimately claimed both points in a 4-3 win. 

1ST PERIOD

The first four minutes of the period were played without a whistle moving things along quickly but after an icing call, the Fuel got the first power play of the game at 11:08 due to a boarding call on Lukas Svejkovsky after a big hit on Santino Centorame in front of Indy’s bench. 

Wheeling had a shorthanded breakaway attempt but Mitchell Weeks made a big save. 

Soon after a fight broke out in front of Wheeling’s net and as a result, Andrew Bellant took a roughing double minor while Thimo Nickl took a cross-checking penalty at 12:46. 

The Fuel were able to kill off the additional penalty and immediately went to the power play on a delay of game call on the Nailers.

On the power play, Seamus Malone scored to put the Fuel up 1-0 and extend his scoring streak to six games. Bryan Lemos and Cam Hillis each collected an assist on that goal, extending their point streaks as well. 

At 15:39, DJ King went to the box for roughing, giving Wheeling a power play opportunity but they could not capitalize. At 18:31, the Fuel got their third power play of the night with a cross-checking call on Bobby Hampton. 

Time expired on the first period, leaving 31 seconds left on the power play to carry over to the second period. 

2ND PERIOD

The Nailers killed off the rest of the penalty and had a few chances before Indy scored the next goal. At 5:38 of the second frame, Jon Martin made it 2-0 with the help of Hills who collected his second assist of the game. 

Just forty seconds later, Wheeling cut the Fuel’s lead in half with a goal by Tanner Laderoute. 

At 9:24, Malone headed to the box for roughing and less than a minute later Dillon Hamaliuk was able to tie the game for the Nailers about halfway through the second period. 

At 14:41, Colin Bilek took a roughing penalty as well as an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while Nickl sat for charging at the same time. After a huge save by Weeks, the Fuel killed off the penalty. 

The Fuel took the lead again with a goal from Bryan Lemos, assisted by Kyle Maksimovich and Hillis with just over a minute left in the second period. 

At the end of the second period, the Fuel were leading 3-2 despite being outshot 19-12 by Wheeling. 

3RD PERIOD

Things settled down in the third period as the Fuel tried to protect their lead and Wheeling took their chances trying to tie the game again. 

At 15:56, it appeared Davis Bunz scored to tie the game 3-3 and after a lengthy goal review for goaltender interference, it was confirmed to be a goal assisted by Justin Lee and Jordan Frasca.

The Fuel had a few good attempts to regain the lead but time expired on regulation without another addition to the game sheet and the teams headed to a three-on-three overtime period. 

OVERTIME

Both teams had a handful of chances but each goaltender made big saves to keep their team in it. 

With 2:24 to go in the overtime period, it was Cam Hillis who scored for the Fuel to claim two points and win their fourth straight game. This was his third point of the night with assists credited to Centorame and Jon Martin. 

Despite being outshot 27-21, the Fuel claimed the 4-3 win in overtime. 

The Indy Fuel are back in action at Indiana Farmers Coliseum tomorrow on December 3, 2023 for Wintertainment and Family Fun / Kids Eat Free Day against the Fort Wayne Komets. Tickets are available HERE. 

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, are back at Indiana Farmers Coliseum for their tenth season. Check out all the Fuel’s promotions, theme nights and get your tickets now HERE. 

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