INDIANAPOLIS- The Fuel hosted the Wichita Thunder for the second night in a row on Saturday night. In front of a sellout crowd of 6,459 people, the Fuel fell 4-3 in overtime after a late penalty.

1ST PERIOD

The Fuel got on the board quickly with a goal by Kale Howarth at 1:19, assisted by Colin Bilek and Kyle Maksimovich. 

At 5:28, Matt Cairns sat for cross checking giving Wichita the first power play opportunity of the game. Five seconds later, they capitalized with a goal by Mitchell Russell to tie the game 1-1.

Bradley Marek sat for cross checking next, at 14:26 giving the Fuel a power play opportunity which they also capitalized on. Bilek scored to give the Fuel a 2-1 lead. That goal was assisted by Bryan Lemos and Andrew Bellant. 

At 18:45, Jon Martin took a high sticking penalty however the Fuel killed off the penalty before time expired on the period. 

2ND PERIOD

44 seconds into the second period, Cairns took another cross checking penalty. As the power play was winding down, Marek scored for the Thunder to tie the game 2-2.

At 8:13, Bulmer and Russell each sat for two minutes for roughing, forcing some 4-on-4 hockey until about a minute later when Wichita’s Jason Pinoe was called for slashing, giving the Fuel a 4-on-3 power play opportunity. 

Bulmer scored after leaving the box to give the Fuel a 3-2 lead. Ross MacDougall and Maksimovich each earned an assist on that power play goal. 

Less than a minute later, Nolan Kneen scored for the Thunder to tie the game again, 3-3.

3RD PERIOD

At 4:43, Dillon Boucher was called for slashing, giving the Fuel a power play chance; however, Wichita killed it off.

Maksimovich took the game’s next penalty at 9:12. A slashing call put the Fuel on the penalty kill until a few seconds later when Wichita’s Watts took a hooking call to force almost two minutes of 4-on-4 hockey.

After a few good chances on both sides, regulation ended with the game still tied at 3-3. The Fuel outshot the Thunder 31-21 in regulation before they headed to overtime. 

OVERTIME

1:28 into the overtime period, Seamus Malone took a high sticking penalty, giving the Thunder an additional player for a 4-on-3 opportunity.

At 2:43, Lleyton Moore scored for the Thunder giving them the 4-3 win. The Fuel claimed one point in the overtime game. 

The Indy Fuel are back in action at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Friday, March 1 for our International Women’s Month Celebration against the Iowa Heartlanders. 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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