FUEL END SEASON WITH LOSS TO WHEELING

INDIANAPOLIS- The Fuel headed to Cranberry, Pennsylvania for the fifth game in the opening round of the playoffs against the Wheeling Nailers. Facing elimination, the Fuel rallied hard and outshot Wheeling however could not mount a comeback and fell to the Nailers 4-2, losing the series 4-1.

1ST PERIOD

The Fuel came out hot, maintaining possession of the puck and getting chances early despite Jaxon Castor holding strong in goal for the Nailers. 

At 13:26, Indy’s Ross MacDougall took a slashing penalty, giving Wheeling the first power play opportunity of the game. After killing off the penalty, it was MacDougall himself who got on the board first with a goal assisted by Jon Martin and former Nailer Cam Hausinger at 15:49.

Things got progressively chippier which resulted in some pushing and shoving after time expired on the first period. After one frame, the Fuel were outshooting Wheeling, 11-8.

2ND PERIOD

At 1:02, Lukas Svejkovsky took Wheeling’s first penalty of the game for tripping. Just over a minute later, Matt Koopman scored a shorthanded goal at 2:21 in the second period. 

DJ King took a hooking penalty at 5:28, giving Wheeling another power play change. This time they did capitalize on it with a goal from Justin Addamo at 6:24 to take a 2-1 lead. 

Matthew Quercia took the game’s next penalty at 11:30 for roughing but the Nailers killed off the penalty before Wheeling’s Addamo scored again at 14:04 to make it 3-1. 

Things continued to get chippy between both teams but there were no more penalties in the second period. 

Just twelve seconds before the second frame ended, Santino Centorame scored for the Fuel, to make it 3-2. Andrew Bellant and Matus Spodniak both claimed assists on that goal. 

Despite allowing three goals, Indy outshot Wheeling 5-7 in the second period.

3RD PERIOD

At 6:32, Addamo took a hooking penalty but the Nailers killed it off. 

The Fuel kept the momentum and kept the pressure on, throwing everything they could at the net but Castor deflected well in net. 

At 1:44, the Fuel took a timeout after a long stretch of time with no whistle. After that, they pulled Mitchell Weeks from net in favor of the extra skater.

Despite missing a few attempts, it was Wheeling who scored next on the empty net to make it 4-2. Koopman claimed his second goal of the game with that shot. 

Chris Cameron was given a misconduct penalty after the goal but ultimately it would not matter. Time ticked down and Wheeling claimed the 4-2 victory, winning the series 4-1.

ABOUT THE INDY FUEL:

The Indy Fuel are the proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks and the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs. The Fuel will be back for their eleventh season during the 2024-25 campaign beginning in October, 2024. Information and tickets can be found HERE. 

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