FUEL CLAIM FIRST WIN IN OVERTIME BATTLE WITH CYCLONES

CINCINNATI- The Fuel headed to Cincinnati for their lone game this weekend in hopes to claim their first victory of the season. After a thrilling battle of the goalies, the game headed to overtime and it was Nick Grima who scored his first professional goal to give Indy the 1-0 victory.

1ST PERIOD

The Fuel got an early power play just two minutes into the first frame after Cincinnati’s Dante Sheriff was called for high sticking against Ryan Gagnier. This caused some chippiness early on between these two division rivals. 

Indy did not record a shot during the power play and the Cyclones quickly killed the penalty. 

Ty Farmer took the game’s next penalty for interference at 7:37 but the Fuel were able to kill it off. The pushing and shoving continued early in this game after every whistle. 

Cincy’s Matt Murphy was called for interference at 10:30 and while Indy was able to put on more pressure during this power play, they still couldn’t score. 

At 14:03, Matt Boudens was called for high sticking, giving Indy their third power play of the period but Cincinnati was able to stop them from scoring again.

The Fuel outshot the Cyclones 9-5 in the first period.

2ND PERIOD

After a first period full of penalties and lots of extracurricular activity between the two teams, the second period didn’t see a single penalty and both teams seemed to focus more on scoring attempts rather than agitating each other.

Their efforts did not work though, as the second period remained scoreless. Indy outshot Cincinnati 11-2 in that frame and definitely held more of the momentum.

Both goaltenders made some great saves, keeping their respective teams in it. 

3RD PERIOD

Both teams came out determined in the third period after two scoreless periods. Cincinnati gained more momentum, getting seven shots on goal which would be their highest shooting period of the game. 

The goaltenders were the stars of the period as they both kept their team in it in the first half. 

Hausinger took the first penalty since the first period with a two minute minor call for playing with a broken stick. Just fifteen seconds later though, Nikolai Knyzhov took a cross checking penalty for a hit on Matus Spodniak after he had a shorthanded breakaway attempt. 

At 17:07, Ty Farmer sat for a delay of game penalty after shooting the puck over the glass. The Fuel killed this crucial penalty and were able to force the game to overtime.

OVER TIME

Just 39 seconds into the overtime period, Nick Grima scored the first goal of the game and his first professional goal to give the Fuel their first win of the season. Kyle Maksimovich and Bryan Lemos claimed the assists on that goal that came off the first shot of the period.

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 host their first home game of the 2024-25 season on December 6, 2024 against the Iowa Heartlanders. Information and tickets can be found HERE. 

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--INDYFUELHOCKEY.COM--