TOLEDO - The Fuel faced the Toledo Walleye on Wednesday morning in a rare morning matchup. In front of a crowd of mostly students, the Fuel would pull away in the third period to win 4-1.
1ST PERIOD
Toledo got to work quickly, outshooting Indy 6-1 in the first five minutes before Bryan Lemos took the game’s first penalty for tripping at 5:27.
Trenton Bliss quickly took advantage of the power play with a goal at 5:45, the fiftieth of his career.
At 6:11, the Fuel took a bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. This was served by Brandon Saigeo and the Fuel killed it off.
Former Fuel defenseman, Anthony Firriolo took an interference penalty at 15:17 giving the Fuel their first power play of the game.
Soon after, Chaz Reddekopp joined him in the penalty box for a cross-checking penalty. This gave Indy a lot of time with a 5-on-3 advantage.
At 17:12, Kyle Maksimovich scored on the power play with the help of Nathan Burke and Colin Bilek. This made it a 1-1 game and the Fuel had caught up to Toledo in shots, tying them at ten each.
2ND PERIOD
Grima took a slashing penalty just 32 seconds into the second period, giving the Walleye another power play opportunity but the Fuel killed it off.
At 15:50, the Walleye took a too-many-men penalty, giving the Fuel a power play chance late in the middle frame.
3RD PERIOD
At 5:10 of the period, Kevin Lombardi gave the Fuel their first lead of the game by scoring his first goal of the season. That goal would also mark Kevin Lombardi’s first professional goal.
Shortly after, on the power play set up by a Walleye interference minor, Cam Hausinger extended the lead 3-1 with his second goal of the season.
With three minutes left in the game, the Walleye pulled the goaltender. It did not last long; less than 40 seconds into the man-advantage, Kevin Lombardi would seal the deal with an empty netter at 17:26.
The Fuel would take a high-sticking penalty to put them on the power play for the final 55 seconds of the game.
Indy walks away victorious 4-1 and outshoots the Walleye 26 to 22.
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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