indy-fuel-vs-kalamazoo-wings-recap

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Yesterday marked the second game of opening weekend hockey for the Indy Fuel. They dropped their first game of the season to the Fort Wayne Komets, 3-1 on Friday night. The Fuel hoped to bounce back against a competitor they now have a serious history with. The last time these teams faced each other was the last game of the regular season with an admittance to the playoffs on the line. Indy won 2-1 and opened the door to their first berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

First Period

Kalamazoo opened the scoring early in this game when Jagger Dirk provided a 1-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game. Logan Nelson gave the Fuel the game-tying goal 6:35 into the first period. This is his 68th ECHL goal and his fourth year in the ECHL. However, the Wings would retaliate with a goal of their own to take a 2-1 lead. Chris Collins gave the Wings their lead with his first ECHL goal. The period ends with Neil Manning of the Fuel in the box for delay of game.

Some work to do, but plenty of time to get it done. #KALvsIND pic.twitter.com/nYeB48wy3W

— Indy Fuel (@IndyFuel) October 14, 2018

Second Period

This was a goal heavy second period when the Fuel scored five goals and the Wings scored two. The Fuel goals of the period came from Olivier Labelle, Connor Moynihan, R. Rupert, and Welchka. All of them scored their first goals of the season. The first two Fuel goals were shorthanded and the second two were on a power play. This period also saw former Fuel player Anselmini receive a minor penalty for hooking. Just 90 seconds into that penalty, Ben Betker was penalized for delay of game. That was Betker’s first ECHL penalty. Less than one minute into that penalty, was when Ryan Rupert scored his second goal of the night. Before we could even finish announcing the previous goal, Welychka scored. This led to a goaltending change for the Wings, putting in Keegan Asmundson. 17 minutes into the period, Kyle Thomas added another tally for the still losing Wings, for a score of 6-4.

A few more fun #stats as you recuperate from that second period:

–@ryanrupert64: 2 goals
–@matt_rupert46: 2 assists
–@shalls91: 2 assists
–@kevduf10: 2 assists
–#IndyFuel: six goals on 14 shots, 2-for-3 on the PP#KALvsIND pic.twitter.com/JqnxG7Uidx

— Indy Fuel (@IndyFuel) October 14, 2018

Third Period

The Fuel went into the third period up 6-4. Five minutes into the third period, a fight broke out between Dimitry Osipov and Ben Wilson. Osipov got an extra two minutes for roughing in addition to his five for fighting. Jagger Dirk added his name to the box score with two penalty minutes for holding with 7:47 left in the game. The Fuel didn’t let this power play opportunity slip past them. LaBelle tallied his second goal of the game with 13 minutes to play. Just seconds after his goal, Matthew Thompson scored with his first goal of the game. Thompson was a late addition to the Fuel roster but made his mark with the team in the playoffs with two goals and five points. With two minutes remaining in the game, Zach Miskovic found himself in the box for hooking to close out the game.

Indy took this one at home with a score of 8-4. The Fuel play their next two games, October 19-20, at home in the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Next on the Fuel’s agenda are the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Cyclones have started out their season yesterday with a win against the Fort Wayne Komets. The Fuel has the series lead on them, 22-19-1-0.