Indy Fuel vs Idaho Steelheads Recap

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The Indy Fuel started off a mid-week homestand on Tuesday with a game against the Idaho Steelheads. This is the first time the Steelheads and Fuel have ever met. The Fuel should have been fighting to win the game in regulation since Idaho’s only three wins have come in overtime. The promotion of the game is $2 Tuesday, where many snacks served inside of the Farmers Coliseum are just $2.

Photo property of Indy Fuel

First Period

With the first period underway, the Indy Fuel looked calm, cool, and collected. This paid off for them when they took a 1-0 lead and Radovan Bondra scored his first goal of the season. The goal came in Bondra’s third game of the season. The Fuel’s next shot on goal closely resembled their goal, a wide open net with the opposing goaltender scrambling to get back in position. Unfortunately, the shot was a misfired and Sholl was able to make a pad save. The first penalty of the game came from Kyle Schempp of the Steelheads for tripping. He now has six penalty minutes this season. Idaho closed out the period with a goal at 17:51 from Brad McClure, who scored his fifth goal in eight games.

Second Period

The second period was off to a rough and tumble start when a fight broke out between Dimitry Osipov and Kessy. Each was sent to the box with for fighting, but Kessy was hit with two additional penalties: two for instigating and two for cross-checking. The fight came when Kessy pushed another Fuel player who tumbled over goalie Matt Tomkins. Just minutes later, (do you know who)? a Fuel player went down on the ice. He could not put any weight on his left skate and was helped off the ice by his teammates. Idaho then scored four goals in a row. The first was a one-timer from Lewis at 7:04. Next, Naas scored 9:10 into the period. This made the score 3-1. Idaho scored two more goals, one from McClure and one from King. The Fuel would not let the period end without netting their own goal. Josh Shalla scored the last goal of the period making the score 5-2, going into the third period.

Photo property of Indy Fuel

Third Period

Period three was off to a slow start for both teams. Osipov and Kessy were exchanging words all period, but nothing came to blows again. Osipov did end up in the box once again, but it was for cross-checking. Soon after, Ryan Rupert was checked and went sliding across the ice. He was slow to get up. It was Idaho’s turn to land in the penalty box when Kessy found himself in the box again for a major cross-checking penalty. The tides were slowly changing for the Fuel when Neil Manning scored his first career ECHL goal. This pulled the Fuel within two goals, but it was not enough.

The Fuel came out strong to start the night but did not have the momentum to carry themselves through the rest of the game. The Indy Fuel dropped this game 5-3 to the Idaho Steelheads. Join the team on Thursday for their game against the Utah Grizzlies. The promotion of the game is all you can eat. Your game ticket will get you all the food you could want inside of the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 PM.