INDIANAPOLIS – The Fort Wayne Komets come to Indiana Farmers Coliseum to visit the Indy Fuel for the first time this season on Friday. The first two games were played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Specifics:
WHO: Fort Wayne Komets (15-12-5-0) at Indy Fuel (16-15-1-0)
WHEN: 7:35 PM ET
WHERE: Indiana Farmers Coliseum – Indianapolis
HOW TO LISTEN/WATCH: ECHL.TV
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: @SinBinFuel on Twitter
REFEREE: Steven Sailor (#5)
LINESMEN: Marc-Antoine Beaulieu (#74) & Jordan Knox (#93)
Possible Indy Fuel Scratches
- Alex Brooks – reserve
- Jake Schultz – reserve
- Jay Dickman – injured reserve
- Karl El–Mir – injured reserve
Fuel Flashback
The Fuel are currently on a three-game point streak, picking up five of a possible six points, dating back to December 29, where they dropped a tough overtime game against the Wheeling Nailers. However, the Fuel have bounced back in a huge way, picking up a 6-2 win over the Kalamazoo Wings in Kalamazoo on New Year’s Eve.
The big win for the Fuel, however, came just a day ago at home against the Central division-leading Cincinnati Cyclones. The Fuel came out of the gates slowly, with Cincinnati dominating the play. However, the Fuel got the puck down in the Cyclones zone and Keoni Texeira ripped a shot from the blue line that got past Cincinnati goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Cyclones responded just three minutes later with a goal from Justin Baudry. A very physical game would be taken to extra time, where defenseman Tim Shoup ended the game and gave Indy the 2-1 victory.
On the Flip Side…
The Fort Wayne Komets are in the middle of an eight-game winless streak, where they are currently looking to make some changes, specifically on the back end. Their last game came on New Year’s Eve, where they fell to the Toledo Walleye 8-4.
Newly acquired forward Gage Torrel had a three-point evening (2G, 1A) and Stephen Baylis added two assists, but their goaltending did not get the job done.
Cole Kehler was pulled by head coach Ben Boudreau after the first period after he allowed three goals on eight shots. He was replaced by Dylan Ferguson, who went on to allow four more goals on 19 shots. Toledo would add a shorthanded empty netter with 1:48 remaining to seal the deal in Fort Wayne.
A Tale of Two Very Different Teams
Things are not looking very bright for the team up north, as they have dropped eight in a row. Five of those losses have come in regulation and three have come in the overtime period. One of those overtime losses came at the hands of Indy. That game was played on December 20 in Fort Wayne, when Spencer Watson gave the Fuel 4-3 win.
The Komets have been looking for any sort of defensive efficiency over the span of their eight-game losing streak. Over the 32 games the Komets have played, they have allowed 120 goals. The Fuel have allowed just 90 in the same amount of games.
