ECHL: Fuel Maintain 1st Place

Week 17 Review (2-1-0-0, 64 pts, 1st place Central Division)

Indy Fuel 4, Iowa Heartlanders 1: 8 February 2023

The Fuel began their week on the road in Coralville, Iowa, to take on the Iowa Heartlanders. The Fuel got a boost before the puck dropped with the announcement that both Bryan Lemos and Spencer Watson were returning to the lineup. The forwards provided a much-needed spark for the team, with Spencer Watson finishing with eight shots and an assist while Lemos recorded three shots. The Fuel saw their opponent score first again (this was the 22nd time they’ve allowed the first goal), but what was concerning was the Fuel trailing after two periods. In the previous three seasons, the Fuel had a 12-64-1 record when trailing after two periods for a .162 winning percentage. The Fuel flipped the script on this game with Andrew Perrott breaking the seal on Iowa goalie Hunter Jones and tying the game. Jones was fantastic for the Heartlanders by stopping all 29 shots he had faced through two periods before Perrott beat him with a blue-line slapshot. The Fuel kept their pressure on by taking advantage of a Bo Hanson slashing penalty, with Carson Rose scoring the Fuel’s first powerplay goal of the evening to give the Fuel a 2-1 gift. The Fuel would add two more goals, with Chad Yetman and Alex Wideman joining the scoring as the Fuel beat Iowa 4-1 for their third victory in Iowa this season.

Iowa Heartlanders 4, Indy Fuel 2: 10 February 2023

Iowa took advantage of some adversity on their trip into Indy, as documented here by Mackenzie Duffy.

Unfortunately for the Fuel, they held to their recent script at home by surrendering the first goal and doing it quickly. Friday’s game marked the 4th time in their last five home games that the Fuel allowed the first goal of the game to their opponent in the first five minutes of the game. The Fuel fought back despite being down 2-0 after the first and pulled within 3-2 when Carson Rose scored shorthanded for the Fuel’s league-leading 13th shortie. Rose also became the 10th different Fuel skater this season to score shorthanded, extending the team’s franchise record.

Indy Fuel 5, Kalamazoo Wings 0: 11 February 2023

The Fuel visited the Kalamazoo Wings for their Pink In the Rink night on 11 February 2023. The Fuel began their night by sharing in a celebration for breast cancer survivors from Kalamazoo. The Fuel hasn’t done incredibly well this season when unknown circumstances delay the faceoff. The Fuel responded well on Thursday, with Alex Wideman sniping a shot over Evan Cormier’s shoulder 12:09 into the 1st period. The team continued excellent play on both ends of the ice by killing both of their shorthanded chances and limiting Kalamazoo to just 23 shots as Mitchell Weeks earned the Fuel’s 15th road shutout of the franchise’s history.

TAKEAWAYS

The home record concerns me to some extent. But at this point of the year, with the Fuel being in the midst of a stretch where they have 5 of 6 on the road, I’m not that disappointed. They were due for a stinker at home against Iowa, and they obliged. Now, it can’t be ignored just how little pressure Iowa is under, with them currently in last place by 9 points and their elimination number approaching single digits (this means any combination of 11 Fuel wins and Iowa losses and they will be eliminated from winning the division). The hiccup in Waynestown is something that’s certainly helped as well. Any time a team deals with significant adversity like that in the minor leagues, I’m sure it provides an immeasurable boost to the group. But with that being said, with one win, they couldn’t get all 6 p after the Wednesday win points. If there was going to be a stumble, I expected it in Kalamazoo on Saturday, considering just how loud Wings Event Center can be on a specialty night. But despite the pink ice and rowdy crowd, the Fuel showed me something special again by recording the most significant guest road victory in team history (the team won in Maine 6-0 on 29 November 2019 and also at Cincinnati 6-0 on 30 October 2021). That dominance and focus slow my breathing as I think about this group. Although, I am going to keep sweating as I look in our collective rear-view and see the Ohio teams getting closer.

STAT OF THE WEEK: 100 CAREER ASSISTS ALEX WIDEMAN

Call him the century man now, as Alex Wideman became the first Fuel player with 100 assists by assisting on Cam Hillis’ goal in the 2nd period on Saturday. Wideman first joined the Fuel in the 2016-2017 season and promptly led the team in assists with 33. In the following season, Wideman recorded 32 in just 53 games. This season, Wideman is inching closer to the Fuel’s single-season assist record of 39 (Ryan Rupert, 2018-2019) with 35. Also, a shout-out to making the 100 twice as lovely with Keoni Texeira joining the Fuel’s 200-game club on Friday night!

WEEK 17 PREVIEW

Hold the Line

The Fuel has a short schedule this week, with only two games in Michigan on the slate. With that being the case, the Fuel must win what they can and not focus on Cincinnati and Toledo. I’ve got the anxiety covered for the whole team there so they can focus on hockey. It concerns me that Kalamazoo lost on Wednesday in Cincinnati, but I trust Dalmao, and this Fuel group will be back to handling their business on Friday night.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

Time to dust off the old Sanskrit proverb and start rooting for other teams’ opponents. Fans are sure to be at least scoreboard-watching, if not downright, rooting for Fort Wayne and Rapid City tonight. The Cyclones and Walleye are gaining ground on Indy in the standings, but I’m much more concerned about Toledo, considering they are 8-1-0-1 over their last ten games. Cincinnati isn’t much worse, with a 7-2-1 record. Hopefully, the Fuel can keep their foot on the gas and get assistance from the Rush and the Komets tonight.

2 GAMES: at KAL (17 Feb), at KAL (18 Feb)

The Fuel have a very light schedule this week, with only two games being played in Kalamazoo on Friday and Saturday. The Fuel have been excellent in KZoo this season by averaging 4.2 goals there through their first five games. While Kalamazoo almost always has amazing crowds (there was one very quiet game, but that was the Fuel’s final game of the 2019-2020 season just a few days into the sports world being ground to a halt), and their jersey game is one of the peak performers of the ECHL (specifically their past Wizarding night jerseys or this year’s Jurrasic Park); the place has become a very comfortable away trips for the Fuel this year following their 1-6 record there a season ago.

PLAYER TO WATCH: JARED THOMAS

With three points in six games, it’s not like Jared Thomas has been absent from the Fuel’s scoring. But considering that the forward wasn’t playing professional hockey this season until two weeks ago in Cincinnati, I’m intrigued to see what happens for Thomas and the Fuel as he continues to round into gameday shape. Thomas has had the speed and has improved defensively from his last stint in Indy, but I think his shot placement and timing will be coming very shortly, and that has me VERY excited for what he can bring to an already deep forward group.