PREVIEW: Indy Fuel vs. Fort Wayne Komets

Fort Wayne Komets (19-14-0-1) at Indy Fuel (19-16-0-0)

7:35 PM Eastern

Indiana Farmers Coliseum

Watch Live: ECHL.TV

Team Statistics:

Power Play

Indy (15.8%, T-17th)

Fort Wayne (15.7%, T-19th)

Penalty Kill

Indy (84.8%, 10^th)

Fort Wayne (85.5%, 7^th)

Shots For/Against Per Game

Indy (27.94, 27^th – 32.71, 17^th)

Fort Wayne (30.15, 21^st – 28.76, T-5^th)

Shooting%

Indy (11.9%, T-3^rd)

Fort Wayne (10.0%, 16^th)

Avg. Height/Weight

Indy – 6’1”, 195 lbs

Fort Wayne – 6’1”, 200 lbs

Analysis:

The Indy Fuel are entering Friday’s game coming off a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Mavericks on Tuesday. Fuel goaltender Matt Tomkins was riding a shutout until the 17:41 mark of the third period. Kansas City added another goal with 11 seconds remaining in the game, when afterwards, Tomkins broke his stick on the crossbar.

Radovan Bondra was one of three multi-point performers in Tuesday’s game. Bondra tallied three assists, while Quentin Shore recorded a goal and two assists and Josh Shalla added a goal and an assist. Mathew Thompson and Brett Welychka also netted a goal each to round out the scoring for Indy.

The Komets ousted the Fuel in their last matchup 3-2 in Fort Wayne on Jan. 5. This also happened to be the last game the Komets have participated in. The Fuel are 1-4 this season against the Komets and 12-26-3-4 all-time.

Players To Watch

Indy: Matheson Iacopelli

Iacopelli has returned to the Fuel, after being sent down to Indy from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday. The winger appeared in ten games with the Fuel last season, recording nine goals and an assist in that span. In 25 games this season with the IceHogs, the 24-year-old has tallied two goals and two assists.

Fort Wayne: Justin Hodgman

Hodgman is Fort Wayne’s leading scorer against the Fuel this year. In five games, he has recorded three goals and four assists, along with a +5 rating. The Fuel have had defensemen Neil Manning and Josh McArdle called up to Rockford recently, so we will see if this temporarily assembled defensive corps can stymie a potent Komets offense led by Hodgman.