Fort Wayne Komets (21-16-1-2) at Indy Fuel (20-18-2-1)
7:35 PM Eastern
Indiana Farmers Coliseum
Watch Live: ECHL.TV
Team Statistics:
Power Play
Indy (16.9%, 15th)
Fort Wayne (15.1%, 22nd)
Penalty Kill
Indy (86.2%, T-1st)
Fort Wayne (82.7%, T-14th)
Shots For/Against Per Game
Indy (28.46, 26th – 32.56, 18th)
Fort Wayne (30.93, 20th – 30.18, 8th)
Shooting%
Indy (11.2%, 5th)
Fort Wayne (10.3%, 13th)
Avg. Height/Weight
Indy – 6’1”, 193 lbs
Fort Wayne – 6’1”, 199 lbs
Analysis:
The Indy Fuel are returning to Indiana Farmers Coliseum following a 4-2 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati.
Josh Shalla recorded the only two tallies for the Fuel in the game, scoring twice on the man advantage. Logan Nelson, Kevin Dufour, Mathew Thompson, and Quentin Shore also recorded assists on both Shalla goals.
Forward Olivier Labelle is expected to miss his 12th straight game with a neck injury, while defenseman Miles Liberati is also projected to miss his seventh straight game with an undisclosed injury.
The Fort Wayne Komets are entering tonight’s matchup on a four-game losing streak. Their most recent game was a shootout loss at the hands of the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center in Toledo. The Komets’ goal scoring came from J.C. Campagna and Marco Roy. Roy recorded a goal and an assist, while forward Brady Shaw added two assists.
The Fuel are 2-4-1 against Fort Wayne this season. Indy most recently defeated the Komets 3-2 in overtime in Fort Wayne on Jan. 18. Matt Rupert tallied the overtime winner for the Fuel, while also adding two assists. All three goals came from the Matt Rupert, Ryan Rupert, and Nelson line, with all three striking for Indy.
Fort Wayne’s leading point scorer Justin Hodgman was placed on Injured Reserve yesterday, retroactive to Jan. 12. Hodgman recently skated in the 2019 ECHL All-Star Game as the captain of the Western Conference All-Stars on Jan. 21. The 30-year-old forward is also the Komets’ leading scorer against the Fuel this season with seven points in six games.
Players To Watch
Indy: Matt Rupert, Ryan Rupert, and Logan Nelson
Matt Rupert has tallied six points in his last four games. His line consisting of himself, Ryan Rupert, and Nelson has 17 points and 34 shots on goal in those four games. Nelson is also on a five-game point streak with four goals and two assists in that span. The Minnesota native tallied a goal in four of those five games. Ryan Rupert has two goals and three assists in his last four games.
Fort Wayne: Marco Roy
Roy is tied for the Komets’ lead in points (5) against the Fuel with Hodgman out of the lineup. He is also on a five-game point streak. In that span, he has registered two goals and five assists. It will be interesting to see if the Komets’ offense can continue its firepower it has shown this season without its leading point scorer and All-Star out of the lineup.