Jason Pawloski has seen Indianapolis lights before. In 2014, he helped the USHL’s Indiana Ice to a Clark Cup. On Friday, Pawloski made his professional debut with the Indy Fuel.
The 22-year-old netminder attended Minnesota State University, where he backstopped their team for three seasons. Most recently, as a junior in 2017-18, he boasted a 6-3 record with two shutouts, 2.57 goals against average, and a .895 save percentage.
Kyle Hayton got the starting call for the Fort Wayne Komets on Friday but ended up splitting time with two-time Kelly Cup Championship winner Lukas Hafner. Hayton came to Fort Wayne following a stellar college career at St. Lawrence University and the University of Wisconsin. The Denver, Colorado native was a Hobey Baker nominee and named the ECAC Goaltender of the Year in 2016-17.
Hafner’s ECHL career began in 2015-16 when he played five games with Alaska, coming straight out of Western Michigan University. The 26-year-old most recently won a Kelly Cup with the Colorado Eagles last year.
FUEL STARTING LINEUP
Josh Shalla–Quentin Shore–Radovan Bondra
Pawloski
It is possible that Fuel head coach Bernie John told his players to come out of the gates swinging. Fuel forward Anthony Collins took that message to heart and started swinging his fists with Chase Stewart just three minutes into the period for the first fight of the Fuel’s season.
Shortly after a Komets penalty expired, the Fuel found the back of the net for the first time in the 2018-19 season just under 13 minutes into the game. 13-year veteran Olivier Labelle was able to bury a backdoor pass from Ryan McGrath to give the Fuel a 1-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later, the Fuel’s powerplay struck twine on a strike from Shalla. The 27-year-old winger is the Fuel’s all-time leading goal scorer, netting 50 goals in 90 games with the club.
The Komets quickly struck back, though, as Charley Graaskamp cleaned up a rebound from a Kevin Gibson point shot to cut the Fuel’s lead in half and end the first-period scoring.
The Komets struck first early in the middle frame, as Taylor Crunk buried one past Pawloski. The play was set up by defenseman Jeff King as he dangled past the Fuel defense to feed Crunk in the goalmouth.
The power play success did not bleed over into the second period. After a slashing penalty called on the Komets, the Fuel’s power-play unit saw themselves chasing the Komets’ penalty kill all over the ice until Shalla took a penalty of his own 50 seconds into the man advantage.
Back and forth play continued, with a bit of an aggressive edge occurring in the third period by both teams. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in regulation, though, to break the 2-2 tie. This tie commenced 3-on-3 overtime at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The best look of the overtime period came from Shalla who dangled between a Komet defender’s legs but was unable to corral the puck after. After some solid chances from both teams in the five-minute period, the final buzzer sounded to send the two teams to a shootout.
The Komets struck first in the shootout, as defenseman Ryan Lowney was able to put the puck through Pawloski’s five-hole to give the Komets a 1-0 shootout lead after the second round.
After a goal from Shore for the Fuel, Justin Hodgman ripped a slap shot past Pawloski to seal a 3-2 comeback victory for the Komets.
What We Learned
- Brett Welychka had a fantastic game after being sent down from Rockford. He has unlimited potential and could be a top AHL player or depth NHL player in the next couple of years with the right development.
- Pawloski had a great game, stopping 25 of 27 Fort Wayne shots. He will be a solid backup behind Matt Tomkins when he is here and can also be a great starter in the rotation or if Tomkins gets recalled to the IceHogs.
- Kevin Dufour was a great offseason acquisition from the Wichita Thunder. He is a solid second line winger who can create odd-man rushes.
- Robert Powers is still raw. It is just one preseason game, after all, but in the small sample size we have, Powers didn’t play up to potential. He missed a couple of passes and needs to work on his puck control but a lot of that has to do with the chemistry of the team right now. His development will come with time.
- Not sold just yet on Shore. The Fuel acquired him late in the offseason. He had his moments for sure, ending his first game with the club with an assist, five shots on goal, and the lone shootout goal for Indy. He still has room for growth, but something about his game just didn’t click. Like the situation with Powers, it is still a very small sample size, limited chemistry, and it was just the first game of the season.
- Labelle and Bondra bring an intensity to the game that the Fuel need. When Matt Rupert and Ryan Rupert enter the lineup, it will be interesting to see how they mold with the playing styles of Labelle and Bondra. Along with an aggressive behavior on the ice, all four are capable of scoring, with Bondra and the Ruperts putting a little more emphasis on defense.