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Indy Grounded against Thunder

November 25, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Indy Fuel News Release


WICHITA, KAN. - The Indy Fuel's first encounter with the Wichita Thunder was not a pleasant one. The visiting Fuel (9-5-1-0) could not get much going Wednesday night at INTRUST Bank Arena, finding themselves on the short side of a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Thunder (6-10-0-1).

Wichita struck early, and added a pair of tallies in the second and third period to coast to what was just their second victory in their last 10 games dating back to Nov. 6. For the Fuel, it was the second-consecutive loss to open up a difficult five-game road trip, and the first time all season that Indy has been held pointless in back-to-back games.

Defenseman Brandon Martell gave the hometown Thunder the lead just 1:52 after the opening faceoff, a lead they would only add to. Forward Andrew Huff picked up the first of his two points on the night when he carried the puck down low and found Martell creeping down from the right point. Huff would later add the first of two insurance markers in the closing stages of the contest.

After a sluggish first frame, the Fuel picked up their play to start the second, but only fell into a deeper hole after a pair of quick strikes from Wichita. Kenton Miller made it 2-0 at 11:57 when he stepped out from the left goal post and roofed his fourth of the season past Indy goaltender Mac Carruth. Just 1:14 later and with the Fuel down a man from a retaliation slashing penalty, Danick Gauthier grabbed the first of his two goals on the night to put his team up 3-0. The power play goal broke a string of 18-straight successful penalty kills for Indy.

The Fuel made it interesting late in the game with their own goal with the man advantage, with the added help of one extra attacker. With his team on their second power play of the evening, Head Coach Scott Hillman brought Carruth to the bench, opting for a 6-on-4 advantage - a gamble that paid off. Garett Bembridge picked up his team-leading seventh goal of the campaign when he redirected a Ben Marshall point blast at 13:34 to make it 3-1.

However, any momentum from the goal was short lived, as the Thunder tacked on two late goals from Huff and Gauthier to pull away and seal the victory. Huff beat Carruth on a breakaway at 16:00, and Gauthier made it 5-1 just 58 seconds later thanks to a great saucer pass feed from Peter Sekaris.

Carruth was saddled with the loss, stopping 33 of 35 Wichita shots. On the other end, David Shantz picked up his fourth victory of the season with a 25-save performance.

The road does not get any easier for the Fuel, whose five-game trip continues after Thanksgiving in Independence, Mo. with a pair of meetings with the ECHL-leading Missouri Mavericks. The two teams meet at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena at 8:05 p.m. ET both Friday and Saturday night. After the doubleheader with the Mavericks, Indy will make one last stop in Moline, Ill. against the Quad City Mallards on Sunday afternoon before returning for a four game homestand at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

NEXT HOME GAME: Thursday, December 3 vs. Toledo Walleye - 7:05 p.m. Start the weekend early by taking in some Fuel hockey during the first $10 Thursday of the 2015-16. Come to Indiana Farmers Coliseum as Indy hosts Toledo, and receive a $10 concessions voucher with every paid admission.

Single-game tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster or at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum box office, while a variety of different ticket plans and group specials are available by calling (317) 925-FUEL or visiting IndyFuelHockey.com. Don't miss out on anything from the Fuel in 2015-16, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IndyFuel) and don't forget to 'Like' the Fuel on Facebook.


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