Marcoux, Fuel Stymie Cyclones in 2-1 Home Victory
January 2, 2018 - ECHL (ECHL)
Indy Fuel News Release
INDIANAPOLIS - While the rematch between the Indy Fuel and Cincinnati Cyclones was vastly different from the two teams' meeting one week ago, it had the same end result. For the second Saturday in a row, the Fuel (11-15-2-1) took down the Cyclones (18-11-1-0); this time via a 2-1 score in front of a raucous crowd of 6,103 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
Where last week the Fuel used timely and frequent scoring to take down CIncinnati with a wild 7-4 victory, Saturday Indy's defense took center stage. Goaltender Ãtienne Marcoux stopped 34 of 35 shots as the Fuel held the Cyclones' high-powered offense to a single goal. The win was Indy's second straight, and third in the last four games.
Although goals were at a premium over the course of the contest, it only took Fuel forward Darian Dziurzynski 68 seconds to give Indy's largest home crowd a reason to cheer. Gaining the blue line with speed after catching an outlet pass from Stephen Collins, Dziurzynski squeaked a backhand through Cyclones goaltender Jonas Johansson (18 saves) to give the Fuel an early 1-0 lead. The goal was Dziurzynski's third tally in his last two games, and his fourth since arriving to Indianapolis last week.
Both teams traded goals in a tight-fought second period. Indy struck first, doubling its lead when Johnny McInnis converted on a power play at the 8:25 mark. After Ryan Rupert's initial shot from the right half wall handcuffed Johannson, McInnis got a stick on the rebound and flipped it under the bar for his sixth goal of the season.
Cincinnati finally solved Marcoux just over three minutes after McInnis' tally. Attacking in transition, Dominic Zombo slid a drop pass to Winston Day Chief, who beat the Fuel netminder under the arm to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 11:37.
Down by a goal to start the third, the Cyclones threw everything at the Fuel net over the final 20 minutes but could not eke another goal out of the Fuel defense. Marcoux stopped all 10 third period shots he faced, and the Indy shorthanded unit capped off another perfect performance with a clutch penalty kill early in the frame. The Fuel's fourth-ranked penalty kill finished 3-for-3, while the club's power play added a goal on four opportunities.
Indy now heads back on the road to out the 2017 portion of its schedule Sunday night with a New Year's Eve showdown with the Wheeling Nailers. Puck drop from WesBanco Arena is set for 6:05 p.m. ET.
Single-Game tickets are now available for the entire 2017-18 Fuel season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum! Fans can also take advantage of a wide variety of Ticket Plans by calling 317-925-FUEL or visiting IndyFuelHockey.com.
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