Resilient Fuel Come up Short in Cincinnati
February 5, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Indy Fuel News Release
CINCINNATI - The Indy Fuel (23-22-2-0) rallied twice from behind but could not find a third equalizer in a 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones (21-18-3-2) Friday night at U.S. Bank Arena. Indy fought its way out of a 2-0 and 3-2 holes, but could not find the equalizer to a third-period Peter Quenneville goal, which helped the hometown Cyclones take the first half of a home-and-home series. With the win, Cincinnati ties the season series with the Fuel at two games apiece, and draws within one point of Indy for possession of second place in the Midwest Division standings. The two teams meet again tomorrow night in Indianapolis.
After seeing their second lead of the night vanish with an early Fuel power play goal, the Cyclones took the upper hand for good when Quenneville stepped into a one-timer from Andrew Yogan, beating goaltender Shane Owen from the top of the left circle. The assist on the game-winner capped a three-point night for Yogan, who added a pair of goals through the first two periods of play.
Indy nearly tied the game a third time in the final seconds of regulation, but the final horn sounded and the net came dislodged before the Fuel could slide the puck behind a sprawling Andy Iles. The Cyclones netminder turned aside 32 shots to pick up his second victory in as many starts against Indy this year.
Iles weathered an early Fuel storm in the first period, and was rewarded when his team scored twice in 1:02 to build an early 2-0 lead. Yogan picked up his first goal when he drove down the left wing and beat Owen under the arm at 11:23. Jack Downing doubled the advantage soon afterward when he finished a crafty centering pass from Brandon Gracel for his ECHL-leading 22nd goal of the season.
Despite the brief lapse Indy played a strong first 20 minutes, and the visitors got on the scoreboard with 36 seconds left on the clock when Rhett Bly got a piece of a Nick Petrecki point offering. The tip-in goal was the first of two on the night for Bly, who has now found the net in five of his last six games. The forward has tallied six times across that span, taking over the team goal-scoring lead with 13 on the season.
Ben Marshall followed up his club's strong finish to the first with a quick start to the second, tying the game at two just 23 seconds into the frame. Daniel Ciampini forced a turnover behind the Cincinnati net and found Marshall creeping down to the left face-off dot. The rookie defenseman wired a one-timer over Iles left shoulder for his sixth goal of the season.
Yogan again gave the Cyclones the lead at 15:26 of the second when he converted a centering feed from Garrett Noonan.
The Fuel struck early again to begin the third period, tying the game at three with Bly's second goal of the game, this time on the power play. Defenseman Zach Miskovic threw the puck on net, and Bly was in position to slide the rebound past Iles at 1:37 of the period.
Bly's second was the only special teams tally in a game that saw just three power plays. Indy finished 1-for-2, and killed off the only Cyclones opportunity they faced.
Owen made 13 saves in the losing effort. It was only the second time in the Fuel's last 15 games dating back to New Year's Day where they have given up four goals or more.
Next Home Game: Saturday, Feb. 6 vs. Cincinnati Cyclones - 7:35 p.m. All scouts in attendance will receive a free patch and have the opportunity to take a shot on the Indiana Farmers Coliseum ice after the game! Scouts are also invited to stick around after the game for a showing of the movie "The Mighty Ducks" and an overnight campout inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum!
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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