The sellout crowd of 6,611 in Fishers, Indiana was treated to some history Saturday night. In their 4-0 win over the Iowa Heartlanders, the Indy Fuel claimed their ninth shutout of the season, setting a new franchise record for a single season in the process.
Photo Courtesy of the Indy Fuel
Cam Gray was the hero in net for the Fuel, saving all 18 shots he faced while his teammates made four of their 31 shots count.
A minute after Indy killed a penalty, Nathan Burke got them on the board first, with assists from Brett Bulmer and Adam McCormick.
Kevin Lynch potted a goal for the Fuel at 1:30 of the middle frame for a 2-0 lead. Lucas Brenton and Bulmer picked up helpers.
Kyle Maksimovich added to Indy’s lead at the 4:21 mark, assisted by Ty Farmer and Bryan Lemos.
The game got a bit rough in the period. Nico Blachman took a 10-minute misconduct penalty at 7:01 for inciting. As soon as the puck dropped again, a scuffle ensued, with Bulmer getting two minutes for roughing and DJ King 10 minutes for inciting.
At 9:56 of the period, Chris Cameron took a delay of game infraction, giving Iowa a brief 5-on-3 advantage; however, they were unable to capitalize, and the Fuel escaped unscathed.
Indy outshot the Heartlanders 23-15 after 40 minutes. Lemos made the score 4-0 at the 6:09 mark of the third period, and that would be all the scoring. However, there was still action in the physical department, as Indy’s Zach Bannister and the Heartlanders’ Austen Swankler dropped the gloves about 10 seconds after Lemos’s goal. Each skater earned five minutes for fighting.
Bogdans Hodass and Matus Spodniak also earned two-minute roughing penalties following a skirmish of their own at the 12:08 mark.
Indy improves to 22-23-7, while the Heartlanders fall to 30-17-8.