Throughout the season, the Indy Fuel have shown resiliency.
So, it was fitting the Fuel battled back from two deficits Friday to snap a seven-game winless streak and beat the Alaska Aces 3-2 in a shootout in Anchorage.
Anthony Beauregard and Matt Stanisz scored for Indy, and the Fuel went 3-for-3 in the shootout to claim the victory.
The two teams will play the final game of their three-games-in-four-nights set at 11:15 p.m. tonight at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. Indy is now 3-6-1 on the year with the victory.
With Indy trailing 2-1 going into the third, Stanisz scored 5:04 into the period on a feed from his defense partner Randy Cure to tie the game. Indy dominated the third period, with a 12-6 shot advantage, to knot the game up and eventually set the stage for overtime.
Neither team scored in the overtime, even though the Fuel had to kill off a penalty to Stanisz, but allowed only one shot on goal on the 4-on-3.
In the shootout, Alex Wideman and Kevin Lynch both found the net in the first two rounds, while Alaska’s Peter Sivak and Stephen Perfetto also scored, setting the stage for the third round. Fuel netminder Jake Hildebrand stuffed Alaska’s Tim Coffman, and then Beauregard won it with a goal to give Indy the victory.
The first period was a physical one that saw four different fights between the two teams who played two nights earlier. It started four minutes in, when Chris Williams got tied up with Alasaka’s Garet Hunt. Brady Ramsay, Matt Rupert and Drew Schiestel all also squared off in the first period.
In the second, Tyler Ruegesegger gave Alaska a lead with an unassisted goal 2:18 in, but Beauregard tied the game up midway through the period by redirecting a Williams shot. Tim Wallace restored Alaska’s advantage with a power play goal in the final three minutes.
3 stars
- Anthony Beauregard (Fuel) G, shootout winner
- Jake Hildebrand (Fuel) 27 saves
- Kevin Carr (AK) 29 saves
Takeaways
- Big victory for Indy, which has played a number of close games this season, and battled from behind twice in this contest for the win in a tough building. The teams play one more game tonight, a Fuel victory would give the team a big boost heading home. They will play seven of their next eight games at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
- Indy is now 3-1-1 on the season when scoring at least two goals in the contest.
- The teams set the tone early with physical play, and it didn’t let up even after all the first-period fights. Indy was 0-for-3 on the power play, getting two of those in the third period. Alaska was 1-for-6, snapping a string of 11 straight penalty kills by the Fuel. However, the biggest kill came in OT, with the game in the balance and Alaska having a full two-minute 4-on-3, the Fuel were able to allow just one shot and give themselves a chance to win in the shootout.
- Friday was the Fuel’s first shootout of the season, and it couldn’t have gone any better. A year ago, the Fuel were 4-0 in shootouts, and the franchise has now won five straight games in the tiebreaker.
- Stanisz scored his second goal of the season, and his second point in three games. The two goals equals his goal total from last year, when he played 41 games for the Florida Everblades. Chris Williams also recorded his first point of the season with the first assist on Beauregard’s goal. Again, Fuel blueliners were key on the offense, recording both first assists and one of the two goals. Fuel defensemen have 16 of the team’s 33 assists on the season.
- Anthony Beauregard’s goal was his first since opening night, when he scored in his professional debut.
- Martin Bellus provided contributions in his first game since Oct. 28. He had the second assist on Stanisz’s game-tying goal. He now has assists in each of his last two games.
- Jake Hildebrand’s game came in his first start since Oct. 29, and he shone with 27 saves to be named the game’s second star. He is now 3-2-1 on the season.
Lineup
Kevin Lynch-Alex Wideman-Evan Mosey
Tyler Currier-Patrick D’Amico-Bryn Chyzyk
Brady Ramsay-Anthony Beauregard-Matt Rupert
Martin Bellus
Nick Mattson-Jonathan Carlsson
Matt Stanisz-Chris Williams
Drew Schiestel-Randy Cure
Jake Hildebrand
BU: Eric Levine
Scratches: Cody Sharib, Raphael Corriveau, Marek Tvrdon, Paxton Leroux (IR), Zach Miskovic (IR)
Next up: The Fuel are in Alaska for one more game, then return home for three games in three days starting Friday, Nov. 18 against Wheeling.
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