Fuel Explode For Five in Third, Top K-Wings 6-3

Indianapolis, IN.- A five goal explosion in the third period helped the Fuel skate past the K-Wings 6-3 on Saturday night in Indy.

Indy struck first midway through the opening period. Entering the zone on a two-on-one Olivier Labelle collected his own rebound and tucked it through the five-hole of Jake Hildebrand, giving the home side the early lead. With the Indy lead still at one late in the period Kalamazoo tied the game up with less than a minute left. Sprinting into a pass from Aleksandr Mikulovich, Ben Wilson one-timed a pass on the Indy cage. Perched in front of the net Zach Saar collected the rebound and wrapped it past Kevin Lankinen as he fell to the ice. Saar’s second tally of the season came with 0:55 left in the first, tying the game at 1-1.

The momentum from Saar’s tally carried into the opening moments of the second. Tommy Mele intercepted a pass at the left point in the offensive zone and didn’t waste his scoring opportunity. Mele found Chris Collins at the far post, and the rookie snapped the puck through the five-hole to give the K-Wings a one-goal lead.

Down by one the Fuel offense exploded for five goals in the first 5:14 of the third period. Indy got on the board just 0:29 into the final frame, as Josh Shalla’s shot from the left circle beat Jake Hildebrand to tie the game and start the scoring avalanche for Indy. Less than a minute later Indy took the lead with a short-handed goal from Ryan Rupert. After taking the 3-2 lead Indy wouldn’t look back as they added tallies from Matthew Thompson, Kevin Dufor, and another from Josh Shalla extending the lead to 6-2. Trailing by four with the man-advantage Kalamazoo got one more goal for the night as Wade Murphy netted his fourth of the season to cut the lead to 6-3 with just over five minutes left in regulation.

Jake Hildebrand finished the night making 26 saves on 32 shots in the loss. Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 of 33 shots taking his fourth victory of the season.

Kalamazoo returns to action on Tuesday as they host the Wheeling Nailers at Wings Event Center.

Kalamazoo Wings single game and half season tickets are available now! More information can be gathered at www.kwings.com.

Wings Event Center, owned and operated by Greenleaf Hospitality Group, is home to the Kalamazoo Wings professional hockey team and a full entertainment venue offering concerts, sporting events, family shows and trade shows. Built in 1974, Wings Event Center values partnerships with the community to bring events and attractions that enrich the lives of residents in the Kalamazoo area.