The Indy Fuel delivered a commanding 4-1 victory over the Toledo Walleye in a rare Wednesday morning game. After a back-and-forth start, the Fuel dominated the third period to secure the win on the road.

The game’s opening moments belonged to Toledo, as they outshot Indy 6-1 in the first five minutes. Bryan Lemos of the Fuel took the game’s first penalty for tripping at 5:27, and Toledo quickly took advantage. Trenton Bliss capitalized on the power play with a goal at 5:45, marking the 50th of his career. The Fuel faced another early setback when they incurred a bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, but they killed off the penalty to keep the Walleye’s lead to one.

Late in the first period, the Fuel saw an opportunity to change the tide as former teammate Anthony Firriolo took an interference penalty at 15:17. When Chaz Reddekopp joined Firriolo in the box for cross-checking, Indy found themselves with a 5-on-3 power-play advantage. The Fuel seized the moment, and at 17:12, Kyle Maksimovich netted a power-play goal, tying the game at 1-1 with assists from Nathan Burke and Colin Bilek.

Both teams fought hard in the second period, though neither could break the tie. The Walleye were unable to capitalize on an early power play, and a too-many-men penalty late in the period kept the Fuel’s momentum alive.

Indy came out strong in the third period, with Kevin Lombardi scoring his first goal of the season—and his first professional goal—at 5:10, giving the Fuel a 2-1 lead. They soon extended their advantage when Cam Hausinger scored on a power play, bringing the score to 3-1.

With three minutes left in the game, Toledo pulled their goaltender in a final push to close the gap. However, Kevin Lombardi took advantage of the empty net, scoring his second goal of the game at 17:26 to seal the victory. The Walleye’s final power play in the last minute was not enough to rally, and the Fuel skated away with a 4-1 win, outshooting Toledo 26 to 22.