The Indy Fuel faced off against the Fort Wayne Komets on Friday night in their first clash of the season, but a tough, hard-fought game saw the Fuel shut out, 3-0.

The Komets claimed an early advantage in the weekend series, with the two teams set to meet again Saturday night in Fishers.

The game opened with a physical and defensive tone, as both teams exchanged early penalties. Indy’s first power-play opportunity came at 3:54 after Nolan Volcan of the Komets was sent to the box for slashing, but the Komets successfully killed it off.

Fort Wayne capitalized on their first real opportunity at 11:00 when Justin Taylor found the back of the net, assisted by Jack Dugan and Volcan.

Despite their best efforts, the Fuel couldn’t convert on a goaltender interference penalty against Brandon McManus later in the frame. The period ended with a controversial moment as a Komets goal was waved off after a review showed Ben Gaudreau had been interfered with in the crease.

At the buzzer, the Komets held a slight edge in shots, 9-8.

The second period flew by with few stoppages and no scoring, but the penalties continued to mount for both sides. The Fuel took their second too many men penalty of the game at 11:17, but the penalty-kill unit remained solid.

Nick Grima was sent to the box for the second time with another slashing call at 18:27, but Indy’s defense held strong to keep the game within reach heading into the third.

Fort Wayne extended their lead in shots, finishing the period with an 18-15 advantage.

Indy started the third period by successfully killing off Grima’s penalty but continued to struggle offensively. Despite a few solid opportunities, they couldn’t break through Fort Wayne’s defense.

The Komets doubled their lead at 15:00 when Dugan scored his second point of the night, and less than a minute later, Harrison Rees added another goal to put the game out of reach.

In a last-ditch effort, the Fuel pulled Gaudreau for an extra skater in the final minutes but couldn’t generate enough pressure to find the net.

The Komets narrowly missed an empty-net chance, but it didn’t matter as the clock expired with a 3-0 final score.

The Fuel will have a chance for redemption as they host the Komets in a rematch Saturday night at the Fishers Event Center. Indy will look to regroup and generate more offense in front of their home crowd.

Stay tuned as the rivalry between these two division foes continues to heat up!