The Toledo Walleye showcased their dominance Saturday night, defeating the Indy Fuel 4-1 in their first visit to the Fishers Event Center this season, before a second-straight sellout crowd.  A fast start and strong special teams play propelled Toledo to the victory.

Toledo wasted no time, scoring just 35 seconds into the game as Colin Swoyer lit the lamp to put the visitors ahead 1-0. Despite a high-sticking penalty on Indy’s Nathan Burke at 3:15, the Fuel successfully killed off Toledo’s first power play.

The rest of the period featured tight defense and limited chances, though tensions boiled over after the horn when Indy’s Chris Cameron and Toledo’s Chaz Reddekopp dropped the gloves. Each received two minutes for roughing.  Indy held a slight edge in shots, outshooting Toledo 7-6.

Toledo found their rhythm in the second period, with Jalen Smereck doubling the lead at 6:56. The Walleye capitalized again at 13:16, as Brandon Hawkins made it 3-0 with a pinpoint shot.

The Fuel had back-to-back power play opportunities late in the period but couldn’t convert, thanks to a stingy Walleye penalty kill. Toledo entered the third period with a commanding three-goal lead.

Hawkins struck again just 54 seconds into the final frame, notching his second goal of the night and extending Toledo’s lead to 4-0.

Indy had several chances to climb back into the game, including a power play following a delay-of-game penalty on Smereck. However, the Walleye’s penalty kill unit proved impenetrable, shutting down every opportunity the Fuel managed to create.

As frustration mounted, physicality escalated. A series of brawls resulted in multiple penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct for Smereck and fighting majors for Cameron and Reddekopp.

With just 20 seconds remaining, Ryan Orgel provided a glimmer of hope for the home crowd, scoring his first goal with the Fuel to break the shutout.

The loss drops Indy to 0-1 against Toledo this season.  The Fuel now head to the road, visiting Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo before returning to the Event Center January 3rd against Kalamazoo.