The Cincinnati Cyclones made their revamped roster count in a high-energy matchup against the Indy Fuel on Saturday night, earning a 4-2 victory at Heritage Bank Center. The win split the season series between the two teams.
The game’s momentum shifted early when Ty Farmer of the Fuel was penalized for delay of game just 76 seconds into play. The Cyclones wasted no time, with Braeden Kressler netting his third goal of the season at 1:56 to give Cincinnati an early 1-0 lead.
Indy responded at 6:32 when Colin Bilek buried a shot off a faceoff win from Bryan Lemos, recording his ninth goal of the season to even the score at 1-1. But Cincinnati answered back late in the first period when Dante Sheriff, with help from a well-placed screen in front of Fuel goaltender Joe Vrbetic, scored his fourth goal of the season at 12:28.
The Cyclones held a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission, outshooting the Fuel 10-7 in the opening frame.
The second period was a defensive duel, with both goaltenders standing tall. Vrbetic faced 12 shots, turning them all away, while Cincinnati’s Pavel Cajan stopped all six attempts he faced. Despite the lack of scoring, the Fuel found themselves in penalty trouble, committing three minor infractions, including a late penalty by Andrew Bellant that carried into the third period.
Indy’s penalty kill held strong, and the Fuel found life midway through the final frame. After Cincinnati’s Remy Parker was called for interference at 7:47, it took just six seconds for William Provost to capitalize on the power play, firing a shot past Cajan to tie the game at 2-2.
The Cyclones, however, responded with a short-handed goal at 13:08. Lincoln Griffin converted the breakaway to restore Cincinnati’s lead at 3-2. With the Fuel pushing for a late equalizer, Ty Voit sealed the victory for Cincinnati with an empty-net goal at 18:04, bringing the final score to 4-2.
Cincinnati dominated the shot count, outshooting Indy 29-16.
The Fuel look to bounce back Wednesday night, 7pm, when they return home to the Fishers Event Center to face the Wheeling Nailers.