The Indy Fuel wrapped up their road trip with a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Bloomington Bison before heading home for a rematch on Tuesday morning. Despite outshooting Bloomington 36-17, the Fuel were unable to find the back of the net, and the Bison secured a 2-0 shutout victory with two third-period goals.
Following a heated contest the night before, both teams started cautiously in the opening frame. Bloomington had two power-play opportunities but could not convert—first on a slashing call against DJ King at 13:21, then on a tripping penalty to Adam McCormick at 18:19.
Neither team found the scoreboard in the first period, and shots were even at 5-5.
Indy began the middle frame by killing off the remaining time on McCormick’s penalty but was quickly back on the penalty kill when Bryan Lemos was called for slashing at 5:39. The Fuel, however, continued to build momentum despite frequent whistles disrupting the pace of play.
The Fuel started the final period on the power play due to a late roughing penalty on Connor Lockhart. However, Bloomington struck first with a shorthanded goal just 23 seconds in, as Keanan Matsushima capitalized on an Indy turnover to put the Bison up 1-0.
The Fuel found themselves back on the penalty kill almost immediately when Matus Spodniak took a hooking penalty just as Lockhart’s penalty expired. At 3:04, Jordan Martin was whistled for slashing, giving Bloomington an extended 5-on-3 advantage. The Fuel successfully killed off the penalties, keeping the deficit at one.
Indy had another power-play chance at 8:37 after a holding call against Carter Berger, but the Bison’s penalty kill continued to hold strong.
With just under four minutes remaining, the Fuel pulled goaltender Ian Neaton for the extra attacker. Matsushima made them pay, scoring his second goal of the night on the empty net at 16:25 to give Bloomington a 2-0 lead.
Indy had one last opportunity on the power play after an interference penalty on Jake Murray, but the Bison killed it off and preserved the shutout win.
Despite outshooting Bloomington by a significant 36-17 margin, the Fuel came up empty, falling 2-0. They now return home for a rematch against the Bison on Tuesday morning.