Sean Bonar kept the Cyclones in the game throughout, but the Fuel were able to over power Cincinnati, taking a 3-1 win Friday night inside the Indiana Farmer's Coliseum.
The Cyclones have lost three straight, but remain in second place in the Central Division standings with a 20-14-1-0 record. Indy has won six of its last seven and are 15-15-2-2 on the season.
- Indy outshot Cincinnati, 16-2 in the opening frame. The Fuel went on the power play 25 seconds into the game when Lincoln Griffin was flagged for hooking. Cody Caron was later tagged with a slashing minor, but Sean Bonar and the 'Clones kept the Fuel off the scoresheet through 20 minutes. Only Caron and Gino Esteves registered a shot in the first period.
- Cincinnati played with more pace in the second period and had the frame's first quality chance when on the power play. Just over seven minutes into the second, Louie Caporusso stepped into a wrist shot from the left circle and was denied by a sliding Mitch Gillam, who used his blocker to deny the Cyclones from striking first.
- After 32 minutes of game action, the Fuel drew first blood on a one-timer in the left circle by their leading scorer, Jared Thomas. Indy would double its lead with 2:15 to play in the second when Jake LeGuerrier collected a rebound from Seamus Malone's 2-on-1 shot, making it 2-0.
- Justin Vaive scored Cincy's lone goal for the second straight game, doing so this time with 80 seconds left to play, denying Gillam of the shutout. The Cyclones captain tucked a shot through Gillam's legs after receiving a pass from Lincoln Griffin from the right side of the goal line. Vaive goal came with Bonar on the bench in a 6-on-5 situation. Head Coach Jason Payne pulled the goaltender again with less than a minute left, but Jan Mandat intercepted a puck to take it the other way for the empty net.
- Bonar made 27 saves and falls to 5-5-0 on the season, while Gillam stopped 19 shots to improve to 8-5-1.
The Cyclones conclude their weekend in The Hoosier State with a Saturday matchup against the Fort Wayne Komets.
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