Matt McLeod and Patrick Polino scored power play goals for the Cyclones, but the Indy Fuel ultimately pulled out the 4-2 decision Saturday night in the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The Cyclones finish the 2021-22 regular season with a 36-32-3-1 record, collecting 76 points. The 'Clones decided to rest some of their veteran players ahead of the playoffs, as Justin Vaive, Jesse Schultz, Louie Caporusso, Dajon Mingo, and Sean Allen did not play. Indy finishes its season 34-33-2-3. The Fuel did not qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
- Each team earned two power plays in the first period, but Indy would get the lone strike in the final minute of the first. Bryan Lemos whacked a rebound by Mark Sinclair, making it 1-0 Fuel with 32.3 seconds left.
- Cincinnati outshot Indy, 17-9 in the second period, and benefited from the advantage by tying the game. McLeod crashed the net off a pass from Zack Andrusiak to roll the puck under Mitch Gillam's pads, giving McLeod his 19th goal of the season and tying the game, 1-1, at the 11:13 mark.
- Special teams continued to dictate the game in the third period, with Polino putting the 'Clones up on a shot just over the shoulder of Gillam while driving down the right wing for his eighth goal of the season 6:37 into the third.
- A pair of quick goals later in the period allowed the Fuel to rally for the eventual win. Spencer Watson started things by tying the game on a power play goal with less than six minutes to play. Rookie Chris Van Os Shaw scored 50 seconds later to pull Indy to a 3-2 lead. The Cyclones had a 6-on-4 skater advantage with 20 seconds to play, as they tried to tie the game with Sinclair pulled and Indy on a penalty kill. Seamus Malone managed to find the puck deep in his end and shuffled it toward the empty net for the 4-2 finish.
- Sinclair stopped 29 shots for Cincinnati, while Gillam matched him with 29 stops for the Fuel.
The Cyclones finish the regular season as the fourth place team in the Central Division and will face-off against the Brabham Cup Champions, the Toledo Walleye, in round one of the playoffs. Dates and times for round one will be announced at a later date.
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