Heartlanders reacquaint themselves with division foe

Indianapolis, IN – The Iowa Heartlanders, proud ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild, continue a two-week road stretch at the Indy Fuel Friday at 6:00 p.m. The Heartlanders and Fuel have not played in nine months despite being division rivals and Iowa’s second-closest division opponent. 

The Heartlanders are in the second game of a five-game road trip and last played Wednesday vs. Cincinnati. In Wednesday’s game, Iowa received goals from six players and the Heartlanders won, 6-4, fending off a couple Cincinnati comebacks. The Heartlanders led by two four times. After the Cyclones tied it at three early in the second, Casey Dornbach and Louis Boudon scored to put the Heartlanders ahead for good, 5-3.  

Indy has enjoyed six days off to prepare for the Heartlanders and have won back-to-back games. 

The Heartlanders and Fuel play Friday and Saturday.

Get tickets for Heartlanders Home games: Iowaheartlanders.com/tickets

 

Game Day Guide: 

5:50 PM: FloHockey broadcast and audio broadcast starts

6:05 PM: Puck Drop 

Watch on FloHockey: https://flosports.link/3tVsLmd

Listen on Mixlr: mixlr.com/goheartlanders

Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Indy Fuel (Chicago Blackhawks/Rockford IceHogs)

Need to know

• Pavel Novak has scored in back-to-back games and five of his last six contests. 
• Iowa had their first-ever game without a power-play chance last Saturday vs. Wheeling and received one power-play opportunity Wednesday vs. Cincinnati. 
• Iowa has points in four straight road games, a season best.  

Last time out

The Heartlanders won their second straight game against the Cyclones, 6-4, Wednesday, led by a three-goal first frame and multi-point games from Chris Lipe, Yuki Miura and Louis Boudon. The Heartlanders scored three of the game’s last four goals, including an empty-net strike from Lipe. 

Hunter Jones blocked 19 shots for the win. 

Talyn Boyko started for Cincinnati, but was pulled five minutes into the game after allowing two goals on three shots. Olof Lindbom made 19 saves in relief and allowed three goals.  

Scouting Indy

After a 3-8-1-0 start, the Fuel’s defense and goaltending has helped carry Indy to its high-water mark of five games above .500 at 19-14-4-0. Indy has won 16 of its last 25 games (16-6-3-0). Over those games, the Fuel are allowing 2.72 goals per game. 

Former NHL-er Cameron Hillis has 39 points (30a) in 37 games, best on the Fuel. Jon Martin (14g) and Kyle Maksimovich (13g) are best on the team in goals. 

Second year professional Zach Driscoll tops Indy with 12 wins (12-8-0-0 record), a 2.69 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage. 

Finally seeing the Fuel

After not playing for the first 39 games of the season, the Heartlanders are finally due for a matchup with Indy Friday. Last season, the clubs met 11 times and Iowa got at least a point four times (3 wins). 

The teams play six times in Iowa’s next 14 games, concluding the series at Indy Mar. 1. 

Iowa has played every other Central Division team at least four times and has concluded their season series with Fort Wayne earlier this month, making this year’s delay in playing the Fuel even more coincidental. 

Next up
The Heartlanders oppose Indy Sat., Jan. 27 at 6:00 p.m., then visit Kalamazoo for back-to-back road games Fri., Feb. 2 at 6:00 p.m. and Sat., Feb. 3 at 6:00 p.m.

The Heartlanders take on Kalamazoo on Wed., Feb. 7 at 6:35 p.m. at Xtream Arena. Iowa hosts Country Night, presented by KISS Country, on Fri., Feb. 9 at 6:35 p.m. vs. Cincinnati. The game features $6 domestic drafts and $3.50 fountain drinks. On Sat., Feb. 10 at 6:05 p.m. vs. Cincinnati, Iowa is home again for Cancer Awareness Night pres. by iHeartMedia. Join us as we recognize the fight against all forms of cancer and honor those that have battled and are currently fighting cancer.

Join the fun at Xtream Arena in the 2023-24 season

Here are some of the best options to make sure you experience the family-friendly entertainment of Heartlanders Hockey at Xtream Arena this season!

Flex Plans: Enjoy the service, savings and game dates that work best for you! Flex plans include “any game” ticket vouchers that are good for any home game during the 2023-24 regular season.  

18-game plans: With more than half the home season remaining, join us with an 18-game ticket plan, including the many perks, savings and advantages of being a half-season member. 

12-game plans: Grab tickets to your favorite 12 games! 12-game plans include savings on individually-priced tickets!

Group Tickets: Make a big impact with your group and spend an evening with the Heartlanders. Starting at a special rate of $15/Ticket. A group comprises 10 or more people and is perfect for parties, families, co-workers, clients and more.