A night after the Evansville IceMen moved to re-acquire fan-favorite Nathan Moon, the offense also arrived in the team’s first home win of the season, a 4-2 victory over the Indy Fuel Friday at the Ford Center.
Defenseman Troy Rutkowski scored 2:19 into the contest to give Evansville its first opening period goal of the season and a 1-0 lead. Rutkowski skated in from the right point and snapped a quick shot off the crossbar and in behind Indy goaltender Mac Carruth. The Fuel responded on their first power-play of the night, when Dylan Clarke put away a loose puck from the slot at the end of a chaotic goal-mouth scramble.
Indy took the lead with 2:22 left in the frame, when rookie defenseman Ben Marshall joined the rush and blasted his first professional goal over the blocker of IceMen goalie Christoffer Bengtsberg. The Fuel led 2-1 after one.
Evansville tied the game midway through the second period when Ryan Penny flicked a saucer pass for Tyson Fawcett cutting to the net, and Fawcett slid a backhander around the stretched out pad of Carruth. 38 seconds later, Daultan Leveille capitalized on a Fuel turnover and put the IceMen ahead for good.
Leading for the first time entering the third this season, rookie Alex Wideman found the net for the first time in his pro career, beating Carruth from the left circle to provide some insurance. Bengtsberg and Evansville’s team defense held strong the rest of the way, earning the team’s first home victory of the season. The Swedish netminder made 29 saves for his first career win in North America, in what was his third straight start.
The IceMen next travel to Cincinnati Saturday in a quick turnaround for a 7:35pm EDT tilt at US Bank Arena against the Cyclones. The broadcast of the game will be on www.evansvilleicemen.com and ECHL.TV, with coverage starting at 7:20 EDT (6:20 in Evansville).
