
The Indy Fuel are a
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team in the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
that began play in the
2014–15 season. Based in
Fishers, Indiana, the Fuel play their home games at the
Fishers Event Center, after having started play at the
Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
They are affiliated with the
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
's
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...
and the
AHL's
Rockford IceHogs.
History
On November 11, 2013, the ECHL's board of governors approved the expansion membership application of the Indy Fuel for admission to the league for the
2014–15 season. From 2013 to 2024, the club was based in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, and played home games at the
Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
On October 17, 2014, the Fuel played their franchise opening game against the
Fort Wayne Komets, reigniting the Indianapolis-
Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...
rivalry after 15 years in a 4–5 defeat.
On March 7, 2016, the Indy Fuel fired inaugural head coach
Scott Hillman and named Bernie John as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.
On April 8, 2016, the interim tag was removed and John was named head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the 2016–17 season.
At the end of the 2017–18 regular season, the Fuel qualified for their first playoff berth. Entering as a fourth seed in the Central Division with 78 points, they were swept by the
Toledo Walleye in the division semifinals. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs in the following
2018–19 season and the team released head coach Bernie John.
The Fuel hired Doug Christiansen as the general manager and head coach for the 2019–20 season following his first season as head coach of the
Manchester Monarchs.
On September 14, 2022, it was announced that the Fuel would be moving to the
Fishers Event Center, a new 8,500-seat arena to be built in
Fishers, Indiana, in time for the 2024–25 season.
The team practices at the Indy Fuel Tank, an indoor ice rink in
Fishers, Indiana.
On February 23, 2024, Eva Hallman became the first female broadcaster for the team. She joined long-time Indy Fuel play-by-play Andrew Smith in the booth.
On December 6, 2024, Indy opened the New Fishers Event Center in a loss to the Iowa Heartlanders, 4–3.
Season-by-season records
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Indy Fuel players
2013 establishments in Indiana
ECHL teams
Ice hockey teams in Indiana
Ice hockey clubs established in 2013
Sports clubs and teams in Indianapolis
2
Fishers, Indiana