Fuel add forwards Bligh, Schmit

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indy Fuel, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, announced that they have agreed to terms with forwards Nick Bligh and Andrew Schmit for the 2017-18 season.

Bligh finished second in scoring among Fuel rookies in 2016-17 with 15 goals and 13 assists over 41 total games played. After making stops with the South Carolina Stingrays and Adirondack Thunder in the first half of the season, the 24-year-old arrived in Indianapolis via trade on Feb. 1. In 28 games with the Fuel, Bligh tallied 22 points (12g-10a), including his first professional hat trick against the Quad City Mallards on April 4.

A graduate of Dartmouth College, Bligh recorded 42 points (19g-23 assists in 96 contests over a four-year NCAA career from 2012-16. Prior to joining the Big Green, the Boston native was named the Eastern Junior Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year in 2011-12, after putting up 85 points (22g-63a) in 43 games for the South Shore Kings.

Schmit comes to Indianapolis after compiling 22 points (6g-16a) and 91 penalty minutes in 55 games with the Southern Professional Hockey League’s Pensacola Ice Flyers last year. The 25-year-old split his collegiate career between the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Miami University (Ohio), transferring to the latter before the 2013-14 season. In 96 career NCAA games, Schmit tallied 15 points (4g-11a) and added 54 penalty minutes. The product of Culver Academy helped the RedHawks to an NCHC playoff title in 2014-15, alongside 2016-17 Fuel MVP Alex Wideman.