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Where They Stand
The Monsters have back-to-back wins, but are just 4-5-1-0 in their last ten games and are 31-30-3-7 overall.  With 72 points, Lake Erie is fourth in the North Division and 12th in the Western Conference. Seven points out of eighth place, Cleveland's pro hockey team is in danger of becoming the fourth AHL club to be eliminated from Calder Cup contention. The Monsters stayed alive with two wins last week, knocking off the Marlies in overtime Wednesday, 2-1, and beating Rochester, 3-1, Friday. Lake Erie has just five games left on the season, four at home. After squaring off with the Crunch on Tuesday, the Monsters finish off their road schedule with a game in Hamilton on Friday.  They then face the Bulldogs in Cleveland on Saturday. 

Syracuse has 89 points, most in the East Division and third most in the Eastern Conference. Providence has 93 points and North Division-champion Springfield has 91. Binghamton trails Syracuse by two points, ranking second in the division afourth in the conference. Having secured a playoff berth last week, Syracuse will appear in its 11th postseason in its 19-year history and their 40-21-4-5 record marks the fourth time the team has reached 40 victories, the first time since the schedule was shortened from 82 to 76 games. Syracuse leads the AHL with 24 road wins and goals per game, 3.21.

A full breakdown of playoff-clinching scenarios is available at The AHL Playoff Primer. 

Scouting Report
The Monsters are led by rookie centers Andrew Agozzino (18g-30a-48pts), and Mike Sgarbossa (19g-25a-44pts), along with right wing Bill Thomas (21g-18a-39pts).  Both Agozzino and Sgarbossa are in the top ten in rookie scoring.  In goal, Calvin Pickard has played in 43 games and has a 17-19-5 record, a 2.55 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.

Ondrej Palat, who scored the only two goals in the 4-2 loss against Lake Erie in January, notched his 12th of the season Saturday in Hershey, his fourth game-winner and first point since returning from a 14-game stint in the NHL. With Tyler Johnson and Brett Connolly in Tampa, Palat is the team's leading scorer (12g-33a-45pts). Mark Barberio, who leads Syracuse with 23 power-play points, was called up to Tampa Monday and is set to make his NHL debut Tuesday. He would become the seventh Crunch player to make his NHL debut this season, most in the league. The Lightning have sent Matt Taormina back to the Crunch to replace Barberio. Saturday, Tanner Richard scored his first pro point in his second game, an assist on his 20th birthday, Apr. 6, in Hershey. Riku Helenius earned the 2-1 victory, his 17th win of the season and the 12th time in 32 games he's held an opponent to one goal or less. 

Last Meeting: January 19
The Crunch fell behind 2-0 for the fourth straight game and lost 4-2 to Lake Erie Jan. 19 at the War Memorial, the first of two meetings with the Monsters this season. After a scoreless first, Paul Carey (7) and Thomas Pock (5) scored before the halfway mark of the second. Ondrej Palat answered for Syracuse, scoring his fifth of the year 25 seconds after the Monsters took a 2-0 lead. Brett Connolly and Radko Gudas earned helpers at 9:20. Six minutes later Palat tied the game for Syracuse on a shorthanded breakaway with Tyler Johnson. The 2-2 score remained into the final stages of the third period despite a five-minute power play for the Crunch following a major boarding penalty to Cameron Guance. Shortly thereafter, Bill Thomas converted on a Monsters power-play and Joel Chouinard potted an empty netter as time expired. Riku Helenius made 19 saves on 22 Lake Erie shots while Calvin Pickard made 29 stops on 31 Syracuse shots.