CRUNCH AND MONSTERS WRAP UP SEASON SERIES
 
Syracuse and Cleveland meet tonight in the War Memorial Arena in their fourth and final meeting of the regular season. The Crunch are 1-0-1-1 this season against their newest North Division foe.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch extended their winning streak to five games with a 4-0 victory against the Utica Comets last night at the War Memorial Arena. Connor Ingram stopped all 21 Utica shots en route to his fifth shutout, tied for the most in the AHL.
 
Syracuse began the game killing off three straight penalties before opening the scoring at the 12:05 mark of the first period. Nolan Valleau's slap shot from the blue line deflected off a Comet in front and into the back of the net. In the final two minutes of the opening frame, Dennis Yan doubled the Crunch advantage off a saucer pass feed from Valleau. Yan snapped the puck home from the left circle for his 10th goal of the season, becoming the seventh Crunch player with 10 goals.
 
After a scoreless second period, the Crunch extended the lead 4:11 into the third. Andy Andreoff finished off some nifty passing from Alex Barré-Boulet and Carter Verhaeghe in tight, beating Utica goaltender Ivan Kulbakov over the glove. Verhaeghe added an empty-netter for a three-point night, giving him seven points (4g, 3a) over the last two games.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
Syracuse (26-13-2-1) is in the midst of its third winning streak of at least five games this season. The Crunch rattled off a streak of seven straight wins in November and a five-game streak in December. All five wins during this streak have come at home on a six-game homestand, which concludes tonight.
 
With 55 points, Syracuse is second in the North Division behind only Rochester (58 points). The Crunch have played two fewer games than the Amerks and the two teams have eight more meetings remaining.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet extended his scoring streak to four games last night (2g, 2a), which is his longest since a 12-game run Nov. 11-Dec. 12; that run remains tied for the longest in the league this season with teammate Cory Conacher and San Antonio's Jordan Kyrou. He leads all rookies with 40 points (21g, 19a). Barre-Boulet's 12 power-play goals are most in the entire American Hockey League.
 
Crunch goaltender Connor Ingram notched his fifth shutout of the season last night in the 4-0 victory against the Comets. He is now tied with Iowa's Kaapo Kahkonen for the league lead in shutouts. Ingram's 2.33 goals-against average ranks third in the AHL; he finished his rookie season with a 2.33 goals-against average. His .921 save percentage is sixth among all goalies and he has an 11-5-0 record. Five shutouts is tied for the second-most in a single season by a Crunch goaltender (Kristers Gudlevskis and J.P. Levasseur), only behind J.F. Labbe's nine in 2001-02. He also moved past Gudlevskis into third place in franchise history in career shutouts with nine.
 
VERHAEGHE'S 100 GAMES
 
Carter Verhaeghe appeared in his 100th Crunch game last night. The 23-year-old paces the Syracuse offense with a career-high 51 points (21g, 30a), good for second in the AHL. In his second year with the Crunch, the forward has seven points in his last two games, including a hat trick last weekend against Rochester.
 
In his first 100 games for the Crunch, Verhaeghe-acquired by Tampa Bay from the New York Islanders for Kristers Gudlevskis in 2017-has 99 points (38g, 61a), the most by any Crunch player over the last two seasons. He is set to become the 33rd player in franchise history to hit 100 points; the last to do it was Matthew Peca last season.
 
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS 
 
Fresh off a 7-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Cleveland Monsters (21-18-4-1) enter tonight's game in fifth place in the North Division standings. The Monsters are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 games, but haven't won a game in regulation since Dec. 22 against the Belleville Senators. Three of Cleveland's last four wins have come via a shootout, including a 4-3 win over the Crunch on Jan. 11. The Monsters, in their first year in the AHL's Eastern Conference, are one year removed from a last place finish in the Western Conference.
 
Offensively, the Monsters are led by veteran Nathan Gerbe (10g, 22a). The 5-foot-4 forward broke a three-game scoring drought on Jan. 26 against Chicago. Gerbe followed that up with an assist last night in the loss to the Penguins. The 31-year-old hasn't gone more than three games without a point this entire season.
 
Alex Broadhurst rides a three-game scoring streak (1g, 2a) into tonight's match against the Crunch. It is tied for his longest streak this season; the 25-year-old posted seven points (3g, 4a) in a three-game span Dec. 19-22. He is up to third on the Monsters with 28 points (8g, 20a) in 42 games.
 
In goal, the Monsters are led by Jean-Francois Berube, who has played in 29 games this season. He owns a 3.13 goals-against average with a .891 save percentage. In two games against the Crunch this season, Berube has let up four total goals.  The 27-year-old was on recall with the Blue Jackets for the last meeting between the teams on Jan. 11. Behind him, Brad Thiessen and Matiss Kivlenieks have combined to make 20 appearances this year.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch did not convert on the man advantage last night (0-for-2) and have scored just three power-play goals on 19 opportunities during their five-game win streak (15.8%). The Crunch's 22.8% conversion rate ranks third in the AHL (44-for-193), but they are just 14-for-99 (14.1%) since the start of December. Syracuse also has two of the best power-play producers on its roster; rookie Alex Barre-Boulet has scored a league-leading 12 power-play goals, while Cory Conacher has piled up 22 power-play points, good for the AHL lead (4g, 18a).
 
The Monsters went 1-for-7 on the power play last night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Cleveland's man advantage currently ranks 24th league at 16.4% (28-for-171). Only three teams have scored fewer power-play goals than Cleveland. Against the Crunch on Jan. 11, Cleveland converted on 1-of-4 power-play opportunities.
 
Syracuse was perfect on the penalty kill last night, stopping four straight Utica power plays in the first period. The Crunch are tied for ninth in the league on the penalty kill at 82.5% (170-for-206), however Syracuse has struggled while shorthanded on home ice.  At the War Memorial Arena, the Crunch's penalty kill is operating at just 77.1% which is tied for 28th in the AHL. With a perfect penalty kill last night, the Crunch ended a seven-game streak allowing a power-play goal.
 
Cleveland gave up two power-play goals last night in its loss to the Penguins (2-for-4). The Monsters' penalty kill ranks 12th in the AHL with an 81.7% kill rate. Cleveland has allowed two goals in nine chances over three games against the Crunch this season.