DIVISION LEADERS CLASH IN CHARLOTTE
 
The top two teams in the American Hockey League open a two-game series tonight at Bojangles Coliseum.
 
The Crunch lead the North Division with 83 points and only trail Charlotte Checkers—who lead the Atlantic Division with 86 points—in the race for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, awarded to the team with the best record in the AHL.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch earned their ninth win over the Binghamton Devils with a 4-1 victory at the War Memorial Arena Saturday night.
 
The Crunch scored on their first shot 4:02 into the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Carter Verhaeghe sent a cross-ice pass to Alex Barré-Boulet, who slid the puck toward the crease where Andy Andreoff fired home his 24th goal of the season with a power-play strike.
 
Syracuse scored two more goals in the second period. Alex Volkov drove down the left wing and slipped a puck through goaltender Evan Cormier at 1:59. Verhaeghe opened a 3-0 lead for the Crunch by streaking in on a partial breakaway down the left wing, cutting across the front of the crease and flicking a tough-angle backhand at 11:42.
 
The Devils netted their only goal of the night in the final minute of the second period. A puck squirted out in front of the net and Ryan Schmelzer deposited it to make it 3-1. The Crunch iced the game late in the third on a Volkov empty-net goal for a 4-1 final.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH  
 
The Crunch have reached 40 wins for the second straight season; it's the seventh time in franchise history and the 63 games needed to hit 40 wins are the fewest in franchise history. The Crunch (40-17-4-2) have won three straight games and ride a seven-game points streak (6-0-1-0)—the longest active streak in the league—into today's match with the Checkers.
 
Charlotte's two wins over Rochester over the weekend helped the Crunch open a season-high three-point cushion over the Amerks for the top spot in the North Division.
 
Andy Andreoff extended his scoring streak to a season and career-high seven games with four points (2g, 2a) in three games last week. Skating on a line with rookies Ross Colton and Taylor Raddysh, the veteran had an assist Wednesday in Laval, scored a goal Friday against Hartford then recorded his 12th multi-point game of the season (1g, 1a) in Saturday's win over Binghamton.
 
In his first season with the organization, Andreoff has established new career-highs in points (48), goals (24) and power-play goals (9), while his 24 assists have matched a career-high. His 48 points ranks fourth on the team, while his 24 goals rank third on the Crunch and are tied for 17th in the AHL.
 
VERY GOOD VERHAEGHE  
 
Carter Verhaeghe snapped a three-game scoring drought with his 21st multi-point performance of the season Saturday against the Devils. He set up the game's first goal with a power-play assist—his 20th—then scored a highlight-reel goal on a partial breakaway later in the game. 
 
With 69 points, the 23-year-old has established a new single-season record for most points during the Lightning affiliation, now in its seventh season. That also ranks tied for 10th in a single season in franchise history; the Crunch record is 79 points, set by Lonny Bohonos in 1994-95 and matched by Bill Bowler in 2000-01.
 
He paces the Crunch with 21 multi-point outings in 63 games; Verhaeghe entered the season with 22 career multi-point games in 135 AHL contests.
 
SCOUTING THE CHECKERS  
 
The Checkers swept a two-game series against the Rochester Americans to run their winning streak to three games. They became the first team in the AHL this season to collect at least 20 wins at home (20-6-4-0) and on the road (21-9-2-1); they've also won six straight games at home. Charlotte's magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to six, tied with the Crunch for the lowest magic number in the AHL.
 
AHL All-Star Andrew Poturalski leads the Checkers in scoring with 58 points (21g, 37a) in 63 games. He is one of two Checkers (Julien Gauthier) to skate in all 63 games this season.  The 58 points are a new career-high for the third-year-pro, while his 21 goals are one shy of his total from last season for the most in his career. The Williamsville, New York native has nine points (3g, 6a) in the last eight games.
 
The Checkers second-leading scorer Aleksi Saarela will miss both games this week against the Crunch. He was suspended by the AHL as a consequence of a high-sticking incident in a game vs. Rochester on Mar. 16. He has 43 points (22g, 21a) in 58 games this season.
 
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic leads the league with 29 wins (29-7-4) while posting a 2.34 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Dustin Tokarski was acquired from Hartford at the trade deadline; he's won both of his starts for the Checkers and is 12-6-2 between Hartford and Charlotte.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch have power-play goals in six of the last eight games, going 9-for-38 (23.7%) in that span. They are 9-for-40 in March, currently their second-best power play month (22.5%), only behind November, when the Crunch were 22-for-57 (38.6%). The Crunch rank fifth in the league at 21.2%.
 
The Checkers went 2-for-10 in their two-game set against the Rochester Americans over the weekend and they've connected in their last six games (8-for-32). That has pushed the Checkers up to a tie for 18th in the league at 18.1%, however, they are near the bottom of the league when at home, operating at 14.4% (29th) at Bojangles Coliseum.
 
Syracuse's penalty kill has allowed a power-play goal in four straight games, giving up five in 23 chances. Despite that, the Crunch still rank fourth in the league at 84.8%, which includes an 89.6% penalty kill on the road.
 
Charlotte killed off all nine Amerks power plays in their Saturday win, boosting the Checkers up to second overall in the league at 85.7%. Although their power play struggles at home, the Checkers penalty kill is third overall on home ice at 86.6%.