CRUNCH BEGIN DIVISION SEMIFINALS
 
The Syracuse Crunch face off against the Cleveland Monsters in Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals tonight from Rocket Arena.
 
Cleveland hosts the first two games of the series before it shifts to Syracuse for the final three games of the best-of-5 matchup.
 
The teams split their four-game season series with the home team winning every game.
 
BROADCAST COVERAGE
 
Countdown to Crunch Time at 6:45 p.m.
Streaming: Pay-to-watch video via AHLTV on FloHockey | www.syracusecrunch.com/watch
Radio: ESPN Radio Syracuse | www.espncny.com
 
REGULAR SEASON IN THE REAR VIEW
 
The Crunch closed the book on their regular season with a 41-24-3-4 record. They collected 89 points and finished in second place in the North Division. It was the team's highest standing finish since the 2022-23 season and was the most wins and points collected by the team in a 72-game season.
 
Syracuse finished top-10 in the league in both goals for per game (3.29) and goals against per game (2.63) for a plus-48 goal differential. The Crunch's 38 regulation wins were the fourth-most in the league.
 
PELLETIER CLAIMS SCORING TITLE
 
Crunch forward Jakob Pelletier earned the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL's top scorer. Pelletier finished his first season as a member of the Crunch with 77 points (28g, 49a) in 63 games to become only the second Crunch player to win the scoring title (Carter Verhaeghe, 2018-19).
 
Pelletier finished the season on a 20-game scoring streak, which began on Feb. 20 and is the longest streak in the AHL in over 17 years. He logged a point in 29 of his 31 home games played and had home point streaks of 13 games and 16 games.
 
SERIES SNAPSHOT
 
The Crunch and Monsters meet for their third playoff series. Cleveland has won both; a four-game triumph in the 2019 North Division Semifinals and a three-game sweep in the 2024 North Division Finals.
 
This season, the teams split their four-game set, and the home team was a perfect 4-0. Cleveland won twice in early December, and the Crunch responded with wins in late March. Jakob Pelletier led the Crunch with five points, including a series-leading four goals. Luca Pinelli had five points (2g, 3a) for Cleveland.
 
Syracuse posted a 2-for-12 (16.7%) mark on the power play, while the Monsters finished the series at 3-for-19 (15.8%).
 
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS
 
The Monsters are in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the third straight season. They secured third place in the North Division with a 37-26-6-3 record for 83 points and a 0.576 points percentage.
 
Luca Del Bel Belluz led the Monsters in all three major scoring categories during the regular season with 58 points (22g, 36a) in 55 games. He's notched five assists in his last six contests but hasn't scored a goal in seven games.
 
Mikael Pyyhtiä set a new career high with 21 goals. He found the back of the net seven times in his last six regular season outings.
 
Ivan Fedotov (23-16-6/2.87/.887) ranked third in the AHL in minutes played (2,718:55) but went just 1-4-2 in his final seven starts. Zach Sawchenko (14-10-3/3.05/.880) is 2-1 against the Crunch this season and won both games in Cleveland on Dec. 4 and 6. 
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
 
The Crunch begin the Calder Cup Playoffs on the road for the third straight year. It's the first time they begin a series on the road despite being the higher seed since the 2017 North Division Semifinals; the Crunch beat St. John's three games to one.
 
Syracuse was the best road team in the North Division, posting an 18-13-2-3 record away from Upstate Medical University Arena. They were the only North Division team to post a positive goal differential on the road.
 
HALVERSON BRIEFLY JOINS BOLTS
 
Goaltender Brandon Halverson spent most of this week on recall with the Tampa Bay Lightning as they began the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He did not dress for either of the first two games of their series against the Montreal Canadiens, and he was returned to the Crunch yesterday.
 
Halverson posted a 24-11-6 record with the Crunch this season to become the first Crunch goaltender to win at least 20 games in two different seasons. He had a league-high six shutouts in 43 appearances for the Crunch.