With 65 games down and just 15 to go in the 2009-10 regular season, the Monsters wake up each and every day to one realization: the numbers don’t lie.

As of today, March 8th, the Monsters trail the Manitoba Moose by four points. Those precious four points – which separate fourth and fifth place in the North Division – also dictate whether or not the team will play beyond April 10th, their final game of the 2009-10 regular season, and compete in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
While on the topic of numbers, LakeErieMonsters.com will break down the season to date by just that – the numbers.

18,626 – The number of fans in attendance for Lake Erie’s 5-4 overtime win January 22nd against the Texas Stars. That attendance total was the fifth-largest in regular season AHL history at the time and is tops in Monsters franchise history. On February 20th, the Syracuse Crunch hosted the Binghamton Senators in the first-ever AHL outdoor game, a contest that drew an audience of 21,508, which now is tops on the all-time AHL regular season attendance record, and dropped the Monsters to sixth all time.

80% – At this point in the season, game 66, the Monsters have played more than 80 percent of their 2009-10 regular season schedule.

55 – Darren Haydar’s 55 points lead the Monsters through 65 games. Last season’s top point getter for Lake Erie finished with 46 points.

47 – The number of players that have been on Lake Erie’s active roster and played with the team this year.

36 – Former University of Michigan standout T.J. Hensick leads the club with 36 assists.

22 – Haydar’s 22 goals are tops on the team.

13 – Number of players that began the year with the Monsters and have been called up by Colorado (Phil Dupuis, Chris Durno, Brian Fahey, Haydar, Justin Mercier, Wes O’Neill, Derek Peltier, Brett Skinner, Ryan Stoa, Tyler Weiman, Brian Willsie, Ryan Wilson and Brandon Yip)

13 – Number of wins the Monsters have away from The Q this season with 10 road games left. Last year, Lake Erie recorded 14 wins on the road in the entire season.

10 – Of the 13 Monsters called up to Colorado, 10 have seen action in the NHL (Dupuis, Durno, Haydar, Mercier, O’Neill, Peltier, Stoa, Willsie, Wilson and Yip).

9th – Lake Erie’s power play, clicking at a 19.1 percent pace, is 9th in the AHL. Last season, the Monsters were 29th in the AHL on the man advantage with a success rate of 11.4 percent.

4 – Of the 10 Monsters to appear in games with the Avalanche this season, four made their NHL debuts (Mercier, Stoa, Wilson and Yip).

3 – Of the 10 Monsters to see time up top, three recorded their first goals in the NHL (Mercier, Wilson and Yip).

1 – Hensick became the first player in franchise history to earn AHL Player of the Month honors. Hensick took home the prestigious prize for his accomplishments in the month of December, a month that saw Lake Erie’s All Star post 23 points (4G, 19A) in 13 games.