Game Thread: Toronto Marlies at Lake Erie Monsters, Jan 24, 2013

After a four-game losing skid in early December, the Monsters have turned up the heat, winning 10 of their last 14 games. They've had a bit of a break this week, playing their last game on Saturday, January 19, a 4-2 win against the Syracuse Crunch.

LEM sits at 6th place in the Western Conference, while the Marlies hold 3rd place. The Monsters are 2-1 against the Marlies so far this season, outscoring them 12 to 8.

Lake Erie's leading scorers are Michael Sgarbossa and Andrew Agozzino at 32 points each. Bill Thomas has been killing it lately, scoring 5 goals and 9 points over the last six games. The Monsters are 13-3-0-0 when Thomas scores. Joe Colburn of the Marlies is right there with Thomas, though, registering 3 goals and 10 points in seven games. Neither of Toronto's leading scorers are on the active roster right now: Keith Aucoin (10g, 27a) is playing with the Islanders and Mike Kostka (6g, 28a) is with the Maple Leafs. The next highest scorer is Captain Ryan Hamilton with 18 goals and 26 points.

Puck drop is at 7:00 PM, ET; TV: FOX Sports Ohio; Radio: ESPN 850 WKNR.