Conacher in, Halmo out: Hartford pregame

No Mike Halmo today — reportedly injured in Friday night’s loss in Wilkes-Barre; hoping for more after the game — so Cory Conacher makes his Bridgeport debut in Halmo’s spot (well, on the right side, from the rushes) with C.J. Stretch and Harry Zolnierczyk. Otherwise similar, though it looks like Justin Courtnall slots back in for Peter Sivak. The Pack has one to scratch as well, though it looked like Steve Spinell, with Dallas Jackson rushing as a forward again.

BRIDGEPORT
F: Zolnierczyk-Stretch-Conacher
Mouillierat (A)-Quine-McDonald (A)
Gillies-Sundstrom-Courtnall
Gallant-Langkow-Vaughan
(Sivak-scratch)
D: Ness (C)-Pulock
Pelech-Mayfield
Czuczman-Graham
G: Poulin
Leggio

HARTFORD
F: R.Bourque (A)-Mueller (A)-O’Donnell
Vaive-Lindberg-Haggerty
C.Bourque (A)-Hrivik-Malone
Jackson-Nehring-Saponari
D: Allen-Kostka
Tallinder-McIlrath
Bodie-Hughes
(Spinell-scratch)
G: Desjardins
Malcolm

R: Lemelin. L: Briggs, Galvin.

This should be the box.

Conacher wearing No. 89 leaves just 28 numbers unworn for Bridgeport (though 63 was assigned to Lukas Sutter this fall). There are just four under 65: 56, 62, 63 and 64. When he hits the ice the first time, he’ll become the second AHL MVP to play for Bridgeport: Eric Boguniecki won it in 2001-02 with the Worcester IceCats and played five years later for the Sound Tigers. (Jason Krog won the award with Chicago in 2007-08, six years after his stint here.)

Michael Fornabaio