Bridgeport hits the halfway mark tonight, Game 38. Hershey’s slump, coupled with points in five out of six for the Sound Tigers, has helped make the playoffs feel a lot closer than they did a couple-three weeks ago. An eight-game homestand (10 out of 11 here, actually) may give them a chance to put a run together.
Last year’s playoffs don’t feel all that far away, either, with the Marlies in town for the first time ever (asterisk). Wonder how they feel for those Marlies, though, who looked like worldbeaters last year until they hit Hershey. Toronto used 23 players in that series against the Sound Tigers. Of those, 11 remain on the roster, including both goalies, and eight are up right now with the Leafs. (Three of those eight have been down at some point.) Only four have left the organization: T.J. Brennan in Lehigh Valley, Stuart Percy with the Penguins, Sam Carrick out in Rockford, and Milford’s Own Mark Arcobello in Switzerland.
(For Bridgeport, 22 men played, and 11 are on the current roster, including injured Christopher Gibson; Scott Mayfield’s up, Parker Wotherspoon is back in junior, Matt Finn is in Missouri, and eight guys are out of the organization.)
In the three-game series, there were 10 Marlies who notched two or more points, led by Connor Carrick, who had five in Game 3 alone. Only two of them remain on the roster: defenseman Andrew Campbell, and Kasperi Kapanen, who’s out injured.
So instead of running away from the league, the Marlies right now are in that messy North Division dogfight for position; 13 points separates first and seventh, and five separates fourth and seventh. Still a pretty good club by all accounts, though.
In contrast, as it hits halfway, Bridgeport sits halfway between fourth-place Hershey and sixth-place Springfield, five points clear in either direction. Josh Ho-Sang is back in tonight, and Michael Dal Colle is out for the first time this year; coach’s decision, Brent Thompson said, a chance to rejuvenate and watch up top. Loic Leduc in for Patrick Cullity.
BRIDGEPORT
F: Rowe-Kearns (A)-Bernier (A)
St. Denis – Fritz – Ho-Sang
K.Jones-C.Jones-Markison
Johnston-B.Holmstrom (C)-J.Holmstrom
(Winquist-scratch)
D: Lafranchise-Pulock
Toews-Burroughs
Landry-Leduc
G: Halak
Williams
TORONTO
F: Leipsic-Froese (A)-Griffith
Rychel-Findlay-Faille
Johnsson-Greening-Timashov
Clune (A)-Cameranesi-Moore
D: Campbell (C)-Holl
Dermott-Loov
Nielsen-Wrenn
G: Bibeau
Sparks
R: Hersey, MacDougall. L: Galvin, Simeon.
Bridgeport scratches (believed healthy unless noted): Gibson (lower body), Cullity, Boulton, Dal Colle, apparently Winquist.
Scoreboard clock froze with about 25 minutes on the clock, nine minutes before warmup. Looks like they’re rebooting right now. The ones at the ends on the ribbon board are running, though. Edit: Looks like it’s working.