Norfolk Draws First Blood, Beat The Marlies 3-1

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Admirals opened the 2012 Calder Cup Finals by celebrating some of their recent accomplishments.

They closed out the night one step closer to a title.

Rookie stars Cory Conacher and Tyler Johnson each had a goal and an assist as Norfolk blitzed the Toronto Marlies early and held on late, taking a 3-1 decision in a feisty opener to the American Hockey League’s 76th championship series.

In a pre-game ceremony, the Admirals raised banners to the Scope rafters commemorating their East Division, overall regular season and Eastern Conference playoff titles, as well as a fourth recognizing their record 28-game winning streak.

Once the puck dropped, Norfolk was quick to show the dominance they’ve displayed while winning 40 of their last 43 games.

Photo: L. Todd Spencer – The Virginian-Pilot

Conacher, the AHL’s most valuable player and rookie of the year in 2011-12, opened the scoring with the teams skating four-on-four at 12:21 of the first period, snapping a shot past Ben Scrivens. It was the second postseason goal for Conacher, who had led the league with 39 goals during the regular season.

Shots were 16-9 after one period and 27-12 by the midway point of the second period when Johnson doubled the lead to 2-0, ripping a bullet by Scrivens at 10:03. It was just the fourth power-play goal allowed by the Marlies all postseason.

Toronto finally got on the board at 3:57 of the third period, with former Admiral Carter Ashton, in his first action since Game 2 of the first round vs. Rochester, beating Dustin Tokarski to make it 2-1. That goal ended Tokarski’s personal shutout streak at 203 minutes and 26 seconds, just 4:01 shy of the all-time Calder Cup playoff record set by the Springfield Indians’ Marcel Paille in 1962.

The Marlies continued to pressure for the equalizer, but could not convert on three third-period power plays before Brandon Segal secured the win with an empty-net shorthanded tally with 18.3 seconds remaining.

Photo: L. Todd Spencer – The Virginian-Pilot

Scrivens (11-3, 1.64, .945) finished with 39 saves on the night as the Marlies were outshot by a 42-24 margin. Tokarski (9-2, 1.60, .940) stopped 23 shots to help Norfolk to its seventh consecutive victory.

The game, which featured a combined 70 minutes in penalties, saw Toronto finish 0-for-10 on the power play and Norfolk go 1-for-5.

NOTES: Attendance at Scope was 7,229… In Calder Cup Finals history, the Game 1 winner has won the series 56 of 75 times.

Toronto Marlies 1 at Norfolk Admirals 3 – Status: Final
Friday, June 1, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

Toronto 0 0 1 – 1
Norfolk  1 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Conacher 2 (Johnson, Oberg), 12:21. Penalties-Lashoff Tor (hooking), 1:25; Mueller Tor (roughing), 1:25; Cote Nor (slashing, roughing), 1:25; Panik Nor (hooking), 8:15; Dimmen Nor (tripping), 11:34; Dupuis Tor (tripping), 11:40; Labrie Nor (roughing), 15:46; Picard Nor (roughing), 18:47.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Johnson 4 (Barberio, Conacher), 10:03 (PP). Penalties-Conacher Nor (slashing), 4:47; Dupuis Tor (cross-checking), 9:18; Dupuis Tor (roughing), 12:24; Conacher Nor (roughing), 12:24; Picard Nor (cross-checking), 13:24; Picard Nor (checking to the head), 18:01; Dupuis Tor (goaltender interference), 19:23; Mikus Tor (roughing), 19:23; Palat Nor (roughing), 19:23; D’Amigo Tor (roughing), 20:00.

3rd Period-3, Toronto, Ashton 1 (Scott, Gardiner), 3:57. 4, Norfolk, Segal 4 (Smith, Gudas), 19:41 (SH EN). Penalties-Acton Tor (roughing), 8:59; Gudas Nor (roughing), 8:59; Kostka Nor (hooking), 10:38; Fraser Tor (fighting), 14:38; Labrie Nor (boarding, fighting), 14:38; Oberg Nor (delay of game), 18:24; Rosehill Tor (elbowing, misconduct), 19:57.

Shots on Goal-Toronto 9-9-6-24. Norfolk 16-13-13-42.
Power Play Opportunities-Toronto 0 / 10; Norfolk 1 / 5.
Goalies-Toronto, Scrivens 11-3-0 (41 shots-39 saves). Norfolk, Tokarski 9-2-0 (24 shots-23 saves).

A-7,229
Referees-Francis Charron (46), Jean Hebert (43).
Linesmen-Matt MacPherson (83), John Grandt (95).

Admirals Open Conference Finals With 6-1 Victory Over IceCaps

NORFOLK, Va. – Mike Kostka scored twice as 13 of 18 Norfolk skaters registered points in a 6-1 throttling of St. John’s in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. The same two teams square off Saturday night at Scope for Game 2 at 8:00 p.m.

Photo: Ross Taylor – The Virginian Pilot

Kostka scored two of four goals by Admirals defensemen in the victory, joining single tallies from Jean-Philippe Cote and Keith Aulie. Michel Ouellet and Ondrej Palat also scored for Norfolk, while Dustin Tokarski (5-2) stopped 29 of 30 shots for the win.

The first goal of the game did not come until 18:55 of the opening period when Kostka fired a power play slapshot past St. John’s goaltender Eddie Pasquale. Evan Oberg passed to Kostka at the top of the Norfolk offensive zone to start the play. Kostka wound up and fired a slapshot through traffic, beating Pasquale between his left leg and glove.

Norfolk added to their lead with another power play goal early in the second period. Tyler Johnson had the puck at the top of the left circle and passed it to Ouellet, who took the pass at the bottom of the circle. Ouellet skated towards net, sending a shot that bounced off Pasquale. Ouellet backhanded the rebound between Pasquale’s right leg and the post at 3:08 to make it a 2-0 Norfolk advantage.

Eight minutes later, Kostka extended the Norfolk lead with a goal very similar to his first. The play started with a Philip-Michael Devos feed along the wall from behind the St. John’s net. The puck found its way around the boards to a waiting Kostka. From the top of the right circle, Kostka fired another slapshot through traffic into the back of the net, making it 3-0 Norfolk at 11:04.

Continuing with the theme of successful slapshots by defensemen, Cote added Norfolk’s fourth goal at 13:42 of the second period. Trevor Smith had the puck in the middle of the left circle when he spotted Cote alone in the high slot. With no defenders around him, Cote wound up and fired a shot that grazed the shoulder of Pasquale before going into the net and making it 4-0 Norfolk. The IceCaps would bring in David Aebischer to relieve Pasquale at this point.

The Norfolk surge continued into the third period with a Palat goal at 1:28. Cory Conacher began the play after he poked the puck loose from a St. John’s player in the Norfolk zone. Johnson then began a two-on-one break. Johnson skated until the middle of the right circle where he passed across to Palat on the edge of the left circle. Palat beat Aebischer with a snap shot, blocker side, for a 5-0 lead.

Photo: Ross Taylor – The Virginian Pilot

St. John’s responded with a power play goal by Zach Redmond at the 2:11 mark. Brock Trotter skated the puck down to the middle of the right circle before throwing the puck behind the Norfolk net. As the puck emerged from behind the net near the left circle, Redmond reached for it, gathered it and banked a shot off Tokarski and into the net to make it 5-1 Norfolk.

Five minutes later in the third, Norfolk struck again, this time during four-on-four play. Palat skated down the right side of the ice after a pass from Conacher. When he reached the bottom of the right circle, Palat passed across the slot to Keith Aulie, who one-timed it past Aebischer to make it 6-1 Norfolk.

Eddie Pasquale (7-5) stopped 17 of 21 shots for the loss in the first 33:42 of the game. Aebischer (0-0) saw his first 26:18 of action in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, making 10 saves on 12 shots.

Norfolk was 2-for-5 on the power play. St. John’s was 1-for-7 with the man advantage.

St. John’s IceCaps 1 at Norfolk Admirals 6 – Status: Final

Thursday, May 17, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

St. John’s 0 0 1 – 1
Norfolk      1 3 2 – 6

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Kostka 2 (Oberg, Smith), 18:55 (PP). Penalties-Gudas Nor (elbowing), 5:08; Aulie Nor (double minor – high-sticking), 13:22; Sawada Stj (high-sticking), 15:05; Barberio Nor (delay of game), 15:32; Cormier Stj (goaltender interference), 17:02.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Ouellet 1 (Johnson, Barberio), 3:08 (PP). 3, Norfolk, Kostka 3 (Devos, Angelidis), 11:04. 4, Norfolk, Cote 1 (Smith, Labrie), 13:42. Penalties-Clark Stj (high-sticking), 1:24; Cote Nor (hooking), 16:24.

3rd Period-5, Norfolk, Palat 4 (Johnson, Conacher), 1:28. 6, St. John’s, Redmond 1 (Trotter, Postma), 2:11 (PP). 7, Norfolk, Aulie 1 (Palat, Conacher), 7:21. Penalties-Devos Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 1:35; Murray Stj (roughing, fighting), 3:01; Angelidis Nor (fighting), 3:01; Johnson Nor (slashing), 5:25; Trotter Stj (high-sticking), 5:40; Picard Nor (slashing), 15:16; Albert Stj (elbowing), 18:03; Clark Stj (roughing), 18:03; Murray Stj (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:03; Picard Nor (roughing, misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:03.

Shots on Goal-St. John’s 14-9-7-30. Norfolk 11-13-9-33.
Power Play Opportunities-St. John’s 1 / 7; Norfolk 2 / 5.
Goalies-St. John’s, Pasquale 7-5-0 (21 shots-17 saves); Aebischer 0-0-0 (12 shots-10 saves). Norfolk, Tokarski 5-2-0 (30 shots-29 saves).

A-3,541
Referees-Francis Charron (46), Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Mathieu Chenier (71), Tom George (61).

Who Is The Biggest Mama’s Boy

Admirals Take Game 2, Harpoon The Whale 4-1

NORFOLK, Va. – Netminder Dustin Tokarski made 27 saves and both Tyler Johnson and Cory Conacher scored a power play goal, as the Norfolk Admirals defeated the Connecticut Whale, 4-1, on Friday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. With the Eastern Conference Semifinals series tied at one game apiece, the teams will travel to Connecticut for Game 3 on Sunday night.

Norfolk killed six of seven Connecticut power plays and has stopped 35 of 37 opponent power plays in the playoffs to date. Johnson scored his first professional playoff points with a goal and an assist. Alex Killorn opened the scoring with his second goal of the playoffs, while Mike Kostka’s second career playoff tally proved to be the game-winner as the Admirals snapped a two-game home losing streak. AHL MVP Cory Conacher capped off the scoring in the third period with his first professional playoff goal.

The Admirals opened a two-goal lead with a pair of even strength goals in the opening 20 minutes. Three minutes after the opening faceoff, Pierre-Cedric Labrie picked up a loose puck behind the Whale net. From behind the goal line to the glove side of Whale netminder Cameron Talbot, Labrie fed a pass to the top of the left faceoff circle. From there, Killorn chipped a shot over the glove of Talbot to put Norfolk ahead, 1-0.

Photo: Steve Earley, The Virginian-Pilot

Norfolk increased its lead to 2-0 with less than three minutes to go in the opening frame. From the center of the right faceoff circle, Alexandre Picard connected with Kostka on a cross-crease pass. After pinching in from the point, Kostka slipped a shot under a sprawling Talbot at 17:44.

The teams exchanged a pair of power play goals as the Admirals maintained their two-goal lead through 40 minutes.

Midway through the period, Connecticut’s Andre Deveaux narrowed the Norfolk lead to one goal. While Norfolk’s Evan Oberg served the second penalty of a double-minor for high-sticking, the Whale crashed the Admirals’ net. With a teammate knocked into the net, Deveaux jammed in a loose rebound to bring the score to 2-1 at 9:02.

Photo: Steve Earley, The Virginian-Pilot

The Admirals reclaimed a two-goal lead with a power play tally of their own. With 36 seconds remaining on a five-on-three power play, Kostka knocked a pass to Johnson for a shot. The initial shot bounced to Trevor Smith off a Whale defenseman in the crease. Smith’s rebound attempt deflected to Johnson, who sent the shot off Talbot and into the goal to put Norfolk ahead, 3-1, at 15:45.

Norfolk capped off scoring with their second power play tally of the evening. While skating with a five-on-four man advantage, Johnson connected with Conacher on a pass through the center of the Connecticut zone. From the right faceoff dot, he sent a slap shot beyond a diving Talbot to put the Admirals ahead, 4-1, at 4:41.

The Admirals finished the night 2-for-11 on the power play while holding Connecticut’s man advantage to one goal on seven attempts.

Tokarski (3-1) stopped 27 of 28 shots while his counterpart Cameron Talbot (4-1) finished the night with 36 saves on 40 shots.

Connecticut Whale 1 at Norfolk Admirals 4 – Status: Final
Friday, May 4, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

Connecticut 0 1 0 – 1
Norfolk         2 1 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Killorn 2 (Labrie, Aulie), 3:00. 2, Norfolk, Kostka 1 (Picard), 17:44. Penalties-Grant Ct (interference), 3:03; Picard Nor (boarding), 5:11; Picard Nor (slashing), 7:15; McIlrath Ct (interference), 11:16; Picard Nor (tripping), 14:58; Audy-Marchessault Ct (slashing), 18:39.

2nd Period-3, Connecticut, Deveaux 1 (Hrivik, Tessier), 9:02 (PP). 4, Norfolk, Johnson 1 (Smith, Kostka), 15:45 (PP). Penalties-Grant Ct (roughing), 3:24; Deveaux Ct (holding the stick), 6:19; Cote Nor (roughing), 6:19; Oberg Nor (double minor – high-sticking), 6:28; Redden Ct (roughing), 14:20; Newbury Ct (cross-checking), 15:00; Redden Ct (roughing), 19:54; Tessier Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00; Picard Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00.

3rd Period-5, Norfolk, Conacher 1 (Johnson, Barberio), 4:41 (PP). Penalties-Newbury Ct (tripping), 3:40; Deveaux Ct (interference, fighting, game misconduct – jersey, game misconduct – abuse of officials), 6:08; Hrivik Ct (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:08; Newbury Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:08; Segal Nor (fighting), 6:08; Conacher Nor (goaltender interference), 12:16; Wellman Ct (boarding), 12:48; Killorn Nor (interference), 16:11.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 13-7-8-28. Norfolk 12-14-14-40.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 7; Norfolk 2 / 11.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 4-1-0 (40 shots-36 saves). Norfolk, Tokarski 3-1-0 (28 shots-27 saves).
A-4,859
Referees-Graham Skilliter (48), Jamie Koharski (84).
Linesmen-Matt MacPherson (83), Tom George (61).

Admirals Over Monarchs 3-2, Lead Series 1-0

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Admirals (1-0) used two power play goals and a perfect penalty kill to hold on to a 3-2 victory over the Manchester Monarchs (0-1) in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Friday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. The Admirals lead the best-of-five series, one game to none, with Game 2 set for tomorrow night at Scope at 7:15 p.m.

Norfolk killed all seven Manchester power play opportunities – including two in the game’s final five minutes. Alexandre Picard and Trevor Smith scored power play goals for Norfolk while Mark Barberio scored at even strength. Jaroslav Janus (1-0) stopped 27 of 29 shots for his first career victory in the Calder Cup Playoffs. A crowd of 5,720 saw the contest at Scope, easily surpassing the previous AHL Admirals playoff record crowd of 4,324 from April 27, 2007.

Norfolk jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Barberio at 6:39 of the first period. Picard won a faceoff at the left circle directly back to Barberio at the left point. Already in a shooting stance, Barberio launched a slap shot past Manchester goalie Jeff Zatkoff’s glove to make the score 1-0.

The second period would see two quick power play strikes from the Admirals. Picard made the score 2-0 after a series of passes between he, Smith and Cory Conacher. The AHL’s MVP started the passes from the right faceoff circle when he sent the puck to Smith in the right corner. Smith then passed to a streaking Picard in the slot, who one-timed the puck past Zatkoff at 1:42.

Within two minutes of the Picard goal, Smith beat Zatkoff to give Norfolk a 3-0 lead. The power play score began with a pass at the right point from Mike Kostka to Evan Oberg. Oberg took the puck at the left point and skated with it through the left circle. He threw the puck in front of the crease and the puck deflected off of Smith’s right skate into the net at 3:39.

This prompted a change in Manchester net with Martin Jones relieving Zatkoff. Jones would not allow another goal.

The Monarchs mounted a comeback attempt midway through the third period with a shorthanded goal. After forcing a turnover in the Manchester zone, Stefan Legein sent a shot from the right half wall past Jaroslav Janus into the bottom right corner of the net to cut Norfolk’s lead to 3-1.

Manchester’s third period surge continued with a goal by Marc-Andre Cliche at 13:57. Thomas Hickey fired a shot from the blue line into traffic. The shot deflected off Cliche and past Janus to bring the Monarchs within one goal.

With one minute remaining in regulation, Manchester pulled Jones from net to bring an extra skater on the ice. After a near empty netter by Norfolk, time expired and Manchester could not send the game into overtime.

Jaroslav Janus (1-0) turned aside 27 of 29 shots for his first AHL playoff victory. Jeff Zatkoff (0-1) stopped 10 of 13 shots for the loss through 23:24 of play. He was pulled after the third goal in favor of Martin Jones, who stopped all 19 shots he faced through 35:06 of relief.

Norfolk was 2-for-6 on the power play. Manchester was 0-for-7 with the man advantage.

Manchester Monarchs 2 at Norfolk Admirals 3 – Status: Final
Friday, April 20, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

Manchester 0 0 2 – 2
Norfolk        1 2 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Barberio 1 (Picard), 6:39. Penalties-Panik Nor (tripping), 3:07; Conacher Nor (hooking), 11:35; O’Neill Mch (boarding), 16:03; Hickey Mch (slashing), 19:58.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Picard 1 (Smith, Conacher), 1:42 (PP). 3, Norfolk, Smith 1 (Oberg, Kostka), 3:39 (PP). Penalties-Mullen Mch (hooking), 3:02; Clune Mch (fighting), 3:40; Labrie Nor (fighting), 3:40; Picard Nor (roughing), 14:07; Segal Nor (roughing), 17:56.

3rd Period-4, Manchester, Legein 1 (Azevedo), 9:53 (SH). 5, Manchester, Cliche 1 (Hickey, Mullen), 13:57. Penalties-Mullen Mch (slashing, roughing), 3:41; Angelidis Nor (slashing, roughing), 3:41; Picard Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:41; Kozun Mch (interference), 6:15; Muzzin Mch (delay of game), 7:57; Deslauriers Mch (high-sticking), 15:05; Panik Nor (hooking), 15:58; Segal Nor (tripping), 17:57.

Shots on Goal-Manchester 11-8-10-29. Norfolk 9-11-12-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Manchester 0 / 7; Norfolk 2 / 6.
Goalies-Manchester, Zatkoff 0-1-0 (13 shots-10 saves); Jones 0-0-0 (19 shots-19 saves). Norfolk, Janus 1-0-0 (29 shots-27 saves).

A-5,720
Referees-Terry Koharski (10), Jason Rollins (37).
Linesmen-Mark Hamlett (81), Scott Pomento (25).

 

The ups and downs (but mostly ups) of Cory Conacher

Great article from Jim Hodges that appeared in the Virginian-Pilot.

 

The ups and downs (but mostly ups) of Cory Conacher

By Jim Hodges

NORFOLK

Friday in Albany, Cory Conacher was named the American Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player.

Saturday in Binghamton, he was benched in the second period of a game the Norfolk Admirals went on to win 3-2 in overtime, their 27th victory in a row.

Sunday in Adirondack, Conacher scored three goals to give him 39 and make him the AHL scoring champion.

Just another weekend in the maturing of Conacher, who came to the Admirals from Canisius College as an unheralded, diminutive winger who had impressed Tampa Bay in camp. And who, six months later, is taking away what coach Jon Cooper calls a “wheelbarrow of awards.”

That did not keep Cooper from sitting Conacher because of a bad penalty Saturday, a period after he had given the Admirals a 1-0 lead.

“He’s growing as a player, he’s maturing as a player and part of that is his ability to keep his emotions intact,” Cooper said. “Cory thrives on emotion, and you don’t want to take that away from him. But sometimes where he channels his emotions derails him.”

It did just after a whistle Saturday, when he pushed a Binghamton player into goalie Mike McKenna and was whistled for roughing.

“I get in a zone, and I’m too intense sometimes,” Conacher said. “I’m not really thinking at the time it happens, and that’s why I took that penalty.

“I knew going to the box that it wasn’t the right time to take that penalty. It was a stupid penalty.”

Binghamton’s Mike Hoffman scored on the resulting power play, and Matt Puempel continued the momentum with a goal 1:56 later to give the Senators a 2-1 lead. Winning streak notwithstanding, Conacher was a spectator the rest of the night.

“Sometimes he has to make a statement,” Conacher said of Cooper.

The statement was that players who take selfish penalties hurt the team, even a player who has piled up individual awards.

The lesson was that the playoffs, which begin Friday at Scope with a game against Manchester that starts a best-of-five series, magnify everything. Power plays are nothing to give away.

“Here in the playoffs, I’m going to have to take some slashes, some punches to the head just to stay out of the box and help the team,” Conacher said. “I’m going to have to put some things aside and concentrate on the team. I’m sure Manchester’s going to try to get under my skin. It’s going to be hard for me not to give them a whack back, but it’s playoffs and I’ve got to do it for the team.”

But there’s only so much he can take. Or should have to take.

“I can live with some of the stuff he does because it’s part of his DNA,” Cooper said. “If you take that away from him, he wouldn’t be as effective a player. And the stat that nobody sees is how many penalties he draws. It would far exceed what he takes. We’ve been up power plays countless times because of the way he plays.

“He has an impact on the game, and 99 percent of the time, it’s a positive impact.”

That is why Conacher is with the Admirals and the Tampa Bay organization after professional tryouts last season in Rochester and Milwaukee, and with Cincinnati of the ECHL.

“It seemed that everywhere he was playing, we had a scout,” said Pat Verbeek, the assistant general manager of the Lightning who signed Conacher to an AHL contract that brought him to Norfolk.

He has since signed an NHL contract with Tampa Bay and will get a long look at training camp in September.

Conacher has struggled for everything he has gotten in hockey, primarily because he is 5-foot-8. That struggle manifests itself in the way he plays.

“He plays with an edge,” Verbeek said. “That’s how I had to play.”

A 20-year NHL player with 522 goals, Verbeek is 5-9. His nickname: “Little Ball of Hate.”

Whether Type I diabetes scared off some teams from giving Conacher a look is another matter. Conacher was diagnosed as a youngster.

“Bobby Clarke had diabetes,” Verbeek reminded, “and he was a pretty good player.”

Clarke, who is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, led the Philadelphia Flyers to two Stanley Cups and was a three-time NHL MVP.

“In a strange way, I guess, it might help Cory,” Verbeek said. “He knows he has to live a certain way if he wants to play hockey. He can’t go to the bars and do things like that.”

Conacher’s parents invested in a state-of-the-art insulin pump that monitors blood sugar. Teammates and especially Admirals trainer Brad Chavis have learned signs of low blood sugar.

“It controls the way I do things,” Conacher said of the diabetes. “I can’t drink and eat whatever I want and sleep as much as I want. I have to keep a full schedule, and if I don’t follow the schedule, that’s when things get rough.”

He follows a rigorous routine, and has had no episodes during the season.

It’s a protocol he’ll follow into the playoffs. His pregame routine won’t change either.

Fans filing into Scope early can see him alone in a sweatsuit on the Admirals’ bench with pucks stacked in front of him. He’s visualizing what will happen in the 2-1/2 hours after the puck drops.

“I’m trying to go through the things that may happen in the game,” Conacher said. “Line rushes. Plays on the power play. I’ll take looks at the net, pick corners where I might be able to beat the goalie. Sometimes in the (defensive) zone, getting pucks out.”

The scenes have been prescient. Conacher has awards to support that. And on Friday, there will be an addition to the visualization regimen.

“I’m sure in this series, I will be visualizing the Calder Cup and what it would be like to win the Calder Cup,” he said, then added with a laugh, “it might be harder to visualize scoring, because it’s going to be harder.”

That’s because he’s part of every opponent’s game plan.

“Teams are definitely aware of him now,” Cooper said. “They know when he’s on the ice, and they really try to get under his skin. Now it doesn’t work nearly as often.”

And when it does, Conacher is sitting in front of Cooper, watching instead of playing.

“Coop really does keep you humble,” Conacher said.