Former Burlington Cougar & St. Michael's Buzzer Shane Conacher (photo credit - Tom Wolf Imaging), now with the Canisius College Golden Griffins, was named Atlantic Hockey Offensive Player of the Week for his recent accomplishments.
The Burlington, Ontario native played 'AAA' with the Burlington Eagles organization, playing his first junior game in 2010-11 as a minor midget affiliate with his hometown Cougars. Conacher joined the Cougars full-time in 2011-12 as a 17-year old and led the club in scoring during the regular season with 28 assists and 42 points in 46 games played, while adding 7 points in 9 post-season contests. Conacher was back stronger than ever in 2012-13 and got off to a hot start, earning runner-up honours as the Gongshow Gear South-West Conference Player-of-the-Month for September. He continued this play into November and earned a spot on Team Canada East, recording three points at the 2012 World Junior 'A' Challenge that was held in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Not long after competing at the 2012 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge in Wellington, Ontario, as a member of the OJHL West Division All-Star Team, Conacher was traded to the St. Michael's Buzzers and ultimately was the key piece that led the club to its first OJHL Championship since 2005-06. Conacher went on a tear in the playoffs, leading all scorers with 21 assists and 35 points in 23 games played, while factoring in on eight of the club's 16 game-winning goals, including the clinching game seven of the Final versus Newmarket. For his efforts, Conacher was awarded the Brent Ladds Trophy as OJHL Playoff Most Valuable Player to finish off his Junior 'A' career and following the season was also named to the OHA All-Prospect Team.
Below is the official press release from the Canisius College Athletics website (www.gogriffs.com):
One of the nation’s leading scorers, junior Shane Conacher of the Canisius College hockey team collected Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week accolades, announced by the conference on Tuesday.
In a pair of games at Air Force, Conacher totaled five points, two goals and three assists to help the Griffs split the weekend series. In the opener, Conacher registered two points on a goal and an assist in a 3-2 setback. He then followed up with a season-best three points in the finale, scoring the game-winning tally and adding two assists in a 4-2 victory.
In 15 games during his junior season, Conacher leads the Griffs with 19 points, eight goals and 11 assists. The Burlington, Ontario native currently ranks ninth in the country in points, 22nd in goals and 20th in assists, while also placing third nationally with three game-winning tallies.
The weekly accolade marks the first time in Conacher’s career that he was named Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week.
Conacher and the Griffs return to action this weekend with a home-and-home series against Robert Morris. The schools open the two-game set in Pittsburgh on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.