Field includes mix of exceptional forwards, defensemen and goaltenders across all of the New England Conferences 

BOSTON – February 15, 2022 – After a year’s absence of D-II/III hockey due to COVID, Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Cheryl Duddy-Schoenfeld announced today that 30 players are semifinalists for the21stJoe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III hockey player in New England.

The Joe Concannon Award was established in 2001 shortly after the passing of the longtime writer for The Boston Globe, who had a great passion for the game of college hockey while always advocating strongly for amateur athletics.

Nineteen teams are represented in the slate of candidates that includes ten players from the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC), six from the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), five from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), five from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and four from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). The list of nominees includes 19 forwards, six defensemen and five goalies.  Babson and the University of Massachusetts-Boston lead the nominee list with three each while Southern New Hampshire, New England College, Fitchburg State, Plymouth State, Norwich and Colby have two each.

The following is the complete list of semifinalists, by team, with statistics through February 13:

Just five of the 2022 nominees were semifinalists when the award was last presented in 2020. They are Babson forward Mike Egan; SNHU defenseman Joe Fiorino; Fitchburg State goaltender Brian McGrath; Endicott goaltender Conor O’Brien and St. Michael’s defenseman Sel Narby.

Assumption: Robert Holyoke, senior forward from Middleboro, MA (11G – 12A – 23 points; +20)

Babson: Ryan Black, senior forward from Pomfret, CT (16G – 17A – 33 points; +23); John Corrigan, senior defenseman from Stoneham, MA (2G – 15A – 17 points; +14); and Mike Egan, senior forward from Billerica, MA (12G – 16A – 28 points; +30)

Colby: Andy Beran, sophomore goaltender from St. Paul, MN (1.63 goals-against average, .938 save percentage); Justin Grillo, senior forward from Rockville Center, NY (8G – 10A – 18 points; +14)

Curry: Timmy Kent, junior forward from Parkland, FL (14G – 10A – 24 points; +7)

Endicott: Conor O’Brien, senior goaltender from Pinellas Park, FL (1.18 goals-against average, .957 save percentage)

Fitchburg State: Hunter Fortin, senior forward from Westerville, OH (13G – 13A – 26 points; +16); Brian McGrath, senior goaltender from Worcester, MA (2.06 goals-against average, .938 save percentage)

Franklin Pierce: Conor Foley, junior forward from Nahant, MA (11G – 13A – 24 points; +11)

Massachusetts-Boston: Sam Best, junior goaltender from Woburn, MA (2.31 goals-against average, .917 save percentage); Ethan Nitkin, senior forward from Miami Beach, FL (17G – 13A – 30 points; +4); Chris Peters senior forward from Fairport, NY (12G – 23A – 35 points; +13)

Massachusetts-Dartmouth: Dillon Radin, graduate student forward from Long Beach, NY (11G – 22A – 33 points; +/- 0)

New England College: Trevor Momot, senior defenseman from New Baltimore, MD (8G – 15A – 23 points; +12); Alex LaPlante, senior forward from Londonderry, NH (18G – 10A – 28 points; +20)

Norwich: Drennen Atherton, senior goaltender from Winter Haven, FL (1.79 goals-against average, .934 save percentage); Clark Kerner, freshman forward from Kansas City, KS (13G – 13A – 26 points; +13)

Plymouth State: Myles Abbate, junior forward from Norwell, MA (14G – 15A – 29 points; +13); JR Barone, graduate student forward from West Chester, PA (14G – 10A – 24 points; +12)

Salve Regina: Mitch Walinski, senior forward from Lincoln, RI (16G – 13A – 29 points; +20)

Southern New Hampshire: Joe Fiorino, senior defenseman from Willow Grove, PA (4G – 14A – 18 points; +15); George Thurston, senior forward from Plymouth, MA (17G – 11A – 28 points; +7)

St. Anselm College: Andrew Andary, junior forward from Macomb, MI (15G – 17A – 32 points; +9)

St. Michael’s College: Sel Narby, senior defenseman from Huntington, NY (7G – 12A – 19 points; +1)

Trinity: Jax Murray, sophomore forward from Minneapolis, MN (8G – 9A – 17 points; +7)

Tufts: Tom Tresca, senior defenseman from Newton, MA (6G – 6A – 12 points; +2)

Wesleyan: Matt Zandi, senior defenseman from Mount Kisco, NY (4G – 10A – 14 points; -2)

University of New England: Jake Fuss, junior forward from Fairfield, CT (8G – 19A – 27 points; +13)

“After more than a year away from competition, it has been fantastic to see all of the conferences back in action and at such a high level of play from the drop of the first puck” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello. ”It is amazing what the players, coaches and institutions have been able to do to get the games played and this year’s nominees reflect the great commitment that all players across the region have to perfecting their craft and playing the game with passion and enthusiasm. The number of semifinalists matches our highest number from 2020, and many more were worthy of consideration for this year’s award. It will be a challenge to pick a winner from this terrific field.”

The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 21^stJoe Concannon Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Frozen Four in Lake Placid, NY.

                                                Joe Concannon Award Winners

2001        Keith Aucoin                           Norwich University

2002        Michael Carosi                        Bowdoin College

2003        Nick Stauder                           Salem State College

2004        Jim Pancyzkowski                  Wesleyan University

                Michael O’Sullivan                 Curry College

2005        Brian Doherty                         Curry College

                Joseph Ori                               Trinity College

2006        Adam Dann                             Bowdoin College

2007        Greg Osborne                         Colby College

2008        Tom Maldonado                      Middlebury College

2009        Jeff Landers                            Amherst College

2010        Coleman Noonan                    St. Anselm College

2011        Josh Harris                              Castleton College

2012        Jeremiah Ketts                         Johnson & Wales University

2013        Colin Mulvey                          Norwich University

2014        Jackson Brewer                       Trinity College

2015        Jamie Murray                          Babson College

2016        Jamie Murray                          Babson College

2017        Brady Fleurent                        University of New England

2018        Colin Larkin                            Massachusetts-Boston

2019        Brady Fleurent                        University of New England

2020        Walker Harris                          Wesleyan University

2021        Canceled for COVID

The Joe Concannon Award

The Gridiron Club established the Joe Concannon Award in 2001 to honor Joe, a lifelong devotee of college hockey, former member of the Walter Brown Award Selection Committee and, as a journalist, a staunch advocate for the amateur athletes he knew and covered.  A native of Litchfield, Connecticut, Joe graduated from Boston University in 1961. He served as sports information director (SID) at Holy Cross before joining the Boston Globe in the late 1960’s to cover college sports.  Joe declined frequent invitations by his editors to write about Boston’s major professional sports teams, preferring to concentrate on the colleges, distance running and golf.  He wrote the book Marathoning with Bill Rodgers and established the highly successful Litchfield Road Race in his hometown.  Joe was a world traveler and was especially proud of his Irish heritage, frequently sojourning to the Emerald Isle.  He passed away in 2000.

2021-2022 Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Selection Committee and Advisory Board: Tim Costello, Chairman; Joe Bertagna, Tom Burke, Jim Connelly, Ned Cully, Dick DeCaprio, Bob DeGregorio, Kevin Fleming, Steve Hagwell, Dick Umile, Mike McShane, John Powers, Paul McNamara, and William J. Stewart III.

Press Contacts: 

Tim Costello, Committee Chairman       Phone: 732-425-5922             Tim.costello@ymail.com

Tom Burke, Communications Director    Phone: 617-323-5694             tomburke99@aol.com