Bowdoin College senior forward Adam Dann has been named this year’s winner of the sixth annual Joe Concannon Award by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston. The award recognizes New England’s best American-born Division II-III hockey player. The announcement was made by Gridiron Club president George Crotty.
Dann, a resident of Burlington, Vt., finished his career at Bowdoin with an outstanding season in which he scored 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points in just 24 games. During his career, Dann posted a balanced total of 58 goals and 52 assists for 110 points in playing 98 career games for the Polar Bears. Dann was named a second team NESCAC League all-star for the second consecutive year following his first team selection after the 2003-2004 season. He was team captain this season and led his team to the NESCAC conference championship game. Additionally, Dann has been further recognized as one of two Division III players selected as an alternate for the inaugural skills competition at the 2006 Division I Frozen Four weekend.
Bowdoin head coach Terry Meagher said, “Adam is a great kid, a remarkable kid. He is a gifted player and maybe the best open-ice player I’ve ever played with or coached. He has incredible speed that opens up the ice. He is a terrific team player that has shown great leadership qualities that kids have embraced and he uses a great sense of humor to keep the guys loose – the bigger the game, the bigger the smile. Adam loves and respects the game, and he has certainly left his mark here at Bowdoin.”
Meagher added, “To have one winner of the award was great but to have two winners is really special. I had known and respected Joe Concannon from my playing days in Boston. He was a terrific writer who really loved college hockey. He would be proud to have Adam win the award bearing his name.”
A strong field of finalist candidates vied with Adam Dann for the Concannon Award. They included senior forward Eric Frank from Mass.-Dartmouth and senior forward Matt McCarthy from Tufts.
Frank, from Waltham, Mass., led the Corsairs to a 25-5 record and the ECAC Northeast title. They enjoyed a twenty-one game winning streak during the season and became the first ECAC Northeast team to win a NCAA tournament game by defeating Geneseo in a first round game by a score of 8-2. Despite considerable attention from opposing teams, Frank finished the season with 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points including 5 game-winning goals among his 28 games played. During the critical final ten games of the season including the playoffs, Frank scored ten goals and added eight assists to lead his team through the playoffs and into the national tournament. For his career Eric has 67 goals and 89 assists for 156 points during his 92 game career at Mass.-Dartmouth.
McCarthy, from Medfield, Mass., was the leading scorer for the Tufts Jumbos. He is the first Tufts player to receive first team all-conference honors having been named to the NESCAC team this season. His 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points in just 22 games led the team in scoring and his eight power play goals proved his ability to convert on chances near the front of the goal. The senior forward finishes his career at Tufts with 49 goals and 43 assists for 92 points in eighty-seven games played.
“It has been another terrific season of competition at the Division II and III levels in New England college hockey,” said Committee chairman Tim Costello. “All of the nominees had outstanding seasons and our three finalists truly distinguished themselves from a very talented field. Adam has demonstrated great skill, leadership and sportsmanship and can take his place among the elite group of past winners.”
The 2006 Joe Concannon Award will be presented at the New England Hockey Writers Dinner on Thursday, April 13, 2006.
