The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Friday that Brady Fleurent of the University of New England is the winner of the 17th Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England at the NCAA Division II/III level.
The 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.
Fleurent, a sophomore from Biddeford, Maine, led all scorers in the nation with 18 goals and 35 assists for 53 points. He plays on the dangerous B-F-F line that includes teammates Ryan Bloom and brother and fellow finalist Trevor Fleurent. Brady’s 53 points broke the single-season scoring record for UNE and helped carry the Nor’easters to the championship game against Endicott College in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.
It was a phenomenal season for Brady and the team,” UNE coach Kevin Swallow said in a news release. “Brady has led the country in points for most of the season and was a threat to score any time he was on the ice.”
Fleurent was also recognized as the CCC Player of the Year and a First Team All-Star by the league coaches for his dominant performance on the ice. Equally important, he has displayed the qualities of sportsmanship and leadership essential to winning the award.
“You always want your best players to be good people and strong leaders and Brady most definitely has those qualities,” added Swallow. “He lives and breathes the game of hockey and brings so much to the rink and with his teammates every day. They feed off his energy, and his enthusiasm is contagious in the locker room and on the ice.”
The other Concannon Award finalists were senior forward Trevor Fleurent (UNE), sophomore defenseman Logan Day (Endicott), senior forward Jackson Leef (Westfield State), junior forward Colin Larkin (UMass Boston) and senior defenseman Cody Smith (Norwich).
“This is yet another outstanding group of finalists and, as always, it has become ever more difficult to easily select a single winner for the Concannon Award,” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello in a statement. “This year marked a season where there was great competition in and among each of the New England conferences giving players greater opportunities to showcase their skills against the best the region had to offer. For Brady to distinguish himself above all others under consideration is a testament to his consistency and high-level performance in every game played for UNE this season. The fact that he is the winner among finalists that include his brother truly make this a unique recognition for the players and siblings as well as the other strong finalists.”
The Concannon Award will be presented to Fleurent at the New England College Hockey Writers’ Dinner on Tuesday, April 11 at the Prince Restaurant in Saugus, Mass.
Babson goalie Jamie Murray captured the award in both 2015 and 2016.
