The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Tuesday that 30 players are semifinalists for the 21st Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born men’s NCAA Division II/Division III hockey player in New England.
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.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
There was no award given out in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Just five of the 2022 nominees were semifinalists when the award was last presented in 2020 – 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, Middleboro, Mass.
Babson: Ryan Black, senior forward, Pomfret, Conn.; John Corrigan, senior defenseman, Stoneham, Mass.; Mike Egan, senior forward, Billerica, Mass.
Colby: Andy Beran, sophomore goaltender, St. Paul, Minn.; Justin Grillo, senior forward, Rockville Center, N.Y.
Curry: Timmy Kent, junior forward, Parkland, Fla.
Endicott: Conor O’Brien, senior goaltender, Pinellas Park, Fla.
Fitchburg State: Hunter Fortin, senior forward, Westerville, Ohio; Brian McGrath, senior goaltender, Worcester, Mass.
Franklin Pierce: Conor Foley, junior forward, Nahant, Mass.
UMass Boston: Sam Best, junior goaltender, Woburn, Mass.; Ethan Nitkin, senior forward, Miami Beach, Fla.; Chris Peters senior forward, Fairport, N.Y.
UMass Dartmouth: Dillon Radin, graduate student forward, Long Beach, N.Y.
New England College: Trevor Momot, senior defenseman, New Baltimore, Mich.; Alex LaPlante, senior forward, Londonderry, N.H.
Norwich: Drennen Atherton, senior goaltender, Winter Haven, Fla.; Clark Kerner, freshman forward, Kansas City, Kan.
Plymouth State: Myles Abbate, junior forward, Norwell, Mass.; JR Barone, graduate student forward, West Chester, Pa.
Salve Regina: Mitch Walinski, senior forward, Lincoln, R.I.
Southern New Hampshire: Joe Fiorino, senior defenseman, Willow Grove, Pa.; George Thurston, senior forward, Plymouth, Mass.
St. Anselm: Andrew Andary, junior forward, Macomb, Mich.
St. Michael’s: Sel Narby, senior defenseman, Huntington, N.Y.
Trinity: Jax Murray, sophomore forward, Minneapolis, Minn.
Tufts: Tom Tresca, senior defenseman, Newton, Mass.
Wesleyan: Matt Zandi, senior defenseman, Mount Kisco, N.Y.
University of New England: Jake Fuss, junior forward, Fairfield, Conn.
The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of the Frozen Four in Lake Placid, N.Y.
