The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Thursday that Massachusetts senior forward Bobby Trivigno is recipient of the 70th Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born Division I college hockey player in New England.
Trivigno also won the award in 2021.
Trivigno, a native of Setauket, N.Y., scored 20 goals and added 28 assists in 36 games to lead UMass to its second consecutive Hockey East playoff title. Four of Trivigno’s goals this season were game winners.
In the 2-1 overtime victory over Connecticut in the league championship game, he scored the first goal and assisted on the winning score by Aaron Bohlinger. Trivigno was named Hockey East player of the year and is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in American college hockey. He ranks fourth overall in the country in points.
Last season, he tallied 34 points in 29 games and led UMass to its first NCAA championship. The Minutemen embark on the defense of their title in the NCAA quarterfinal round in Worcester, Mass., on Friday, March 25 when they take on Minnesota.
“Bobby Trivigno has put together two outstanding seasons on the ice, which has resulted in him earning the Walter Brown Award for a second time,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said in a news release. “Bobby has proven to be the most dynamic hockey player in New England and is once again deserving of this honor. His ability to consistently score big goals, make big plays and be the most dominant player on the ice is so impressive.
“Bobby has singlehandedly elevated our entire hockey program over his four years at UMass. His leadership at every turn has made an impact that will last for many years. It has been a complete honor and privilege to work with Bobby, to mentor him, and to watch him develop into an elite college hockey player. No one is more deserving of the Walter Brown Award than Bobby, once again.”
The two other finalists in the voting were Harvard junior forward Nick Abruzzese and Northeastern senior defenseman Jordan Harris.
“While the committee once again had a superb field of semifinalists this year, 25 in all, they had a relatively easy task in naming Bobby as Walter Brown Award recipient,” said Gridiron Club hockey awards committee chairman Tim Costello. “It is hard for any player to sustain such a high level of performance that he would outshine everyone else for a second year. But Bobby’s play this season, and especially his team leadership, was even more impressive than it was a year ago when UMass went all the way to the national championship.”
The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team ever to win the World Championship Tournament. Brown coached the Rangers to the title in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where the team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.
The award will be presented at the New England Hockey Writers’ annual event on Thursday, May 5, at Prince Restaurant in Saugus, Mass.
