The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has announced the 33 semifinalists for the 22nd Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/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.
“This year has truly been the most dynamic and competitive at the DII/III level in many seasons” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello in a news release. “The competitiveness from top to bottom and the number of outstanding individual efforts throughout the season have made this year’s group of nominees the deepest and most diverse the committee has seen in the history of the award. The 33 semifinalists represent our largest field in the 22-year history of the Concannon Award, and it was very difficult to get it down to that number. We expect to see the field sort itself out in the course of the final weeks of the regular season, conference championship tournaments and the NCAA title chase in March.”
A total of 25 schools are represented in the slate of candidates that includes five players from the NEHC, six from the Northeast-10, six from the MASCAC, eight from the NESCAC, and six from the CCC. Two independent programs, Anna Maria and Albertus Magnus, also have nominees this season.
The list of nominees includes 20 forwards, nine defensemen and four goaltenders. No school received more than two nominees, reflecting the balance across the DII/III hockey landscape in New England. Babson, Colby, Norwich, Plymouth State, St. Anselm, Trinity, Wesleyan, and the University of New England each have two nominees.
The following is the complete list of semifinalists, by team, with statistics reflecting games through Feb. 13, 2023:
Albertus Magnus: Tim Manning, sophomore forward from Concord, OH (11G – 10A – 21 points; +10)
Anna Maria: Cam Tobey, senior defenseman from Falmouth, MA (8G – 10A – 18 points; +10)
Assumption: Colin Philippon, senior forward from Salem, NH (9G – 17A – 26 points; -3)
Babson: Thomas Kramer, junior forward from Bridgewater, MA (8G – 16A – 24 points; +7); James Perullo, senior defenseman from Revere, MA (5G – 9A – 14 points; +14)
Bowdoin: Andy Stoneman, senior forward from Arrowsic, ME (8G – 12A – 20 points; +14)
Colby: Andy Beran, junior goaltender from St. Paul, MN (1.93 goals-against average, .934 save percentage); Jack Sullivan, junior defenseman from Elmhurst, IL (5G – 13A – 18 points; +8)
Curry: Timmy Kent, junior forward from Parkland, FL (15G – 19A – 34 points; +31)
Endicott: Andrew Kurapov, junior forward from Corvallis, OR (11G – 16A – 27 points +16)
Fitchburg State: Hunter Fortin, senior forward from Westerville, OH (9G – 12A – 21 points; +7)
Framingham State: Dylan Marty, sophomore forward from New Richmond, WI (7G – 15A – 22 points; -3)
Franklin Pierce: Conor Foley, junior forward from Nahant, MA (16G – 18A – 34 points; +5)
UMass Dartmouth: Jake Maynard, senior defenseman from St. John, IN (2G – 18A – 20 points; +6)
Norwich: Drennen Atherton, senior goaltender from Winter Haven, FL (1.36 goals-against average, .947 save percentage); Clark Kerner, sophomore forward from Kansas City, KS (8G – 11A – 19 points; +15)
Plymouth State: Myles Abbate, junior forward from Norwell, MA (9G – 21A – 30 points; +16); Brendahn Brawley, senior goaltender from Morton, PA (2.22 goals-against average; .930 save percentage)
Post: Nick Weber, freshman forward from Woodbury, MN (14G – 11A – 25 points; +3)
Salem State: Erik Larsson, junior forward from Lake Tahoe, CA (14G – 12A – 26 points; -11)
Salve Regina: Johnny Mulera, junior forward from Rockville, MD (10G – 14A – 24 points; +4)
Southern Maine: Curtis Judd, senior forward from Newton, MA (15G – 10A – 25 points; +8)
St. Anselm: Matt Hayes, senior forward from Salem, NH (7G – 16A – 23 points; +12); Jack Murphy, senior defenseman from Marshfield, MA (3G – 18A – 21 points +4)
St. Michael’s: Jeremy Routh, senior forward from Hampden, CT (10G – 16A – 26 points; +9)
Trinity: Gerard Maretta, junior forward from Brick, NJ (13G – 6A – 19 points; +14); Devon Bobak, freshman goaltender from Northwood, OH (1.27 goals-against average; .939 save percentage)
Tufts: Sam Miller, junior defenseman from Milwaukee, WI (7G – 12A – 19 points; +4)
Wesleyan: Wiggle Kerbrat, senior forward from Laguna Niguel, CA (15G – 10A – 25 points +12); Jake Lachance, senior defenseman from Andover, MA (6G – 16A – 22 points; +3)
Western New England: Shane Miller, junior defenseman from Succasunna, NJ (5G – 14A – 19 points -8)
University of New England: Jake Fuss, junior forward from Fairfield, CT (9G – 19A – 28 points; +17); Alex Sheehy, senior defenseman from North Salem, NY (1G – 12A – 13 points +12)
The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Frozen Four on March 24-26.
In 2022, co-winners were named as Ryan Black (Babson) and Conor O’Brien (Endicott) took home Concannon honors.
