For nearly seventy-five years, the Walter Brown Award has represented the very best of American-born players at the highest level of college hockey in New England. Started in 1953 and presented by the Gridiron Club of New England (formerly Greater Boston), the award recognized excellence on the ice, academic excellence, sportsmanship and leadership. It is the oldest award in college hockey and its prestige extends well beyond collegiate hockey in New England.
In 2000-2001, the GICGB endowed a second award to recognize similar excellence for American-born players who played in New England at the D-II/III levels and named the award after beloved Boston Globe sportswriter Joe Concannon. Concannon loved the game of college hockey and particularly the underdog or undersized story where effort and hard work could out-perform talent in the ultimate team game. He loved golf and long distance running and had been a member of the Walter Brown Award Committee for many years prior to his passing in February of 2000.
This year the Joe Concannon Award celebrates its 25th year (award was not presented in the 2021 season due to the COVID pandemic) with a yet-to-be-determined winner claiming the award in this year of special recognition. Norwich’s Keith Aucoin was the very first recipient of the award back in 2001 and since then sixteen different institutions have seen players recognized for their outstanding performances on the ice for their team. While Babson, Curry, and Trinity have each seen three players earn the award, the large number of diverse recipients displays the talent across the region at the D-II/III level in New England. While Coleman Noonan from St Anselm represents the only D-II player to capture the award, forward Brady Fleurent from UNE and goaltender Jamie Murray from Babson are the only players to receive the recognition more than once.
Twenty-seven players have won the prestigious award as there have been co-winners on three occasions that include 2004 (forward Michael O’Sullivan from Curry and goaltender Jim Pancyzkowski from Wesleyan), 2005 (forward Brian Doherty from Curry and forward Joseph Ori from Trinity) and 2022 (forward Ryan Black from Babson and goaltender Conor O’Brien from Endicott) where multiple recipients shared the honor. Over the course of the now twenty-five-year legacy, 18 forwards, three defensemen and six goaltenders have been recognized as the best American-born player at the D-II/III level in New England.
This year the semifinalist list includes 36 players from across the six New England states (teams from New York are not eligible regardless of New England conference affiliation – i.e. Hamilton from NESCAC) with each conference represented along with nominees from independent Salve Regina. The winner from the following list will become the silver anniversary winner of the award (statistics complete through Sunday, 2/15):
Amherst College:
Josh Burke, senior forward from Tampa, FL (9G – 12A – 21 points; +7)
Assumption University:
Jonathan Surrette, junior forward from Woburn, MA (29G – 25A – 54 points; +22)
Shane McElhaney, sophomore defenseman from Swansea, MA (10G – 20A – 30 points; +8)
Babson College:
Jimmy Fallon, junior forward from Milton, MA (17G – 14A – 31 points; +19)
Charlie Andriole, senior defenseman from Branford, CT (8G – 9A – 17 points; +32)
Nate Mueller, senior goaltender from Rogers, MN (18GP – 1.86 goals-against average – .926 save percentage)
Bowdoin College:
Will Rice, sophomore forward from Cambridge, MA (7G – 10A – 17 points; +12)
Colby College:
Colby Browne, sophomore forward from Evergreen, CO (17G – 8A – 25 points; +3)
Connecticut College:
Will Lawrence, sophomore forward from Bethesda, MD (9G – 10A – 19 points; +1)
Curry College:
Gage Dill, senior forward from Estero, FL (11G – 13A – 24 points; +13)
Jesse Galassi, senior defenseman from Lockport, NY (7G – 11A – 18 points; +11)
Endicott College:
Louie Kamienski, first-year forward from Elmhurst, IL (12G – 14A – 26 points +20)
Sebastien Speck, first-year forward from Dryden, MI (8G – 16A – 24 points; +23)
Peter Sterling, first-year goaltender from Manassas, VA (22GP – 1.58 goals-against average – .933 save percentage)
Fitchburg State University:
Frederick Soderberg, junior goaltender from Harrison Township, MI (18GP – 2.02 goals-against average – .938 save percentage)
Devin Niles, first-year forward from Hatfield, MA (16G – 21A – 37 points; +31)
Franklin Pierce University:
Mario Paganini, sophomore forward from Harrison, NY (21G – 14A – 35 points; -2)
University of Massachusetts-Boston:
Jude Kurtas, senior forward from Hillsborough, NJ (11G – 18A – 29 points; +13)
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth:
Tyler Stewart, senior forward from Pittsburgh, PA (17G – 22A – 39 points; -5)
Middlebury College:
Revy Mack, junior forward from Anchorage, AK (6G – 8A – 14 points; +8)
Norwich University:
Frank D’Ancona, first-year forward from Fort Myers, FL (6G – 17A – 23 points; +7)
Salve Regina University:
Cade DeStefani, senior forward from Bedford, NH (14G – 18A – 32 points; +21)
Aidan Connolly, senior forward from Marshfield, MA (10G – 14A – 24 points; +18)
St. Anselm College:
Cam Collins, senior forward from Raynham, MA (8G – 21A – 29 points; +4)
St. Michael’s College:
Evan Plunkett, sophomore goaltender from Charlotte, NC (20GP – 2.04 goals-against average – .942 save percentage – two shutouts)
Suffolk University:
Marko Giourof, sophomore from Redondo Beach, CA (13G – 17A – 30 points; +14)
Nolan Leonard, sophomore forward from Braintree, MA (7G – 22A – 29 points; +18)
Austin McNicholas, first-year goaltender from Clarence, NY (22GP – 2.04 goals-against average – .904 save percentage – four shutouts)
Trinity College:
Ryan Panico, senior forward from Southport, CT (9G – 14A – 23 points; +3)
Tufts University:
Max Resnick, senior forward from Tampa, FL (10G – 11A – 21 points; +14)
Ethan Ullrick, junior forward from Lakewood, IL (11G – 17A – 28 points; +10)
University of New England:
Harrison Chesney, senior goaltender from Malverne, NY (23GP – 1.67 goals-against average; .922 save percentage; four shutouts)
Dominic Murphy, junior forward from Worcester, MA (8G – 26A – 34 points; +19)
Drew Olivieri, junior forward from Swampscott, MA (13G – 21A – 34 points; +14)
Williams College:
Jake McManus, sophomore forward from Winthrop, MA (8G – 15A – 23 points; +4)
Brady Welsch, junior forward from Fond du Lac, WI (9G – 6A – 15 points; +8)
The 25th Joe Concannon Award will be announced in late March prior to the D-III Frozen Four and presented at the new England Hockey Writers’ Dinner in April.