Larsson, Dill Named Semifinalists for Joe Concannon Award

The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Web site: http://www.gridclubboston.com/

BOSTON -- Senior Erik Larsson, and sophomore Zach Dill were named semifinalists for the 23rd Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III hockey player in New England. Larsson, a semifinalist last year, has 27 points this season, including nine goals and 18 assists. He is tied for second in scoring in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Dill has accumulated 25 points in his second season for the Vikings - seven goals and 18 assists - and is fourth in the league in scoring.   

The Gridiron Club established the Joe Concannon Award in 2001 to honor Joe, a lifelong devotee of college hockey, former member of the Walter Brown Award Selection Committee and, as a journalist, a staunch advocate for the amateur athletes he knew and covered. A native of Litchfield, Connecticut, Joe graduated from Boston University in 1961. He served as sports information director (SID) at Holy Cross before joining the Boston Globe in the late 1960's to cover college sports. Joe declined frequent invitations by his editors to write about Boston's major professional sports teams, preferring to concentrate on the colleges, distance running and golf. He authored the book Marathoning with Bill Rodgers and established the highly successful Litchfield Road Race in his hometown. Joe was a world traveler and was especially proud of his Irish heritage, frequently sojourning to the Emerald Isle. He passed away in 2000.

Twenty-five institutions are represented in the slate of candidates that includes five players from the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC), five from the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), seven from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), nine from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and ten from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). Two independent programs, Anna Maria, and Albertus Magnus, also have nominees this season. The list of nominees includes 27 forwards, six defensemen and five goaltenders. Assumption, Curry Endicott, and Trinity have three nominees each while Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Plymouth State, Salem State, Salve Regina, and Tufts, each has two nominees.

Albertus Magnus: Tim Manning, junior forward from Concord, OH (7G – 10A – 17 points; +6)

Amherst College: Ryan Tucker, senior forward from Clarkston, MI (10G – 9A – 19 points; +3)

Anna Maria: Cam Tobey, graduate student defenseman from Falmouth, MA (3G – 9A – 12 points; +8)

Assumption: Ronny Paragallo, junior forward from Huntington, NY (22G – 16A – 38 points; +14); John Woernle, freshman from Wellesley Hills, MA (2G – 20A – 22 points; +17); Shane Sullivan, graduate student from Holden, MA (9G – 20A – 29 points; +15)

Babson: Ryan Murphy, sophomore forward from Grosse Pointe Farms, MI (8G – 14A – 22 points; +14) Bowdoin: Luke Wheeler, junior forward from Golden, CO (6G – 7A – 13 points; +5)

Colby: Jack Sullivan, senior defenseman from Elmhurst, IL (2G – 11A – 13 points; +5)

Connecticut College: Sean Dynan, senior goaltender from Reading, MA (12GP – 2.38 goals-against average; .921 save percentage; 1 shutout)

Curry: Gage Dill, sophomore forward from Estero, FL (9G – 15A – 24 points; +15); Shane Soderwall, freshman goaltender from Algonquin, IL (15GP – 1.34 goals-against average; .953 save percentage; 4 shutouts); Tao Ishizuka, senior forward from Providence, RI (7G – 11 A – 18 Pts; +12)

Endicott: Andrew Kurapov, senior forward from Corvallis, OR (9G – 16A – 25 points +9); Jackson Sterrett, senior forward from Hendersonville, TN (11G – 10A – 21 points; +5); Kevin Craig, senior defenseman from Hyannis, MA (4G – 7A – 11 points; +15)

Johnson & Wales: Brendan Doyle, sophomore forward from Stratham, NH (16G – 8A – 24 points; -13)

Massachusetts-Dartmouth: Jake Maynard, senior defenseman from St. John, IN (2G – 13A – 15 points; +1); Collin Patterson, freshman forward from Rockledge, FL (13G – 14A – 27 points; +9)

Norwich: Clark Kerner, junior forward from Kansas City, KS (8G – 12A – 20 points; +9)

Plymouth State: Connor Tait, junior forward from Boyds, MD (13G – 13A – 26 points; +25); Will Pray, freshman forward from Wheaton, MD (8G – 14A – 22 points; +15)

Salem State: Erik Larsson, senior forward from Lake Tahoe, CA (9G – 18A – 27 points; -6); Zach Dill sophomore forward from Lake Tahoe, CA (7G – 18A – 25 points; -5)
Salve Regina: Johnny Mulera, senior forward from Rockville, MD (12G – 14A – 26 points; +3); Matthew Fawcett junior forward from Lincoln, RI (15G – 13A – 28 points; +9)

Southern Maine: Austin Marini, senior forward from Hyde Park, MA (8G – 14A – 22 points; +10)

St. Anselm College: Hunter Brackett, junior forward from Harwick Port MA (12G – 5A – 17 points; -4)

St. Michael's College: Brennan McFarland, junior forward from Greeley, CO (11G – 16A – 27 points; +5)

Suffolk: Devin Lowe, graduate student from Owings Mills, MD (4G – 13A – 17 points; -1) Trinity: Ned Blanchard, senior defenseman from West Hartford, CT (2G – 10A – 12 points; +24); Devon Bobak, sophomore goaltender from Northwood, OH (19 GP - 1.29 goals-against average; .938 save percentage; 3 shutouts) Christian Hayes, senior forward from Milton, MA (9G – 7A – 16 points; +14)

Tufts: Tyler Sedlak, junior forward from Wykoff, NJ (9G – 11A – 20 points; +8); Peyton Durand, senior goaltender from Newport, RI (18GP – 1.88 goals-against average; .945 save percentage; 2 shutouts)

University of New England: Billy Girard IV, junior goaltender from Boca Raton, FL (17GP – 1.97 goals-against average; .928 save percentage)

VSU-Castleton: Andrew Stefura, junior forward from Boston, MA (15G – 10A – 25 points; -1)

Westfield State: Gianluca Marini, senior forward from Lighthouse Point, FL (7G – 12A – 19 points; +4)

"This year has seen an incredibly competitive landscape at the DII/III level," said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello. "A watch-list of over eighty outstanding players showcased a large number of outstanding players throughout the season to date which has made this year's group of nominees the most balanced the committee has seen in the history of the award. The 38 semifinalists represent our largest field in the 23-year history of the Concannon Award, and it was a great challenge reduce the list to that number. We always expect to see the strongest contenders for the award emerge over the final weeks of the regular season, conference championship tournaments and the NCAA title chase in March. The committee will be watching closely to see which players rise to the top for this year's Concannon." The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 23 rd Joe Concannon Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Frozen Four on March 22 & 24 on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford, CT.