Williams Player Semi-Finalist for Hockey Award

- February 15, 2008

BOSTON – A Williams College hockey player has been named a semifinalist for the 8th annual Joe Concannon Award.

Brandon Jackmuff of Woodbury, N.J., is one of 16 NCAA Division III players named by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, according to club President Al Robichaud. The award is presented to the best American-born college hockey player in New England playing at the Division II/III level.
 
The list is comprised of 12 forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, all from D-III institutions. The candidates include six players from NESCAC including three seniors from Colby College. Returning nominee Arthur Fritch of South Boston is joined by teammates TJ Kelley of Ridgefield, Conn., and Josh Reber of Edina, Minn., who are first and second in scoring in the conference respectively. All three players passed the century mark in career scoring for the Mules this season.
 
The three remaining representatives from NESCAC include two team captains whose accomplishments are a big part of their teams' success. Middlebury senior defenseman Tom Maldonado of Bronx, N.Y., leads his team in points and is a key piece in the Panthers' defensive system. Bowdoin's Mike Westerman, of Ann Arbor, Mich., also leads his team in scoring from his defensive post and has been a catalyst for the Polar Bear's high-scoring offense.

Jackmuff  leads the Williams Ephs with 23 points and his seven power-play goals represent over a third of his team's total this season. Jackmuff is fourth in among NESCAC players in scoring with 23 points and in goals scored (12) and has a team-high 11 assists on the year.
 
From the ECAC East, New England College has a pair of productive pivot men who create problems for any opposing defense. Seniors Mike Carmody of Falmouth, Maine, and Brian Pouliot of Hooksett, N.H., have combined for 20 goals and over 50 points in helping the Pilgrims stay near the top of the league standings. 

Senior captain John Geverd, also of Hooksett, provides his Babson squad with great leadership as well as unselfish play in all situations as the Beavers look to repeat as conference champions this year. Senior Mike Stevens of Dover, N.H., from the University of Southern Maine, has provided great continuity for a young team this season and his 26 points include a team leading three-game winning goals. Finally, the resurgent UMass-Boston Beacons showcase a freshman scoring leader in Eric Tufman of Abington, Pa., who has demonstrated the ability to play big against the league's very best each and every night.
 
The remaining five nominees all hail from the ECAC Northeast and are key contributors to one of the closest conference races among several teams in many seasons.

The sole goaltender on this year's list is senior Devan McConnell  of Lake Stevens, Wash., from Fitchburg State. McConnell has posted his best numbers this season, including a .924 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average in backstopping the Falcons. Senior forward Matt McGilvray of Rochester, N.H., leads Johnson & Wales in scoring and will add clearing the 100-point mark and games played level before the end of the regular season. Senior Dan Pencinger of Randolph, N.J. leads the league's surprising Suffolk Rams on the scoring table and has provided great leadership and toughness as Suffolk battles near the top of the league standings. Nichols College junior forward Anthony Monte of Chicago is no stranger to this list having been nominated as a freshman. Monte's averaging two points per game in conference play and has surpassed the 100-point mark for his career in this his junior season. The final nominee from the conference has made a big splash in transferring as a junior from St. Norbert's College to Curry College this season. Jeffrey Hazelwood of Dublin, Calif., leads both his team and the conference in scoring while leading the Colonels back to the top of the standings heading into the last two weeks of the regular season.
 
"We seem to say every year that the level of competition and quality of play in all of the New England leagues continues to be a showcase for great hockey. That is most certainly true this year and with a long way to go before playoffs and conference championships are handed out, every team and player is looking to play their very best at the most important part of the season," said hockey awards committee Chairman Tim Costello. "We believe that this is an exceptionally strong group of semifinalists for the Joe Concannon Award, and we look forward to tracking these players closely for the remainder of this very exciting and competitive season."
 
The finalists and winner is expected to be announced in March, before the start of NCAA Frozen Four Tournament play; the award will be presented at the New England Hockey Writers dinner in April.
 
Joe Concannon Award Winners

2001 - Keith Aucoin - Norwich University

2002 - Michael Carosi - Bowdoin College

2003 - Nick Stauder - Salem State College

2004 - Jim Pancyzkowski - Wesleyan University

2004 - Michael O’Sullivan - Curry College

2005 - Brian Doherty - Curry College

2005 - Joseph Ori - Trinity College

2006 - Adam Dann - Bowdoin College

2007 - Greg Osborne - Colby College

The Joe Concannon Award

The Gridiron Club established the award in 2001 to honor Concannon, a 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, Conn., he graduated from Boston University in 1961. He was sports information director at Holy Cross before joining The Boston Globe in the late 1960s to cover college sports. He 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 wrote the book "Marathoning" with Bill Rodgers and established the successful Litchfield Road Race in his hometown. He died in 2000.