No. 9/10 Men’s Ice Hockey Places Four On Joe Concannon Award Semifinalist Roster

JOE CONCANNON AWARD PRESS RELEASE

BEVERLY, Mass. – Four student-athletes on the No. 9/10 nationally ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team have earned a spot on the 17th Joe Concannon Award Semifinalist roster, as announced earlier today. Junior goalie Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.), sophomore forwards Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) and Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.), and sophomore defenseman Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) will now have a chance to win the award, which is presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England at the NCAA Division II/III level by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston.

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 wrote 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.

Aldridge currently sports a 14-3-2 record this year to go along with a 1.82 goals against average (GAA), and a .940 save percentage over 1,151 minutes of action in net. Aldridge also sits 12^th among all NCAA Division II and III programs in GAA, seventh in save percentage, eighth in winning percentage, and tied for second in shutouts (3).

Meanwhile, Besinger and Olsson sit first and second, respectively, on the team in points with 32 (11g, 21a) and 26 (13g, 13a), while Day is positioned fifth with 22 (9g, 13a). Nationally, Olsson is 11th in points per game (1.53), ninth in goals per game (0.76), and 16th in power play goals (6), while Besinger is 12th in points per game (1.52), and ninth in assists per game (1.00). Day concludes the group ranked eighth in points per game among defensemen (0.95).

This year's Joe Concannon Award list is comprised of fifteen teams and nine players from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), eight from the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC), four from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), four from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and one from the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10). The list of nominees includes 14 forwards, eight defensemen and four goalies.

Second-year team Endicott College, which moved its program up to varsity status last season after 12 years as a club team, leads the way with four nominees. Norwich, UMass Boston and the University of New England have three each.

Just four of the 2017 nominees were semifinalists a year ago. They are UNE forward Trevor Fleurent; Norwich forward Tyler Piacentini; UMB defenseman Tyler Bishop; and Tufts defenseman Sean Kavanagh.

The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 17th Joe Concannon Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Frozen Four in Utica, N.Y. The award will be presented to the winner at the New England College Hockey Writers' Dinner on Tuesday, April 11 at the Prince Restaurant in Saugus, Mass.

Past 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 | Michael O'Sullivan, Curry College

2005: Brian Doherty, Curry College | Joseph Ori, Trinity College

2006: Adam Dann, Bowdoin College

2007: Greg Osborne, Colby College

2008: Tom Maldonado, Middlebury College

2009: Jeff Landers, Amherst College

2010: Coleman Noonan, St. Anselm College

2011: Josh Harris, Castleton State College

2012: Jeremiah Ketts, Johnson & Wales University

2013: Colin Mulvey, Norwich University

2014: Jackson Brewer, Trinity College

2015: Jamie Murray, Babson College

2016: Jamie Murray, Babson College 

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