A total of 10 men's ice hockey student-athletes from the NESCAC are among the 36 semifinalists for the 2026 Joe Concannon Award, as announced and presented by the Gridiron Club of New England.
 
Honoring the best American-born NCAA Division II/III hockey player in New England, the Concannon Award is celebrating its 25th year and 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.

The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 25th Joe Concannon Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Division III Frozen Four on March 27-29 in Utica, NY.
 

• Amherst College: Josh Burke, senior forward from Tampa, FL (9G – 9A – 18 points; +9)
• Assumption: Jonathan Surrette, junior forward from Woburn, MA (26G – 21A – 47 points; +22); Shane McElhaney,
• sophomore from Swansea, MA (8G – 18A – 26 points; +12)
• Babson: Jimmy Fallon, junior forward from Milton, MA (14G – 12A – 26 points; +17); Charlie Andrioli, senior defenseman from Branford, CT (8G – 9A – 17 points; +27); Nate Mueller, senior goaltender from Rogers, MN (15GP – 1.75 goals-against average – .931 save percentage)
• Bowdoin: Will Rice, sophomore forward from Cambridge, MA (7G – 8A – 15 points; +9)
• Colby: Colby Browne, sophomore forward from Evergreen, CO (14G – 8A – 22 points; +4)
• Connecticut College: Will Lawrence, sophomore forward from Bethesda, MD (9G – 10A – 19 points; +4)
• Curry: Gage Dill, senior forward from Estero, FL (11G – 12A – 23 points; +14); Jesse Galassi, senior defenseman from Lockport, NY (7G – 10A – 17 points; +14)
• Endicott: Louie Kamienski, first-year forward from Elmhurst, IL (11G – 9A – 20 points +14); Sebastien Speck, first-year forward from Dryden, MI (6G – 13A – 19 points; +17); Peter Sterling, first-year goaltender from Manassas, VA (18GP – 1.62 goals-against average - .930 save percentage)
• Fitchburg State: Frederick Soderberg, junior goaltender from Harrison Township, MI (15GP – 1.88 goals-against average -
• .943 save percentage); Devin Niles, first-year forward from Hatfield, MA (13G – 19A – 32 points; +26)
• Franklin Pierce: Mario Paganini, sophomore forward from Harrison, NY (19G – 13A – 32 points; +3)
• Massachusetts-Boston: Jude Kurtas, senior forward from Hillsborough, NJ (9G – 13A – 22 points; +11)
• Massachusetts-Dartmouth: Tyler Stewart, senior forward from Pittsburgh, PA (12G – 17A – 29 points; -2)
• Middlebury: Revy Mack, junior forward from Anchorage, AK (5G – 4A – 9 points; +11)
• Norwich: Frank D’Ancona, first-year forward from Fort Myers, FL (4G – 16A – 20 points; +7)
• Salve Regina: Cade DeStefani, senior forward from Bedford, NH (12G – 18A – 30 points; +18); Aidan Connolly senior forward from Marshfield, MA (9G – 13A – 22 points; +16)
• St. Anselm College: Cam Collins, senior forward from Raynham, MA (5G – 17A – 22 points; +2)
• St. Michael’s College: Evan Plunkett, sophomore goaltender from Charlotte, NC (17GP – 1.98 goals-against average - .946 save percentage – two shutouts)
• Suffolk: Marko Giourof, sophomore from Redondo Beach, CA (13G – 13A – 26 points; +10); Nolan Leonard, sophomore forward from Braintree, MA (4G – 17A – 21 points; +11); Austin McNicholas, first-year goaltender from Clarence, NY (19GP – 2.16 goals-against average - .902 save percentage – four shutouts)
• Trinity: Ryan Panico, senior forward from Southport, CT (6G – 10A – 16 points)
• Tufts: Max Resnick, senior forward from Tampa, FL (8G – 9A – 17 points; +9); Ethan Ullrick, junior forward from Lakewood, IL (9G – 13A – 22 points; +6)
• University of New England: Harrison Chesney, senior goaltender from Malverne, NY (19GP – 1.79 goals-against average;
• .921 save percentage; two shutouts); Dominic Murphy, junior forward from Worcester, MA (7G – 20A – 27 points; +12);
• Drew Olivieri, junior forward from Swampscott, MA (9G – 17A – 26 points; +7)
• Williams: Jake McManus, sophomore forward from Winthrop, MA (8G – 14A – 22 points; +4); Brady Welsch, junior forward from Fond du Lac, WI (8G – 6A – 14 points; +11)

The Joe Concannon Award
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.