BOSTON, Mass. – Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Paul Stewart announced today that eighteen players are semi-finalists for the twelfth Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England playing at the NCAA Division D-II/III level.

This year's list is comprised of 14 dynamic forwards, three stellar defensemen and one game-stealing goaltender, including three of the nation's top ten point getters in Division III. The candidates include five players from the now standalone NESCAC Conference. Nominees Mike Baran (Duxbury, MA) a senior from Amherst College, and sophomore  Nik Tasiopoulos (Norwell, MA) from Wesleyan University represent the best of defensive and offensive performances in the highly competitive conference.  Amherst, captained by Baran, enters the weekend with the number one ranked scoring defense as the number three ranked team in the nation; Wesleyan looks to advance in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament against Middlebury.

The remaining NESCAC representatives are Williams College senior goalie  Ryan Purdy (LaJolla, CA), a semifinalist for the second year in a row; Bowdoin senior defenseman  Jordan Lalor (Needham, MA); and Colby senior forward  Michael Doherty (Lynnfield, MA).

Four high-scoring forwards represent the ECAC East Conference. Senior  Anthony Fitti (Havertown, PA) leads the young squad  at UMass-Boston in scoring. Junior  Kyle Thomas (Waltham, MA) is among the leaders for Norwich University's potent offensive unit, producing 31 points in 21 games to date. Junior  Tim King (Weymouth, MA) from St. Anselm College represents the ECAC East as well as NE-10 as a D-II player. His 27 points in 23 games have the Hawks installed as the top seed in the NE-10 conference championship where they are looking for a "three-peat." Lastly, but certainly not least, is sophomore forward  Nick Lazorko (Rockwall, TX) from Castleton College, who has amassed an impressive forty points thus far.

From the ECAC Northeast Conference, senior defenseman  Ryan Barlock (Niles, IL) is a key contributor in both ends of the ice for Curry College and is among the top ten in the nation in points per game. The other ECAC Northeast representatives are senior forward  Jeremiah Ketts (Foristell, MO) and junior forward  Danny Kaufmann (Scotch Plains, NJ) from the offensive- minded Johnson & Wales Wildcats, and repeat nominee,  Skylur Jameson (Long Beach, CA) from league leading Wentworth. Ketts is tops in the nation in points per game with 53. Kaufmann who is poised to reaach the 40-point plateau this season. Jameson leads the Leopards in scoring and has already surpassed the 150 point mark for his career.

The MASCAC Conference is represented by UMass-Dartmouth seniors  Rob Dudley (Douglas, MA) and  Mike Owens (South Boston, MA), who have helped put the Corsairs into the mix for the league title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  Junior  Kyle Greco (Hillside, IL) of first-place Plymouth State and junior  Nick Lampson (Groton, MA) of Salem State both lead their teams in scoring.

The sole representative from the Northeast-10 Conference is Assumption College senior forward  Taylor Larsen (Blackstone, MA), also a semifinalist last season. Larsen has displayed remarkable consistency over his career and has surpassed the 130- point plateau.

"This season, more than any other has showcased an incredible level of competition as evidenced by the tight races and results of non-conference games where have shown that there is more balance across the conferences," said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello.

"This season the committee considered many more than the usual number of players in each of the leagues, and still, unfortunately, there were some worthy candidates who did not become semi-finalists. This is as strong and diverse a group of nominees ever selected for the award in its 12-year history, and it will take the few games remaining on the schedule to determine winner."

The Gridiron Club plans to announce the finalists and winner of the 12th  Joe Concannon Award in March, prior to the start of NCAA Frozen Four Tournament play and present the award during the New England Hockey Writers dinner in mid-April.

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 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.

2011-2012 Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Officers: Paul Stewart, President; John Ingoldsby, First Vice President; Bob Norton, Second
Vice President; Dick Lawrence, Secretary; Paul Costello, Treasurer.

2011-2012 Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Selection Committee and Advisory Board: Tim Costello, Chairman; Joe Bertagna, Tom Burke, Paul Costello, Ned Cully, Bob DeGregorio, Kevin Fleming, Steve Hagwell, Paul Stewart, Hon. Gordon A. Martin, Jr., Paul McNamara, Jim Connelly, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Bernie Corbett and William J. Stewart III.

Press Contacts:
Tim Costello, Committee Chairman; Phone: (732) 425-5922  Email: tpcostello@comcast.net
Tom Burke, Graber Associates; Phone: (617) 323-5694  Email: tom@graberassociates.net

(Release Courtesy of the Gridiron Club of Boston)