(updated Feb 18, 2014)
The Joe Concannon Award, given by the New England Hockey Writers' Association (NEHWA), celebrates the best American born college hockey player competing for a New England DII or DIII school. This year eight NESCAC players are among the 18 semi-finalists. The eight are featured below. In addition we take a quick look at a few that might have made the cut, and a few more who may be considered next season.
Amherst's Aaron Deutsch. In early February when the nominations were announced the junior blue-liner led Amherst in scoring with 5 goals and 8 assists; the Lord Jeffs were then locked in what appeared to be a battle for second place with Trinity while Williams continued to win on the strength of its stingy defense and stellar goaltending of fellow Concannon nominee Sean Dougherty.
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| Shooting from the top of the circle against Colby, Aaron Deutsch finds nothing unlucky about #13. The junior has five goals and nine assists with two regular season games remaining. Photo Benet Pols |
Since then Amherst has stepped up its game moving into what appears to be a showdown with the Bantams for first place and possible hosting rights for the NESCAC tournament's final two rounds. Deutsch has been a big part of that. While he's only added one point to his scoring--four forwards have joined him at the top of Amherst's leader board--his play in the defensive end and in the neutral zone have shown why he was nominated.
The Lord Jeff's had suffered a brutal weekend in Maine in January being swept by Colby and Bowdoin so when the Mules and Polar Bears made their annual trip to Amherst four weeks later Deutsch and company needed the wins. Against Colby six Amherst players notched goals and eleven put up points so Deutsch's single assist didn't really stand out. But the following day against Bowdoin his defensive strengths were obvious. While Bowdoin carried the play, and outshot Amherst 33 to 15, a very disciplined Amherst penalty kill, anchored in part by Deutsch, pinned down the Amherst win.
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| Deutsch, in action here against Bowdoin during a tough 5-3 win, is very strong against the forecheck; his transition game contributes to the balanced Amherst attack. Photo Benet Pols |
With Amherst holding on to a 4-3 lead Capt Brian Safstrom was hit with a 5:00 minute major penalty with just 7:05 on the clock. The Lord Jeff's stopped Bowdoin repeatedly in the neutral zone allowing the PK teams ample opportunity for quick changes and short shifts while keeping Bowdoin's two alternating power play units on the ice for long stretches. The fatigued Polar Bears were stretched thin during the final minutes; with the goalie pulled, and Amherst's Dave Cunningham coming up big in goal, the disciplined Jeffs nabbed an open net goal to seal the game.
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| Amherst defender Aaron Deutsch is among the nominees. Here he stymies a Bowdoin threat in January 2014. Photo Benet Pols |
Bowdoin's Colin Downey. The senior from East Sandwich, Massachusetts is setting Bowdoin's scoring pace this year. With two regular season games remaining the durable Downey has played in each of Bowdoin's 22 games. His 18 goals include 5 on the power play and a conference leading 3 shorthanded goals; he has 15 assists. Listed as a forward/defenseman he spends little time on the blue-line.
Downey joined Bowdoin's 100 point club earlier this season with an open net goal to seal a home win against Hamilton. With two regular season games remaining Downey will likely add to his career total of 113 points. His nose for the goal has been needed by the Polar Bears this season. Teammate and frequent linemate, Ollie Koo, himself a Concannon nominee in 2013, paced the Polar Bears last season at 16-18-34 but Koo has played in just seven games this season.
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| Bowdoin's Colin Downey fights for postion in a first round NCAA game in March 2013. With 18 goals and 15 assists Downey paces the Polar Bears. Earlier this season Downey joined Bowdoin's 100 point club with an open net goal for a hat-trick against Hamilton. Photo Benet Pols |
Listed at 5'10" and 175 lbs Downey grinds it out in the corners like a bigger player so his play-making and sniping skills are often underestimated. Critics (none of whom have 500+ wins) often complain the Polar Bears spend too much time, particularly in the power play, looking for the perfect shot. Downey will shoot when the opportunity is just good enough; it pays off almost 30% of the time.
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| Not just a corner guy, Downey is also a natural scorer. Photo Benet Pols |
Colby's Ben Chwick and Nick Lanza. Along with Trinity, the Colby Mules boast two Concannon nominees. One of them, senior Co-Capt Nick Lanza is a two-time nominee. Last year Lanza lead the Mules in scoring with 12 goals and 15 assists. This year, at 14-10-24 with two regular season games to go, he's a close second to linemate and fellow Concannon nominee Ben Chwick. Lanza, a product of the Westminster School and a native of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, was third on the team in scoring his sophomore year and got into 14 games his first season in Waterville. He's a quick finisher with an ability to spot a defensive breakdown before it happens.
In addition to a Concannon nomination last season Lanza's play was recognized when he was named to the All-Nescac team, second team. He was also named the Mules' team MVP.
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| Colby's Nick Lanza, nominated for the second straight year, holds off the Bowdoin defense in early season play. Photo Benet Pols |
Ben Chwick, second on the team last season in scoring, leads the team this year with 28 points, his 14 goals bookend 14 assists. A graduate of the Berkshire School, Chwick is one of just a few DIII atheletes who can claim international experience. He and Middlebury blue-liner Max Greenwald put on the red, white and blue of Team USA last summer for the Maccabiah games, the quadrennial event hosted by Israel and known colloquially as the "Jewish Olympics."
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| Colby has two Concannon semi-finalists this year as senior Ben Chwick joins Lanza. Chwick leads Colby in scoring at 14-14-28 . He played for Team USA in the Maccabiah Games this past summer. Here he finds the corner against UMass Dartmouth in an early season game in Waterville. Photo Benet Pols |
While Chwick has always had a knack for the helper--he had 16 his junior season--until this season the goals have been a little harder to come by. With 14 markers this year and two regular season games to play, the native of Purchase, New York has already eclipsed the 13 he notched during his first three seasons.
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| Colby's Ben Chwick. A first time nominee Chwick can make the plays and finish. He lead the Mules with 14 goals and 14 helpers. Photo Benet Pols |
Connecticut College's JC Cangelosi. Things have been tough for the Connecticut College Camels the last several seasons. Playoff spots and post season awards have been a rare commodity. But with aggressive out-of-conference scheduling and a do or die mentality, the Camels seem poised to make a move. Late last season Coach Ward pulled his goalie during overtime as the season finale was winding down. On the road at first place Bowdoin, the move caught the Polar Bear faithful by surprise. The camels needed a win--not a tie--to nab the final playoff spot. Bowdoin ended up netting an open net goal with one second remaining but not before the fans were treated to a seriously hectic minute of play made all the more interesting by the obvious confusion of the fans.
This season the Camels are making a move toward the already crowded middle of the NESCAC pack. The Camels have pulled a few "upsets" with an OT win at Bowdoin and a recent 2-1 win at Middlebury. The Camels also tied Amherst at Amherst and knocked the Lord Jeffs out of their recently acquired spot atop the conference; the Camels also took a hard fought 1-0 loss at Williams.
In addition to team success they've achieved some individual recognition. JC Cangelosi joins players from the perennially ranked NESCAC teams with a Concannon nomination. Cangelosi's point total more than doubles that of the second leading scorer on the Camel's roster; the junior from Florida has has 12 goals to go with 10 assists, putting him 13th on the NESCAC scoring list.
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| Connecticut College's J.C. Cangelosi, #19, puts the puck on a trailing teammates stick for an OT winner at Bowdoin in December. Photo Benet Pols |
Trinity's Ben Coulthard and Jackson Brewer. Like Colby, Trinity has two nominees. But while the Mules' Chwcik and Lanza are similar players and often play together, Trinity's Coulthard and Brewer are rarely even on the same side of the red line. Coulthard is a goalie while Brewer is a pure scorer.
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| Trinity's Ben Coulthard, alone against a breaking Williams shooter during NESCAC semi-final play in 2013. Photo Benet Pols |
Coulthard leads NESCAC goaltenders in win percentage at .812 with a 13-3 record, sits second in save percentage at .928, and third in GAA average allowing just 2.29 goals a game. The senior played neither game in Maine this past weekend. Because he was dressed, and to this point has shouldered the bulk of the Bantams goaltending work, speculation was rampant regarding the workhorse's absence. Trinity, coming into the weekend tied with Amherst for the conference lead and Amherst owning the tie breaker, Bantam's Coach Greason would not have been taking the games lightly.
Coulthard trails just Williams' Dougherty, Amherst's Cunningham, Colby's Sam Parker and Dawson Sprigings from Weslyen in minutes played. Had he played, as anticipated at Bowdoin and Colby, he'd be third in the conference in minutes played.
For his career Coulthard is 34-18-5 with a GAA of 2.45 to go with a healthy save percentage of .928.
For a goaltender Coulthard has a thing for the penalty box. Last season he brought home 20 minutes in penalties with 6 penalties including a 10 minutes misconduct; the year before he sat for 19 minutes on 4 penalties, 2 minors, a major and a misconduct. So far this season the product of the Pomfret School and South Windsor Connecticut has kept his nose clean.
The fiery goalie was first team All-NESCAC last season and also named a New England All Star by the NEHWA.
While Coulthard spends his time in front of the goal, teammate Jackson Brewer earns his living on Trinity's vaunted power play behind and to the left of the opposing goalie. An integral part of the Trinity power play, Brewer has 5 power play goals to go with 13 assists. Only teammate John Hawkrigg, a Canadian and thus ineligible for the Concannon, leads Brewer in power-play points. The junior is tied for the team lead in points at 14-29-43. Career numbers so far point to Brewer passing the 100 point mark by mid season next year. In 70 career games his numbers are 29-46-75. From Newton, Massachusetts, Brewer attended The Rivers School.
Williams' Sean Dougherty. If any goalie in NESCAC deserves the label workhorse it's Williams' Sean Dougherty. This is the junior from Smithtown, New York's second nomination for the Concannon.
With 1240 minutes between the pipes so far this season, Dougherty has played nearly three full games more than his closest competitor, Colby's Sam Parker. Dougherty's 1.69 GAA is all the more impressive when you consider he gave up four goals in the first period before being pulled at Wesleyan two weeks ago. While the surprising 7-3 beat down at Wesleyan on February 8th could have shattered Dougherty's confidence, he seems to have rebounded nicely. In the three games since, Dougherty allowed just four goals and made 99 saves. His teammates, however, have been unable to find the net themselves. The Ephs 0-3-1, over their last four including the Wesleyan game, have slipped out of first place and won't regain the position this season.
The Ephs goaltender leads the conference in GAA at 1.69 and saves percentage and is third in winning percentage at 0.667 (12-6-1).
A second team All-NESCAC pick last season, Dougherty logged more than 1500 minutes in goal. His career numbers are 29-14-6 with a GAA of just 1.84 and a save percentage of .937.
The Milton School graduate also holds down a spot as a goalkeeper on the Ephs' lacrosse roster.
Who got left off?
A lot of band-width can be unnecessarily wasted carping about favorite players who didn't make the cut. Voting is done by a lot of writers from various areas so a reputation can help and of course some biases exist. It's pointless to cry foul when eight of eighteen nominees come from the 'Cac. This leaves just ten nominees to be spread over the remaining 3.5 conferences playing in New England.
So please consider this list a tribute to those who maybe just needed one headline grabbing game in January.
Wesleyan's Keith Buehler. He was nominated last season, was also Nescac's player of the year, and pulled down a passel of other awards including being named to one of the numerous All-American teams.
Right now Buehler is tied for 13th in NESCAC scoring with nominee JC Cangelosi of Connecticut College with 12 goals and 10 assists. Sure last season he had 20 goals and 20 assists as Wesleyan was eliminated in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs, but remember he was paired with high scoring Nick Craven.
Perhaps he's paying the price for being outscored on his own team by frosh phenom Elliot Vorel. Vorel burst on the scene early this season nabbing the first "player of the week" honors and seemed to score at will, putting in 10 goals and picking up 9 assists in his first 8 games. It's possible the Frosh from New Jersey's torrid start burned so brightly it blinded voters to anyone else playing in Middletown. With two games remaining in the regular season Vorel's line is now 12-13-25.
Amherst's Dave Cunningham. With Amherst's balanced scoring and a team goal total in the middle of NESCAC pack, it's hard to pick an offensive standout to join nominee Aaron Deutsch, but goaltender Dave Cunningham's numbers (2.17 .921), are right in line with those of Trinity's Ben Coulthard (2.29 .928). The only substantial difference between the two is winning percentage. With Trinity netting 4.45 goals a game, while Amherst scores just 2.95 a game the winning percentage disparity is easily explained.
We're guessing the senior Coulthard gets the nod over the sophomore Cunningham.
Hamilton. The Continentals play in New York, not New England. No Soup for Michael DiMare or Robbie Murden with 27 and 24 points respectively.
Up next, who are the early favorites for next season?
In addition to this year's nominees who are underclassmen (Deutsch, Brewer, Dougherty, and Cangelosi) the following players should be in the discussion next February.
Amherst's Dave Cunningham. Noted above as a near miss this season he'll be competing with William's Dougherty for top goaltender next season.
Bowdoin's John McGinnis, Connor Quinn and Max Fenkell
Middlebury's Jake Charles. 16 points in just 12 games so far this year but Charles is Canadian and thus ineligible.
Trinity's Ryan Cole, Sean Orlando and Michael Flynn
Wesleyan's Elliot Vorel and James Kline (21 points)
Williams's Peter Mistretta. The junior has played just one game this season but before being injured late in his sophomore season led the Ephs in goals with 14 in his first 20 games.
Coulthard trails just Williams' Dougherty, Amherst's Cunningham, Colby's Sam Parker and Dawson Sprigings from Weslyen in minutes played. Had he played, as anticipated at Bowdoin and Colby, he'd be third in the conference in minutes played.
For his career Coulthard is 34-18-5 with a GAA of 2.45 to go with a healthy save percentage of .928.
For a goaltender Coulthard has a thing for the penalty box. Last season he brought home 20 minutes in penalties with 6 penalties including a 10 minutes misconduct; the year before he sat for 19 minutes on 4 penalties, 2 minors, a major and a misconduct. So far this season the product of the Pomfret School and South Windsor Connecticut has kept his nose clean.
The fiery goalie was first team All-NESCAC last season and also named a New England All Star by the NEHWA.
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| On the power play Trinity's Jackson Brewer is to the goaltender's left and generally behind the goal line. Photo Benet Pols |
While Coulthard spends his time in front of the goal, teammate Jackson Brewer earns his living on Trinity's vaunted power play behind and to the left of the opposing goalie. An integral part of the Trinity power play, Brewer has 5 power play goals to go with 13 assists. Only teammate John Hawkrigg, a Canadian and thus ineligible for the Concannon, leads Brewer in power-play points. The junior is tied for the team lead in points at 14-29-43. Career numbers so far point to Brewer passing the 100 point mark by mid season next year. In 70 career games his numbers are 29-46-75. From Newton, Massachusetts, Brewer attended The Rivers School.
Williams' Sean Dougherty. If any goalie in NESCAC deserves the label workhorse it's Williams' Sean Dougherty. This is the junior from Smithtown, New York's second nomination for the Concannon.
With 1240 minutes between the pipes so far this season, Dougherty has played nearly three full games more than his closest competitor, Colby's Sam Parker. Dougherty's 1.69 GAA is all the more impressive when you consider he gave up four goals in the first period before being pulled at Wesleyan two weeks ago. While the surprising 7-3 beat down at Wesleyan on February 8th could have shattered Dougherty's confidence, he seems to have rebounded nicely. In the three games since, Dougherty allowed just four goals and made 99 saves. His teammates, however, have been unable to find the net themselves. The Ephs 0-3-1, over their last four including the Wesleyan game, have slipped out of first place and won't regain the position this season.
The Ephs goaltender leads the conference in GAA at 1.69 and saves percentage and is third in winning percentage at 0.667 (12-6-1).
A second team All-NESCAC pick last season, Dougherty logged more than 1500 minutes in goal. His career numbers are 29-14-6 with a GAA of just 1.84 and a save percentage of .937.
The Milton School graduate also holds down a spot as a goalkeeper on the Ephs' lacrosse roster.
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| Williams's Sean Dougherty joins Colby's Nick Lanza as a second time nominee. The junior goalie from Smithtown, NY has put up some good numbers and kept Williams ranked all season. As of February 6th his GAA is 1.51, his record 12-3-2 and he save percentage is .944. With 1032 minutes between the pipes not many people know WIlliams' other goalies. Photo Benet Pols |
Who got left off?
A lot of band-width can be unnecessarily wasted carping about favorite players who didn't make the cut. Voting is done by a lot of writers from various areas so a reputation can help and of course some biases exist. It's pointless to cry foul when eight of eighteen nominees come from the 'Cac. This leaves just ten nominees to be spread over the remaining 3.5 conferences playing in New England.
So please consider this list a tribute to those who maybe just needed one headline grabbing game in January.
Wesleyan's Keith Buehler. He was nominated last season, was also Nescac's player of the year, and pulled down a passel of other awards including being named to one of the numerous All-American teams.
Right now Buehler is tied for 13th in NESCAC scoring with nominee JC Cangelosi of Connecticut College with 12 goals and 10 assists. Sure last season he had 20 goals and 20 assists as Wesleyan was eliminated in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs, but remember he was paired with high scoring Nick Craven.
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| Wesleyan's Senior Capt. Keith Buehler is fast, fast, fast. Photo Benet Pols |
Perhaps he's paying the price for being outscored on his own team by frosh phenom Elliot Vorel. Vorel burst on the scene early this season nabbing the first "player of the week" honors and seemed to score at will, putting in 10 goals and picking up 9 assists in his first 8 games. It's possible the Frosh from New Jersey's torrid start burned so brightly it blinded voters to anyone else playing in Middletown. With two games remaining in the regular season Vorel's line is now 12-13-25.
Amherst's Dave Cunningham. With Amherst's balanced scoring and a team goal total in the middle of NESCAC pack, it's hard to pick an offensive standout to join nominee Aaron Deutsch, but goaltender Dave Cunningham's numbers (2.17 .921), are right in line with those of Trinity's Ben Coulthard (2.29 .928). The only substantial difference between the two is winning percentage. With Trinity netting 4.45 goals a game, while Amherst scores just 2.95 a game the winning percentage disparity is easily explained.
We're guessing the senior Coulthard gets the nod over the sophomore Cunningham.
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| All three of these guys will be vying for the Concannon next season. Amherst's Deutsch, nominated this year, is a junior. Bowdoin's John McGinnis, 12th in scoring with 23 points, also has a year left. While Amherst's goaltender Dave Cunningham is just a sophomore. Photo Benet Pols |
Hamilton. The Continentals play in New York, not New England. No Soup for Michael DiMare or Robbie Murden with 27 and 24 points respectively.
Up next, who are the early favorites for next season?
In addition to this year's nominees who are underclassmen (Deutsch, Brewer, Dougherty, and Cangelosi) the following players should be in the discussion next February.
Amherst's Dave Cunningham. Noted above as a near miss this season he'll be competing with William's Dougherty for top goaltender next season.
Bowdoin's John McGinnis, Connor Quinn and Max Fenkell
Middlebury's Jake Charles. 16 points in just 12 games so far this year but Charles is Canadian and thus ineligible.
Trinity's Ryan Cole, Sean Orlando and Michael Flynn
Wesleyan's Elliot Vorel and James Kline (21 points)
Williams's Peter Mistretta. The junior has played just one game this season but before being injured late in his sophomore season led the Ephs in goals with 14 in his first 20 games.
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