Happy St. Patrick's Day: Unofficial 2018-19 NESCAC All-Irish Team

O'Connor family crest (source)

With Trinity's tough 2-1 loss to UNE last Saturday in the NCAA Opening Round, we were left with no 'CAC team in the NCAA DIII MIH Quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. So to fill the void, let's resurrect a dumb gag from that time period... NESCAC All-Irish (last names) team. 

To celebrate a routine Catholic holiday turned de facto Irish Heritage Day in America, as well as it being awards season in college hockey, we again present the NESCAC men's hockey All-Irish (last names) Team for the 2018-19 season. For information on the Irish origin of these players' last names, whether their individual lineages are actually Irish or not, check out House of Names.

Our apologies to those players that are of Irish heritage but don't have Irish last names or a player's inclusion if he is not in fact of Irish origin but has a last name that could be Irish. Selection is based on a complex algorithm balancing performance in the 2018-19 season with Irish-ness of name. 

Three shillelagh wielding sophomores lead the way in an underclassmen heavy class. In net, Mike Cullen, whose family surname is derived from the gaelic word for holly, almost netminded the Mammoths into the NCAA tournament with shutouts in both the NESCAC quarterfinals and semis before losing to Trinity in OT in the finals.  He's joined in the back by fellow sophomore Jack McCool - whose surname origins lie in the northern parts of the isle- who matched his freshman point total (8) in assists alone this year (7-8-15).  Rounding out the back line is Liam Feeney, a smooth skating blueliner from Trinity who has been a Joe Concannon semifinalist in back-to-back seasons. Besides being the name of one of  the best teachers in pop-culture history, the last name Feeney has its origins in gaelic references to warriors or soldiers. 

Up front, Nick O'Connor, fellow Concannon semifinalist and lone senior on this squad, led the NESCAC in power play scoring (4-5-9) and earned a spot not just on our prestigious team, but also on the conference's First Team All-NESCAC. The Colby Captain also represents our only instance of the O-apostrophe at the beginning of a last name, a gaelic signifier meaning "descendant of". Don't know who the original Connor was but at least one of his descendants can puck. 

Middlebury hopes to build a foundation that will lead them back to the glory of yesteryear from the nadir of missing the playoffs in 2017 and 2018. They took a step forward this season into the playoffs thanks in part to sophomore Michael Fahie, whose surname means foundation and whose family motto means hope, the Panthers leading goal scorer (10-11-21). 

Wesleyan junior Walker Harris rounds out the frontline. Harris hails  from Boulder, Colorado, farther from the emerald isle than any other selection. (The other four are all from Massachusetts with the exception of Ontario native Cullen. )His last name, Harris, also is less solidly Irish than others on the team as it is originally more English than Irish. But the First Team All-NESCAC forward's output (19-12-31) makes him a solid choice for the team.  

This should go without saying, but these honors are completely unofficial and the conference has absolutely nothing to do with them. 

2018-19 NESCAC All-Irish (Last Name) Team

Nick O'Connor*     Colby  F ('19)

Walker Harris*      Wesleyan F ('20)
Michael Fahie          Middlebury (F, '21)
Jack McCool            Williams (D, '21)
Liam Feeney             Trinity (D, '20)
Mike Cullen             Amherst (G, '21)

*Indicates player was selected to 2018-19 First Team All-NESCAC

With the offseason here and spring break coming for those still in school, it is time to take it easy. Here's Irish band Kila with Tog E go Bog E (Irish for Take it Easy).