News from The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Tim Costello, Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee Chairman (732) 425-5922 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.gridclubofgreaterboston.com Babson Goaltender Jamie Murray Wins 15th Annual Joe Concannon Award as New England’s Best American-born Player in Division II-III College Hockey Junior had 1.68 goals-against average, led nation in shutouts and minutes played BOSTON – MARCH 26, 2015 – Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Jim Kearney announced today that junior goaltender Jamie Murray (Scituate, MA) of Babson College is winner of the 15th annual Joe Concannon Award, which recognizes New England’s best American-born hockey player in Divisions II and III. Murray led the Beavers to the ECAC East title game, where they lost 3-2 to top-ranked Norwich and just missed repeating as conference champions. He finished among the nation’s leaders in goals against average (1.68) and save percentage (.940). He tied Saint Thomas College senior Drew Fielding for the most shutouts (6), and he led the nation in minutes played (1680:33). Murray’s other honors include being a first-team ECAC East all-conference selection as well as repeating as the league’s goaltender of the year. Additionally, Murray is one of five finalists nominated for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which recognizes off-ice charitable work in the community. In addition to his support of the Special Olympics and other events, Jamie established the Cure for Cole WiffleBall Tournament in 2010 to raise money for a neighbor battling a chronic disease. The tournament draws over 40 teams and 200 players annually and has raised over $25,000 to date. Babson head coach Jamie Rice stated, “This is a great honor for Jamie who had a great and extremely consistent season. His numbers say a lot, but he really played at a high level nearly every game and virtually all the minutes for us. He would probably thank his teammates. They always had great confidence that he would give up one or two goals at most, which always gives your team a chance to win.” Rice added, “Jamie is just a great kid and really focused on his game. He never missed a practice and always had that level of intensity and preparation required to be successful against the highcaliber opponents we play in our league and our non-conference schedule. He is the first Babson player to win the award among many worthy nominees we have had considered in the past. He is a very worthy winner for what he does on the ice and more so, off the ice as well.” An extremely competitive field of finalists from other New England conferences competed with Murray for this year’s Concannon Award. Senior forward Stephen Buco (North Providence, RI) from Massachusetts-Boston starred in the ECAC East Conference along with senior defenseman Alec Thieda (Rochester Hills, MI) from Norwich University. Junior goaltender Alex Larson (Madison, AL) from Nichols College led the Bison to the ECAC Northeast title. Junior forward Joe Collins (Mansfield, MA) from Southern New Hampshire University represented Division II and the NE-10 conference as a repeat nominee. Buco finished the season with 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points in 27 games played. He led the Beacons to a national ranking for most of the season and his point total was tops in the nation at the D-III level. Buco was a first team all-conference selection in the ECAC East. Collins led the SNHU Penmen in scoring this season with 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points and surpassed the century mark in career points in just 73 games played. A special-team force as well, Collins led the team with eight power play goals. Jamie Murray Wins 2015 Joe Concannon Award Page 2 Larson backstopped the Bison to the ECAC Northeast title and an NCAA tournament berth. He finished with a1.77 goals-against average and .952 save percentage and was named first team allconference and co-goaltender of the year. He had 40 or more saves in six games. Thieda was an end-to-end performer from his position on the blue line for Norwich University, which won the ECAC East championship and was ranked number one nationally for much of the season. Thieda finished the season with 20 points, and two of his three goals were game winners. He was a first team all-conference selection, and he played in 114 games in his Cadet career. “This year’s exciting play and depth of strong teams in all conferences was quite evident at the DII/III levels in New England where several teams were ranked nationally in the top ten during the course of the season,” noted committee chairman Tim Costello. “Every nominee had a truly outstanding season among many more performances across the region. All of the nominees are great examples of the college and amateur athletes that Joe Concannon so very much enjoyed covering and recognizing during his tenure as a sportswriter at The Boston Globe. Jamie Murray, with his superb on-ice skills and off-ice contributions to the community make him an ideal choice for this year’s Joe Concannon Award.” The 2015 Joe Concannon Award will be presented at the New England Hockey Writers’ Dinner in April, following the Division I Frozen Four. Joe Concannon Award Winners 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Keith Aucoin Michael Carosi Nick Stauder Jim Pancyzkowski Michael O’Sullivan Brian Doherty Joseph Ori Adam Dann Greg Osborne Tom Maldonado Jeff Landers Coleman Noonan Josh Harris Jeremiah Ketts Colin Mulvey Jackson Brewer Jamie Murray Norwich University Bowdoin College Salem State College Wesleyan University Curry College Curry College Trinity College Bowdoin College Colby College Middlebury College Amherst College St. Anselm College Castleton College Johnson & Wales University Norwich University Trinity College Babson College 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. 2015-2016 Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Officers: Jim Kearney, President; Tom Lamb, First Vice President; Chris Clemente, Second Vice President; Dick Lawrence, Secretary/Treasurer, Ned Cully, Historian. 2015-2016 Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Selection Committee and Advisory Board: Tim Costello, Chairman; Joe Bertagna, Tom Burke, Jim Connelly, Ned Cully, Bob DeGregorio, Kevin Fleming, Steve Hagwell, Nancy MarrapeseBurrell, Hon. Gordon A. Martin, Jr., Paul McNamara, and William J. Stewart III. Press Contacts: Tim Costello, Committee Chairman Phone: 732-425-5922 Tom Burke, Communications Director Phone: 617-323-5694 [email protected] [email protected]
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