Men’s Ice Hockey Trio Tabbed Joe Concannon Semifinalists

BOSTON – Suffolk men's ice hockey triad of Marko Giourof, Nolan Leonard and Austin McNicholas have been named as semifinalist for the Joe Concanno Award, given annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England at the NCAA Division II/III Level, the Gridiron Club of New England President Tim Whelan Jr. announced Thursday via a press release.  

Suffolk's trio is apart of the 36 of the top hockey players across two divisions in New England collegiate hockey and highlights the early hopefuls for the 25th annual honor.  

"This year has seen the greatest level of parity ever at the DII/III level," _said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello. "A watch-list greater than ninety players showcased a considerable number of outstanding players throughout the season to date which has made this year's group of nominees the diverse group across the region it represents. The 36 semifinalists represent a deserving pool for consideration in this the Silver Anniversary of the Joe Concannon Award. We expect to see the strongest contenders for the award emerge over the final weeks of the regular season, conference championship tournaments on the way to the NCAA title chase in March. The committee will be watching closely to see which players rise to the top for this year's 25th edition of the Concannon Award." 

The Joe Concannon Award, established by the Gridiron Club in 2001, honors 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 graduate 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.  

Twenty-two institutions are represented in the slate of candidates that include 11 players form the Conference of New England (CNE) that included Suffolk's three as well as three from Endicott – Louis Kamienski, Sebastien Speck and Peter Sterling – and University of New England – Harrison Chesney, Dominic Murphy and Drew Olivieri – and a pair from Curry – Gage Dill, Jesse Galassi.  

All first time honorees, Giourof, Leonard and O'Connell are the first Suffolk teammates to make the list in the same season in program history. They are the first Rams to be recognized as semifinalist since CJ Hapward earned the nod a year ago. With the three newest honorees, there have been 10 student-athletes from Suffolk University to receive the distinction since the inception in 2001.  

Giourof, a sophomore forward from Redondo Beach, California, has made the most of his first season in a Suffolk sweater as he currently tops not only the Rams' squad, but the conference in points (27) behind a 13-goal, 14-assist state line.  

Leonard, a sophomore that calls Braintree, Massachusetts home, has one point fewer of his fellow linesman Giourof with 22 to his credit behind five strikes and a conference-best 17 set-ups. 

McNicholas, meanwhile, has made his name known in his freshman campaign as the blue-and-gold's netminder. The Clarence, New York produce has played every game in between the pipes for Suffolk and has assembled a 12-7-1 ledger with a 2.10 GAA and .905. He is the youngest Ram to make the semifinalist list and second-ever goalie to earn the feat behind Hapward, who did so a year ago.  

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

2026 JOE CONCANNON SEMIFINALIST

Josh Burke, Senior Forward – Amherst
Jonathan Surrette, Junior Forward – Assumption
Shane McElhaney, Sophomore Defenseman – Assumption
Jimmy Fallon, Junior Forward – Babson
Charlie Andrioli, Senior Defenseman – Babson
Nate Mueller, Senior Goaltender – Babson
Will Rice, Sophomore Forward – Bowdoin
Colby Browne, Sophomore Forward – Colby 
Will Lawrence, Sophomore Forward – Connecticut College
Gage Dill, Senior Forward – Curry
Jess Galassi, Senior Defenseman – Curry
Louie Kamienski, Freshman Forward – Endicott
Sebastien Speck, Freshman Forward – Endicott
Peter Sterling, Freshman Goaltender – Endicott
Frederick Soderberg, Junior Goaltender – Fitchburg State
Devin Niles, Freshman Forward – Fitchburg State
Mario Paganini, Sophomore Forward – Franklin Pierce
Jude Kurtas, Senior Forward – UMass Boston
Tyler Stewart, Senior Forward – UMass Dartmouth 
Revy Mack, Junior Forward – Middlebury
Frank A'Ancona, Freshman Forward – Norwich
Cade DeStefani, Senior Forward – Salve Regina
Cam Colllins, Senior Forward – St. Anselm
Evan Plunkett, Sophomore Goaltender – St. Michael's 
Marko Giouroff, Sophomore Forward – Suffolk
Nolan Leonard, Sophomore Forward – Suffolk
Austin McNicholas – Freshman Goaltender – Suffolk
Ryan Panico, Senior Forward – Trinity
Max Resnick, Senior Forward – Tufts
Ethan Ullrick, Junior Forward – Tufts
Harrison Chesney, Senior Goaltender – UNE
Dominic Murphy, Junior Forward – UNE
Drew Olivieri, Junior Forward – UNE
Jake McManus, Sophomore Forward – Williams
Brady Welsch, Junior Forward - Williams