Doherty, Ori Win 2005 Concannon Award

Brian Doherty of Curry and Joseph Ori of Trinity are co-winners of the fifth annual Joe Concannon Award, which recognizes New England’s best American-born Division II-III hockey player. Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Ken Eldridge made the announcement today.

Doherty, a resident of Franklin, Mass., finished his career at Curry with an outstanding season in which he scored 15 goals and 41 assists for 56 points in just 28 games. His assist total led the nation on a per-game basis. The senior forward was named a first team ECAC Northeast League all-star for the second consecutive year in leading the Colonels to a second straight unbeaten regular season, their first conference championship since 1986, and a second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.

Curry coach Rob Davies said, “Brian is one of five guys who came here to build the program four years ago. He became the team’s captain in his freshman season and has worn the ‘C’ in each of his four years. His contributions on and off the ice have been immeasurable. He loves coming to the rink every day and working hard at the game he loves whether it’s a practice or a game. Brian had a fantastic season and career, and he has certainly left his stamp on Curry hockey.”

Ori, a resident of Niles, Ill., led Trinity to the regular season title in the extremely competitive NESCAC conference and an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. Like Doherty, Ori is his team’s captain and leading scorer. The forward amassed 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points through 25 games and was a first team all-NESCAC selection. He will finish his college career with greater than 100 points.

Trinity won one league championship and played in two NCAA tournaments during Ori’s career. According to head coach John Dunham, “Joe is just one of those guys that knew the commitment to playing consistently well from the time he first stepped on the ice as a freshman. He has been a superb captain, as well as our best player, and has been a terrific leader both on and off the ice in mentoring some of our younger players. He is a complete hockey player and has a special charisma on the ice that you just can’t teach.”

A strong field of finalist candidates vied with Doherty and Ori for the Concannon Award. They included senior forward Beau Kretzman from Amherst; senior defenseman Patrick Walsh from Colby; senior defenseman Brian Phinney from Middlebury; and junior forward Eric Frank from UMass-Dartmouth.

Kretzman, from Edina, Minn., captained the revitalized Lord Jeffs into the NESCAC playoff and led the team in scoring with 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points. He finishes his career with 142 points in 95 games.

Walsh, from Easton, Conn., has been an outstanding two-way player for Colby over his career. This season, the White Mules’ captain scored 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 25 games. A defensive stalwart that helped develop some incoming freshmen, Walsh led Colby to the NESCAC semifinals while attaining first team all-league honors.

Phinney, from Ripton, Vt., captained the defending national champions to the NESCAC championship and an eleventh straight NCAA appearance. Phinney finished the year with nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points while logging greater than 35 minutes of ice time per game for the Panthers. A second team all-league selection, Phinney is also a member of Middlebury’s championship lacrosse team.

Frank, from Waltham, Mass., led UMass-Dartmouth to a 14-1 regular season record and championship game appearance against Curry. His 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 points led the nation in points per game. He was a first team all-conference selection and Player of the Year in the ECAC Northeast.

The 2005 Joe Concannon Award will be presented to the co-winners at the New England Hockey Writers Dinner on Wednesday, April 13, 2005. Last year’s co-winners were Jim Pancyzkowski of Wesleyan University and Cattaraugus, N.Y. and Michael O’Sullivan of Curry College and Dorchester, Mass.

Joe Concannon Award Winners