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Hapward Named Joe Concannon Semifinalist
Posted: Feb 10, 2025
BOSTON – CJ Hapward of the Suffolk men's hockey team has been selected as a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon Award, given annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England at the NCAA Division II/III level, the Gridiron of Greater Boston President Tim Whelan Jr. announced.
Hapward is one of 40 of the top hockey players across two divisions in New England collegiate hockey and the highlights the early hopefuls for the 24th annual honor.
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.
Hapward, a fifth-year goalie that calls West Caldwell, New Jersey hope has been a staple in between the post for the blue-and-gold this season, starting all 22 games. He owns 546 saves, a .925 save percentage and a 2.08 GAA for a 10-10-1 record with five cleansheets. The five shutouts put him a tie for first amongst NCAA Division III goaltenders, while his GAA and save percentage rank 13th and 20th in the nation, respectively.
Overall, 32 institutions are represented in the slate of candidates that include eight players from the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC), seven from the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10), five from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), ten from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and eight from the Conference of New England (CNE).
Position wise, there are 27 forwards, seven defensemen and six goaltenders.
Hapward is the first Suffolk player to make the list since Devin Lowe did a year ago, seventh Ram to receive the distinction since the inception in 2001 and first-ever Rams netminder to receive the nod.
"This year has seen as balanced a level of competition that there has ever been on the D-II/III landscape in New England," said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello said. "A watch-list of over one hundred outstanding players showcased talents throughout the season to date which has made this year's group of nominees the deepest across conferences and number of teams that the committee has ever send."
Costello continued, "While the 40 semifinalists represent our largest field in the 24-year history of the Joe Concannon Award, it was an immense challenge to reduce to this list of semifinalists. While there are just a few weeks remaining in the regular season and conference tournaments, we are confidence that the best players will rise to the occasion when stakes are highest."
The Gridiron Club will announce the finalist and winner of the 24th Joe Concannon Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of the NCAA Division III Championships March 28-30.
2025 JOE CONCANNON SEMIFINALIST
Tim Manning, Senior Forward – Albertus Magnus
Josh Burke, Junior Forward – Amherst
Matthew Gilbert, Graduate Forward – Anna Maria
Ronny Paragallo, Senior Forward – Assumption
Wyatt George, Senior Forward – Babson
Luke Wheeler, Senior Forward – Bowdoin
Connor Gallagher, Junior Defenseman – Colby
Shane Soderwall, Sophomore Goaltender – Curry
Killian Rowlee, Junior Forward – Curry
Andrew Kurapov, Senior Forward – Endicott
Ryan Willett, Senior Forward – Endicott
Samuel Rennick, Senior Forward – Fitchburg State
Jake Inzirillo, Sophomore Goaltender - Johnson & Wales
Chase Carney, Freshman Forward – Keene State
Marcus Chrisafeidis, Freshman Forward – Keene State
Michael Krupinski, Senior Forward – UMass Boston
Tyler Stewart, Junior Forward – UMass Dartmouth
Revy Mack, Sophomore Forward – Middlebury
Anthony Beaulieu, Freshman Goaltender – New England College
Clark Kerner, Senior Forward – Norwich
Aidan Canady, Freshman Defenseman – Post
Landon Greatorex, Junior Forward - Salem State
Arvega Hovsepyan, Freshman Forward – Salve Regina
Matt Sullivan, Sophomore Forward – Southern Maine
Collin Berke, Sophomore Goaltender – Southern New Hampshire
Mark Blaney, Senior Defenseman – St. Anselm
Hunter Brackett, Senior Forward – St. Anselm
David Ciancio, Senior Defenseman – St. Michael's
Case Kantgias, Senior Defenseman – St. Michael's
CJ Hapward, Senior Goaltender – Suffolk
Devon Bobak, Junior Goaltender – Trinity
Theodore Griffin, Senior Defenseman – Trinity
Spencer Korona, Senior Forward – Trinity
Tyler Sedlak, Senior Forward – Tufts
Ryan Kuzmich, Senior Forward – UNE
Drew Olivieri, Sophomore Forward – UNE
Andrew Stefura, Senior Forward – Vermont State Castleton
Owen Sweet, Senior Forward – Wesleyan
Cooper Board, Senior Forward – Westfield State
Jake McManus, Freshman Forward - Williams