Norwich senior forward Keith Aucoin has been named the first recipient of the Joe Concannon Memorial Award, to be given annually to the best American-born Division II-III college hockey player in New England.
The honor is the Division II-III equivalent of the Walter Brown Award, both given by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston.
Aucoin, who was also named Division III Player of the Year by the American Hockey Coaches Association, tallied 26 goals and 30 assists to lead his team in scoring. He is the all-time leading scorer in Norwich history with 136 points.
“A real blue-collar guy,” said Norwich head coach Mike McShane. “He has magic hands -– played a lot like Rick Middleton and broke just about every school record. He was also our captain, and he spent a lot of time with some of the disadvantaged kids in our local community too. Keith is a good leader and just a great person.”
Aucoin was an integral part of Norwich’s 1999-2000 Division III national championship. He was also USCHO.com’s Division III Player of the Year in 1998-99 and is a strong contender for that award again this season, finishing first in the fan balloting. That award is expected to be announced shortly.
Other finalists considered by the selection committee were Matt Dunn and Scott Goldman of Middlebury; Jason Boudrow of Tufts; Bobby Moss of Williams; Nick Reiser of Amherst; Scott Graham of Johnson & Wales; Steve Cuccinati of Wesleyan; Jeff Faulkner of Trinity; and Tim Yakimowsky of Wentworth.
The Joe Concannon Award, named after the legendary sportswriter for the Boston Globe, will be presented to Aucoin at the New England Hockey Writers’ Dinner on April 11.
