Johnson and Wales’ Ketts wins Concannon Award

The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Friday that senior forward Jeremiah Ketts of Johnson and Wales is the winner of the 12th annual Joe Concannon Award, which recognizes New England’s best American-born hockey player at the Division II-III level.

Ketts led the nation in points per game for the Wildcats and finished his four-year career with 165 points.

Ketts finished his senior year with an outstanding season, leading the Wildcats in scoring with 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points. He was a first team ECAC Northeast All-Star selection, as well as the ECAC Northeast player of the year.

“This is a really great recognition and an important award not only for Jeremiah, but for the team and the program,” Johnson and Wales coach Eric Noack said in a news release. “To win such a prestigious award really puts both him and our program on the map. I can’t think of a more talented and competitive player who deserves this recognition more. Jeremiah truly had a rare combination of talent and competitiveness that put him above a lot of players. His work ethic in the weight room and on the ice was extraordinary.

“To see a kid go out and spend extra time on backhand shots around the goal during the week and then score goals with it in games just showed his commitment to improving all aspects of his game. From the time he was a freshman, he has been 24/7 hockey and his numbers back up his performance and improvement.”

The other finalists for the award were defenseman Mike Baran (Amherst), goaltender Ryan Purdy (Williams) and senior defenseman Ryan Barlock (Curry).