Former Salem State men’s hockey coach O’Neill honored with Parker-York Award for contributions to New England hockey

Bill O’Neill coached the Salem State men’s hockey team for 42 years (photo: Salem State Athletic Department).

The New England Hockey Writers Association will host its annual awards reception on April 23 at the Prince Restaurant in Saugus, Mass.

The event will include not only the New England writers’ honorees but will also serve to present the recipients of the Walter Brown Award and Joe Concannon Award, given by the Gridiron Club of Boston, to the top American-born hockey players in New England. In addition, the Eastern Massachusetts Ice Hockey Officials will present the J. Thom Lawler Award.

Among the honorees are New England MVPs Devon Bobak of Trinity (men) and Meg Rittenhouse of Colby (women). Coach of the year awards go to Matt Greason of Trinity (men) and Katie Zimmerman of Western New England (women).

The evening will also include the presentation of the following awards sponsored by other organizations: the Gridiron Club of Boston honors the top American-born male hockey players in New England with the Joe Concannon Award, named after the former Boston Globe sportswriter. Devon Bobak of Trinity is this year’s recipient. The J. Thom Lawler Award, presented by the Eastern Massachusetts Ice Hockey Officials goes to Thomas Kramer of Babson.

The evening will end with the presentation of the Parker-York Award for contributions to New England hockey. This year’s recipient is retired Salem State men’s coach Bill O’Neill, who won 626 games in a 42-year career as the Vikings’ head coach. A 1978 graduate of Boston University, O’Neill contributed to the Terriers 1978 NCAA championship, taking a regular shift on defense for coach Jack Parker.

The New England Division II-III honorees have also been announced for both men and women.

2023-24 New England Division II-III Men’s All-Stars
Goalie – Kalle Anderson, SR, Plymouth State
Goalie – Devon Bobak, SO, Trinity
Goalie – Shane Soderwall, FR, Curry
Defense – Colby Bailey, SR, Babson
Defense – Ned Blanchard, SR, Trinity
Defense – David Ciancio, St. Michael’s
Defense – Matt Connor, SO, Curry
Defense – Chip Hamlett, SO, University of New England
Defense – Rider McCallum, SO, Plymouth State
Forward – Gage Dill, SO, Curry
Forward – Matt Fawcett, JR, Salve Regina
Forward – Andrew Kurapov, SR, Endicott
Forward – Ronny Paragallo, JR, Assumption
Forward – Michael Perrone, GR, UMass-Dartmouth
Forward – Will Redick, SO, Plymouth State
Forward – Tyler Sedlak, JR, Tufts
Forward – Connor Tait, JR, Plymouth State
Forward – Ryan Tucker, SR, Amherst College

2023-24 New England Division III Women’s All-Stars
Goalie – Haley McKim, SR, Southern Maine
Goalie – Natalie Stott, SO, Amherst
Goalie – Sophia Will, SO, Middlebury
Defense – Neris Archambault, SR, Norwich
Defense – Jess Burwell, SR, Endicott
Defense – Maddie Cox, GR, Salve Regina
Defense – Quinn Dawson, JR, Williams
Defense – Jenna Stevens, SR, Wesleyan
Defense – Breanna Studley, SO, Colby
Forward – Livia Brooks, FY, Norwich
Forward – Meg Rittenhouse, SR, Colby
Forward – Leah Rubinshteyn, SO, Williams
Forward – Moa Carlsson, SO, VSU Castleton
Forward – Rylee Glennon, SR, Amherst
Forward – Jenny Guider, SR, Trinity
Forward – Teaghan Hall, SO, Endicott
Forward – Avery McInerny, SO, Middlebury
Forward – Alyssa Murphy, SR, Western New England
Forward – Katie Puumala, GR, Worcester State