Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Announces Semi-Finalists for 56th Walter Brown Award

Business Wire, Feb 4, 2008

Outstanding field of American-born Division One hockey players includes three repeat nominees, three players from Providence and two each from Boston College, Boston University, and New Hampshire

BOSTON -- Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Al Robichaud announced today that fifteen NCAA Division One players are semi-finalists for the fifty-sixth Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.

The candidates include twelve players from Hockey East and three from the ECAC Hockey League. The slate comprises nine forwards, four goalies, and two defensemen. Providence College, which did not have a semifinalist last year, boasts three in 2008. Boston College, Boston University, and New Hampshire all have two players each among the candidates. Three nominees, BC's Benn Ferriero, BU's Peter MacArthur, and UNH's Kevin Regan, were semifinalists for last year's award, which was won by Boston University goalie John Curry.

Goaltenders on the 2008 semifinalists' list include Regan, a UNH senior from South Boston, MA; sophomore Nevin Hamilton, (Ashland, MA) of UMass-Lowell; junior Billy Blase (Santa Monica, CA) of Yale; and senior Tyler Sims (Fort Worth, TX) of Providence. Regan, with a 2.38 goals against average to date, has been a fixture in the net for UNH, Hockey East's league leading team. Hamilton and Sims have both been strong factors in their respective teams' surprising performance in the tightly-contested Hockey East race. Blase currently sports a 1.98 goals-against average for the resurgent young Bulldogs, who are making a surprising run at a home ice playoff berth in the ECAC.

Defensemen on the list are Providence junior Matt Taormina (Washington Township, MI), who leads Hockey East rearguards in scoring with 23 points to date, and Maine's slick-passing senior Bret Tyler (Maynard, MA).

Among the forwards, BC junior Nathan Gerbe (Oxford, MI) is currently top scorer in Hockey East and third in the nation with 37 points. Ferriero (Essex, MA), his teammate and classmate, has put up 27 points to date. BU seniors MacArthur (Clifton Park, NY) and Bryan Ewing (Plymouth, MA) have been among Hockey East's top scorers all season and each have 30 points. Providence senior Jon Rheault (Deering, NH) is tied for second in goal production among Hockey East players with 14.

A pair of Hockey East freshmen are among the candidates. New Hampshire's James van Riemsdyk (Middletown, NJ), who starred for the United States team in this season's World Junior Tournament, is third-leading scorer among the league's rookies with 23 points despite missing fivae games for tournament play. UMass rookie James Marcou (Kings' Park, NY) has posted 25 points thus far. Rounding out the semifinalists' slate are Harvard senior Jon Pelle (West Islip, NY) slate and Quinnipiac senior Ben Nelson (Spokane. WA).

"We almost always note, in making our semifinalists' announcement, that Eastern hockey is competitive and well balanced. That is certainly true this year, but perhaps even more so than ever. We have a long way to go before standings and playoff berths are sorted out, and a brief hot streak or slump can spell a major change in the standings for any given team," said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello. "The same thinking applies to the slate of potential candidates for this year's Walter Brown Award. Many very fine players came under consideration, and unfortunately some of them could not make the watch list. That said, we believe that this is a strong group of semifinalists, and we look forward to tracking them closely for the rest of the season."

The Gridiron Club plans to announce the finalists and winner of the 56th Walter Brown Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Tournament play.

Walter Brown Award Winners  <                     <


                            <                     <


1953                        <                     <  Ray Picard

Northeastern
1954                        <                     <  Bob Babine

Boston College
1955                        <                     <  Bill Cleary

Harvard
1956                        <                     <  R.J. Cavanaugh

Northeastern
1957                        <                     <  Bob Cleary

Harvard
1958                        <                     <  Bob Cleary

Harvard
1959                        <                     <  Mike Karin

Middlebury
1960                        <                     <  Art Chisholm

Northeastern
1961                        <                     <  Tom Martin

Boston College
1962                        <                     <  Dave Grannis

Harvard
1963                        <                     <  Bill Hogan

Boston College
1964                        <                     <  Richie Green

Boston University
1965                        <                     <  Bob Gaudreau

Brown
1966                        <                     <  John Cunniff

Boston College
1967                        <                     <  Jerry York

Boston College
1968                        <                     <  Tim Sheehy

Boston College
1969                        <                     <  Paul Hurley

Boston College
1970                        <                     <  Tim Sheehy

Boston College
1971                        <                     <  Joe Cavanagh

Harvard
1972                        <                     <  Bob McManama

Harvard
1973                        <                     <  Tom Mellor

Boston College
1974                        <                     <  Ed Walsh

Boston University
1975                        <                     <  Ron Wilson

Providence
1976                        <                     <  Richie Smith

Boston College
1977                        <                     <  Bob Miller

New Hampshire
1978                        <                     <  Joe Mullen

Boston College
1979                        <                     <  Ralph Cox

New Hampshire
1980                        <                     <  Bill Army

Boston College
1981                        <                     <  Mark Switaj

Boston College
1982                        <                     <  Chuck Marshall

Northeastern
1983                        <                     <  Mark Fusco

Harvard
1984                        <                     <  Cleon Daskalakis

Boston University
1985                        <                     <  Tim Army

Providence
1986                        <                     <  Scott Fusco

Harvard
                            <                     <  Scott Harlow

Boston College
1987                        <                     <  Brian Leetch

Boston College
1988                        <                     <  Mike McHugh

Maine
1989                        <                     <  Lane MacDonald

Harvard
1990                        <                     <  Greg Brown

Boston College
1991                        <                     <  Dave Emma

Boston College
1992                        <                     <  Rob Gaudreau

Providence
1993                        <                     <  Dave Sacco

Boston University
1994                        <                     <  Jacques Joubert

Boston University
1995                        <                     <  Mike Grier

Boston University
1996                        <                     <  Jay Pandolfo

Boston University
1997                        <                     <  Chris Drury

Boston University
1998                        <                     <  Chris Drury

Boston University
1999                        <                     <  Mike Mottau

Boston College
                            <                     <  Mike Omicioli

Providence
2000                        <                     <  Mike Mottau

Boston College
2001                        <                     <  Ty Conklin

New Hampshire
                            <                     <  Brian Gionta

Boston College
2002                        <                     <  Jim Fahey

Northeastern
2003                        <                     <  Mike Ayers

New Hampshire
2004                        <                     <  Steve Saviano

New Hampshire
2005                        <                     <  Dov Grumet-Morris

Harvard
2006                        <                     <  Chris Collins

Boston College
2007                        <                     <  John Curry

Boston University