BOSTON, MA. - The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced 33 players are semifinalists for the 22nd Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III men's ice hockey player in New England. Wesleyan men's ice hockey defenseman Jake Lachance '23 and forward Wiggle Kerbrat '23 found their names on the list as two of the 33 semifinalists. They look to become the next Cardinal to win the prestigious honor, as Walker Harris '20 won the Joe Concannon Award following the 2019-20 season.

Kerbrat heads into the final weekend of regular season play leading the NESCAC in a plethora of statistics while cracking the top five in a few others. The senior forward leads the conference in goals, having scored 15 times in 22 games. The goal-scorer also leads the NESCAC in goals per game (0.68), points (25), and points per game (1.14) while leading the highest scoring team in the conference to a 13-6-3 record.

He also lands among the leagues best in a handful of other stats including shot percentage (5^th, 0.27), game-winning goals (t-3^rd, three), and face-off wins (t-4^th, 220). Kerbrat cracks the top 20 in the NESCAC in assists (20^th, 10), face-off winning percentage (13^th, .531), and plus/minus (8^th, +12).

Lachance has put together an impressive senior season himself, already claiming NESCAC Player of the Week honors back in mid-January. The senior defenseman has been a distributor on the backline, leading the NESCAC in assists per game (0.80), while only trailing Trinity's Kyle Tomaso (17 assists, 22 games) and teammate Colin Cobb '23 (17, 22 games) in total assists with 16 assists in only 20 games played.

He is currently 2^nd in the conference in both total points (22) and points per game (1.10) only trailing his standout teammate, Kerbrat. Lachance only has six goals on the season, but has been lethal in power play opportunities, scoring three times in those situations which is good for t-6^th in the NESCAC. He has also shown to be one of the more elite defenseman in all of division III, blocking a team-leading 25 shots in only 20 games.

The two semifinalists will look to continue their play through the final stretch of the regular season through the NESCAC Tournament.

About the Joe Concannon Award
The Joe Concannon Award was established in 2001 shortly after the passing of the longtime writer for The Boston Globe, who had a great passion for the game of college hockey while always advocating strongly for amateur athletics.
 
Six others players from the NESCAC are among the 33 semifinalists: Andy Stoneman (Bowdoin), Andy Beran (Colby), Jack Sullivan (Colby), Gerard Maretta (Trinity), Devon Bobak (Trinity), Sam Miller (Tufts)
 
The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 22nd Joe Concannon Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Frozen Four on March 24^th and 26th.