BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott men's ice hockey senior goaltender Conor O'Brien (Pinellas Park, Fla.) has been named a finalist for the 2022 Sid Watson Award, given annually to the best NCAA Division II/III men's ice hockey student-athlete in the country.
Sponsored by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA), the Sid Watson Award honors the memory of former Bowdoin College head coach and athletic director Sid Watson. A three-time AHCA Coach of the Year, Watson served Bowdoin for more than 30 years, winning 326 games in 24 seasons as head coach.
The recipient of this year's Sid Watson Award will be announced on Thursday, March 24.
O'Brien is the second student-athlete in program history to earn this honor, joining Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) on the list who was selected as a finalist in 2017-18.
Since the award was established in 1993, 10 goalies have been chosen as Sid Watson Award winners, including four out of the last five seasons. In total, 12 finalists were selected for this year's award with only two being goalies.
Meanwhile, yesterday, O'Brien became the first student-athlete in program history to receive the Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III college hockey student-athlete in New England.
O'Brien, who shared the honor with Babson College senior forward Ryan Black (Pomfret, Conn.), is only the third goalie ever to win the Joe Concannon Award, joining Jim Pancyzkowski (Wesleyan University, 2004) and two-time winner Jamie Murray (Babson, 2015-16) on the list.
This past season, O'Brien backstopped the Gulls to an appearance in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) title game, but, ultimately, the Gulls fell to the University of New England (UNE), 3-2, in overtime. The No. 8 nationally ranked Nor'easters are currently Frozen Four bound after defeating No. 2 Utica last weekend.
Statistically, O'Brien produced arguably the best season among all Division III netminders this year behind a 19-6-1 record, 1.41 goals against average (GAA), a .949 save percentage (665 saves total), and four shutouts.
O'Brien currently ranks No. 1 in Division III in save percentage, No. 2 in GAA, and No. 15 in goalie winning percentage (.750).
For his efforts this season, O'Brien became the first goaltender in CCC men's ice hockey history to receive conference Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year accolades, respectively. The Goaltender of the Year award marked his second career honor, while his All-CCC First Team selection also was a second-time achievement for his storied career.
YEAR IN REVIEW
Endicott posted a 20-7-1 overall record and a 15-5-1 conference mark before falling to UNE in the conference championship.
Since the program was elevated to NCAA Division III varsity status in 2015-16, the Gulls have compiled 15 or more wins in every full season of play and 20 or more victories in three seasons (2016-17, 2019-20, 2021-22).
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(Photo Credit - Rachel Cardillo '24)
