Courtesy U-S College Hockey on Line

High honors for a pair of Vermont coaching legends.

The American Hockey Coaches Association announced its major awards for 2016 on Thursday and the awards honor eight individuals who have greatly contributed to college hockey in the United States.

All award-winners will be formally recognized at the AHCA Convention in Naples, Fla., on April 27 and April 29.

Headlining the honorees is former Middlebury head coach Bill Beaney, who retired after the 2014-15 season after winning 602 games and eight national titles during a 28-year career with the Panthers. He’ll receive the John MacInnes Award.

The John Mariucci Award will be given to Bill O’Neil, a high school coach at Essex High School in Vermont. He has coached at Essex for the past 43 years and was previously at Northwood School in Lake Placid for seven, amassing more than 600 career wins and 14 state titles.