RIT men’s hockey names captains for the 2014-15 season; four Tigers given the prestigious honor

ROCHESTER, NY – Head Coach Wayne Wilson and the RIT men’s hockey team have announced its captains for the 2014-15 season. Senior forward Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) will captain the Tigers for the third straight season, while senior Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles), along with juniors Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers) and Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel) will serve as assistant captains. RIT enters its ninth season in the Atlantic Hockey Association and tenth as a Division I program.

“We have a great group of leaders for the 2014-15 season,” said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson, who will enter his 16th season behind the bench. “I could not be more excited with this group who will help us greatly in 2014-15. All four men have excellent character on and off the ice and will be great in this leadership role.”

Garbowsky served as an assistant captain in 2012-13 and was RIT’s captain last season. Last season, Garbowsky was limited to just 13 games played due to injury, recording seven points on two goals and five assists. With Garbowsky out of the lineup, RIT was just 8-13-3.

In 2012-13, Garbowsky enjoyed a breakout year, leading the team in scoring with 33 points on 11 goals and 22 assists. He was named co-winner of the 2013 Greg Moss Hard Hat Award and enters his final season at RIT with 22 goals and 38 assists for 60 points in 88 games. He was named the Craig Lauzon Award Winner, as RIT’s Rookie of the Year in 2012 after recording 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists.

“Losing Matt for such a big part of last season was a huge blow to us,” said Wilson. “He is our leader, who does so much for us in all three zones. We were a completely different team with him in the lineup.”

McGowan, a forward, played in all 37 games for the Tigers last season, recording 21 points on five goals and 16 assists. He scored the game-winning overtime goal in game one of the Atlantic Hockey Association First Round Series over Holy Cross. McGowan has played in every game over the last two seasons and 112 in his career, recording 64 points on 23 goals and 41 assists. He recorded a career-best 25 points as a sophomore in 2012-13 and was a two-time AHA Rookie of the Week in 2011-12.

Kuqali, a rugged defenseman, plays a very physical game, and can be counted on offensively as well. Last season, he tallied 10 points on two goals and eight assists in 36 games. On Nov. 23, Kuqali set a RIT Division I team record with a plus-6 rating in a 6-4 win over St. Lawrence. As a freshman in 2012-13, Kuqali played in all 38 games, recording 11 points on three goals and eight assists. He was named the Atlantic Hockey Association Rookie of the Month in Dec. 2012, and earned AHA All-Academic Team honors. Kuqali has 21 points on five goals and 16 assists in 74 career contests.

Miller, a hard working forward, is one of RIT’s top penalty-killers, having appeared in 34 games in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he recorded a goal and five assists after tallying two goals and four assists in 2012-13. Miller and the RIT penalty-killing unit finished the 2013-14 season having allowed just six power-play goals in its final 17 games, killing off 70 of its final 76 shorthanded attempts.

The Tigers experienced several highs during the 2013-14 season, most notably being able to play its first outdoor game in school history. The Tigers finished the season with 12 wins and advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Association First Round series. In addition, RIT closed out historic Ritter Arena with a win over Canisius and will play at the 4,200-seat Gene Polisseni Center in 2014-15.

by Warren Kozireski

NY Hockey Online Magazine

In their fourth NCAA playoff appearance, Union College outlasted Boston College in the semi-finals and scored three unanswered in the first period on their way to a 7-4 win over Minnesota in the final.

“I think that’s been a staple of our team all year that we come in waves,” said senior defenseman Mat Bodie. “You really felt that at the end of the first there.  I thought we really carried the play for a stretch of time there.  All three of those goals were pack of wolves’ goals where guys were on net, and second and third chances.  I think that’s probably one of the biggest staples of our team all year.”

Junior defenseman Shayne Gotisbehere scored one goal and assisted on two others in the championship contest, which followed his two-assist effort in the semi’s as he was named the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player.

“I noticed the Union faithful out there for sure,” said Gotisbehere in the postgame press conference. “I saw the fans in the stands, and they looked pretty happy.  My mom was crying, of course.  It was really awesome.  It feels like we’re dreaming right now, but sometimes dreams come true.”

Junior forward Daniel Campini netted Union’s first hat trick of the season against BC, added one goal and one assist in the title game and was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

Senior defenseman Mat Bodie scored key goals in both contests and was named the other defenseman on the unit.

Junior goaltender Colin Stevens (Niskayuna) made 70 saves on 78 shots over two games and was named goaltender on the A-T Team.

Senior forward Matt Hatch (Massena) had a key assist on Union’s fourth goal at the end of the first period, and had trouble describing the feeling in the postgame locker room. “It is surreal. To do this in your senior year with guys that I battled with for four years, it’s hard not to get emotional. To win the last game in your college career, not many people get to do that, so it’s a pretty good feeling.”

Freshman defenseman Jeff Taylor (Clifton Park) ha the primary assist on Union’s first goal and was +4 plus/minus in the championship contest. “I’m just trying to enjoy this, soak it in. You never know when you’re going to get back here again.

The seniors made it easy. They’ve been here before and told us how to play. We had an unbelievable turnout—we have unbelievable fans.”

As for the senior class, which leaves as the winningest class in school history with a 104-37-20 record, third year head coach Rick Bennett said, “it was great to have a part to recruit them as an assistant coach, so I’m a little probably closer with their families than some of the classes, the juniors, sophomores and freshmen.  So this is pretty darn special to have a hand in the recruiting process and to be the coach of the phenomenal program here, and to see them go out as winners, it’s pretty darn special.  Saw a guy in the back there.  He only played 13 games for us, Mike Ingoldsby, and he was a phenomenal player.  Concussions basically cut his career short.   So it was great to see him as I was walking to this press conference, and I think there is a reason for that.  He was a big part of this program.  He lives with our senior class.  They’d be the first to tell you that his career was cut short, but he has really brought it in the classroom as well, and I think that resonates to that house that he lives in.  And these guys know, every one of them, every senior does a phenomenal job in the classroom, and I think it really helps how they play on the ice.”

Canisius College forward Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) was named to the Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team on Thursday.

The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I men’s hockey coaches, national hockey media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I men’s hockey. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, community, character and competition.

Brock Higgs of RPI was selected as the winner of the Senior CLASS Award. Sam Brittain of Denver, Greg Carey of St. Lawrence and Andy Iles of Cornell joined Higgs and Gibbons on the All-America First Team.

During his time at Canisius, Gibbons enjoyed one of the more successful careers in the program’s history. He led the Griffs with 38 points, 15 goals and 23 assists during the 2013-14 campaign, while amassing 130 points, 57 goals and 73 assists in his career. Gibbons finished his Golden Griffin tenure ranked fourth in the program’s Division I history in career points and second in career goals.

Gibbons was also the key player in leading Canisius to the program’s first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013. Named the Atlantic Hockey Championship MVP, he set tournament records with 12 points and eight assists to lead the Griffs to the title. Gibbons graduates as the program’s all-time leader in career postseason points (23), goals (9) and assists (14). The Westlake, Ohio native also collected All-Atlantic Hockey accolades following his junior season.

After finishing his career with the Griffs in March, Gibbons signed a professional contract with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. He has three points in his first seven games with the team.