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.
