Sophomore goalie Nicholas Gibaldi (Rocky Point, NY/ Rocky Point) is the April Male Student-Athlete of the month as he corded 71 saves during Wagner’s five April game, highlighted by a career-high 20 saves in the Seahawks’ 11-8 come-from-behind victory over Sacred Heart on April 14. Gibaldi notched double digits in saves in all five April games. In addition to the 20-save outing vs, Sacred Heart, he came up with 14 saves vs. Manhattan (April 3), 13 saves vs. Quinnipiac (April 7) and Bryant (April 22) and had an 11-save performance in the season finale vs. Mount St. Mary’s (April 28). For the month, he played 275:50 out of a possible 300 minutes, faced 220 shots and had a save percentage of .497. was rewarded for his superb career-high 20-save outing in Wagner’s 11-8 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday by being named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Defensive Player of the Week. In addition to his 20 saves in the victory over Sacred Heart, several on shots from point-blank range, Gibaldi collected four ground balls and helped direct and execute a defensive effort that held the Pioneers scoreless for the game’s final 20-plus minutes, allowing Wagner to mount a 5-0 game-ending run. After making five stops in the first half, Gibaldi was particularly stellar in the latter portions of the contest. He stuffed the Pioneers on seven attempts in the third quarter before shutting the door in the fourth, recording eight stops while the Seahawk offense rallied from an 8-6 deficit with the 5-0 run that sealed head coach Matt Poskay’s first win at Wagner. For the season, Gibaldi started all 14 games in goal, made 182 saves in 786 minutes of action.
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