Fogarty

HARTFORD/BRIDGEPORT—While the coronavirus pandemic has shut down the American Hockey Ldague (and all professional sports) for the foreseeable future, Connecticut's two AHL teams made important announcements today.





Gibson

The Hartford Wolf Pack announced that Steven Fogarty has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Hartford community during the 2019-20 season.



Fogarty, a 6-3 forward from Chambersburg, PA, is one of the Wolf Pack’s most popular players on and off the ice. The 27-year-old Fogarty skated for Notre Dame as a collegian, and is the Wolf Pack’s captain, known for his calm, friendly demeanor towards fans, and is always willing to participate in efforts to help the community. Fogarty has attended several fan-related events, volunteered his time at shelters, youth programs such as Police Athletic League (PAL), the annual Bowl-a-Thon for Special Olympics and many other community initiatives.



Throughout the 2019-20 campaign, Fogarty has been strongly involved in youth/school reading programs, has made several hospital visits at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and has been a leader behind the commitment and participation of Wolf Pack players at community and team events.



About an hour south, goaltender Christopher Gibson was named the Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year winner.



Gibson, 27, exemplifies what it means to be active and devoted to the community. The seventh-year pro and longtime Sound Tigers netminder continues to build on his outstanding community efforts from his first four seasons in Bridgeport.



Gibson, who hails from Karkkila, Finland was involved in nearly a dozen programs during the 2019-20 season and was a staple of community outreach in the Greater Bridgeport area, helping in all areas from visits to both Bridgeport Hospital and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, a Christmas toy drive, countless elementary school appearances, a food and coat drive with the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, and a trip to the local veteran’s hospital in West Haven.



Gibson has become one of the most popular players in Sound Tigers history, and again this season he frequently gave up a day off during the week to lend a hand to folks who needed a smile. This is the first time he has received the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award.



Both Fogarty and Gibson are both finalists for the AHL’s 2019-20 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner will be announced at a later date.

—Staff Reports

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Hockey League (and all professional sports) for the foreseeable future, Connecticut’s two teams made two important announcements today.