Sports

Whitehall's Gibson Helps 'Big Boys' to World Hockey Bronze Medal

The 19-year-old starred against NHL players like Alexander Ovechkin, Fyodor Tyutin and others.

Less than five months after an MVP and gold-medal-winning performance at the Under-20 World Ice Hockey "Junior" Championships, Whitehall Borough's John Gibson is back on the podium, this time with hockey's big boys at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)'s world championship tournament.

Gibson, still just a 19-year-old goalkeeper, moved up on the Team USA depth chart to face NHL stars like Alexander Ovechkin, Fyodor Tyutin and others in the elite hockey tournament held this year in Sweden and Finland. Gibson and the rest of the Americans earned a bronze medal in the tournament after besting Team Finland, 3-2 in a shootout, during Sunday's third-place game.

Gibson made 36 total saves against Finland during 60 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime. He then turned aside three of four Finnish chances during the shootout before Alex Galchenyuk scored to clinch the bronze.

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Gibson went 3-1 during the tournament, posting a sparkling goals-against average of 1.56 and a saves percentage of .951, the second-best percentage in the tournament, behind only NHL goalie Jhonas Enroth of gold-medal-winning Sweden.

Team USA officials chose Gibson as the Americans' best player in a 3-0 loss to Switzerland in the tournament semifinals. Gibson stopped 28 of 30 shots during that game. He also posted a 30-save, 3-0 shutout win over Team Germany in the tourney's preliminary round.

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The 6-foot-3, 212-pound former St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin School and Baldwin High School student was given more time in net for Team USA than Ben Bishop, an NHL goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gibson grew up at his parents' home on Spring Valley Drive in Whitehall, about a stone's throw from St. Gabriel's, where he attended kindergarten through eighth grade. His parents still live on Spring Valley.

John is the youngest player in USA Hockey history to start a playoffs game at the IIHF world championship tournament, according to a news release on the website of the Kitchener Rangers, Gibson's regular team.

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