New York, NY (March 4, 2020) – The New York Riptide announced today that Tyson Gibson, Ryan Fournier, Alex Woodall and Gowah Abrams have been signed to contract extensions. All four are pending league approval.
Gibson, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2019 NLL Entry Draft, signed a one-year extension and will be a member of the Riptide through 2021. He leads the team in points with 43 and assists with 27 and is second on the team with 16 goals. He is also tops in the league amongst rookies in points and tied for first in both goals and assists.
“We are excited to sign Tyson to another year with the Riptide,” New York head coach and general manager Regy Thorpe said. “He’s been everything our coaching staff and organization thought he would be on and off the field. We love the way he’s working in the offensive system and Tyson has been producing consistently while currently leading the team in points. In addition, he’s been increasing his floor time and playing some shifts of defense as well. We couldn’t have asked for a better player and person for an expansion team to build around.”
Fournier, now under contract through 2022, has seen action in 12 games for the Riptide this season with four points on one goal and three assists. He has scooped up 57 loose balls and caused five turnovers. His loose ball total is on pace to eclipse his single-season career-high of 80, accomplished last season.
“The staff and organization is pumped to have Ryan with the Riptide for the future,” Thorpe said. “We feel he’s a great asset for us as we build our core guys. He’s a gritty, hardworking, no-nonsense player that brings a spark to us when he’s on the floor. He’s currently top five in loose balls for us and that number is only going to keep climbing. The staff loves Ryan’s team first, whatever it takes attitude that will really help our back end going forward.”
Now a member of the Riptide through the 2022 season, Woodall is third in the league with 176 faceoff wins in just his first NLL season and fourth in faceoff win percentage at 55.5%. He also has two assists, 84 loose ball pickups and three caused turnovers.
“The coaching staff is excited to have Woody back for next year,” said Thorpe. “He’s been a crucial part of helping us stay in games and make runs. He’s working hard on learning the defensive end of the ball and is super coachable. Woody is continuing to learn and elevate his game. Considering he never even played an indoor box game before this season, his best days are still in front of him which makes us very excited for the future.”
Abrams, signed through 2022, has started two games in net for the Riptide this season. He has recorded 150 saves and has a goals against average of 11.98 and a save percentage of 77.3 on the year in just over 220 minutes of action.
“Gowah is a young and upcoming goalie that is giving our young team some good minutes this season,” Thorpe said. “He’s working hard to learn and improve each week. (Alex) Buque has been a great friend and mentor to Gowah and the coaching staff certainly appreciates that. We are excited to have him as part of our Riptide family for the future and to see him grow.”
The Riptide will be back in action on Sunday, March 15th when they take on the Philadelphia Wings at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m. Groups and individual tickets are available now at www.NewYorkRiptide.com or by speaking to a customer service representative at 516-402-3006. Fans can also follow the team @NewYorkRiptide to receive behind the scenes information from the 2019-20 season.
