WINTHROP, Mass. – Former standout RIT forward Matt Garbowsky was inducted into the Atlantic Hockey Hall of Honor, announced Tuesday.
 
He joins former goaltender Jared DeMichiel as the second Tiger elected to the AHA Hall of Honor.
 
The Atlantic Hockey Association is celebrating its 20th season of competition in 2022-23 with the recognition of the top 20 players from the conference's first two decades. This distinguished group will also comprise the first class of inductees into the Atlantic Hockey Hall of Honor. The honorees will be revealed weekly during the 2022-23 regular season with the final player revealed on Feb. 21.
 
In 2014-15, Garbowsky became the first – and still only – player in Atlantic Hockey history to win the AHA's scoring championship and Best Defensive Forward Award in the same season. Garbowsky also earned AHA Player of the Year accolades and was a Hobey Baker finalist that season, his final campaign at RIT.
 
"Being selected to the Atlantic Hockey Hall of Honor is a huge honor," Garbowsky said. "I'm grateful to the RIT coaching staff – Wayne Wilson, Brian Hills and Dave Insalaco – for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to play and prove myself at the collegiate level. There are many other great players being honored and to be among them is a great feeling. This recognition would not be possible without the team around me. I'm thankful for my great teammates. RIT was my home for four years. I will never forget the memories and friendships I made there."
 
The St. George, Ont., native debuted with RIT in 2011-12. His rookie campaign ended with a 9g-11a/20p line with 14 of his points and six of his goals coming in Atlantic Hockey play as RIT reached the AHA Postseason championship game.
 
His offensive output jumped to 44 points on 11 goals and 22 assists as a sophomore and he was poised for a breakout year as a junior before injuries limited him to just 13 games in 2013-14.
 
Fully healed, Garbowsky returned for his senior season in 2014-15 and authored one of the greatest all-around seasons in Atlantic Hockey history, earning AHA Player of the Year and Best Defensive Forward honors after winning the scoring title with 44 points and leading an RIT penalty-kill unit that topped Atlantic Hockey with a 92.1 kill rate. The 44 points (on 23 goals and 21 assists) is the second-highest single-season point total in Atlantic Hockey play while his 54 points over the full season is tied for fifth in AHA history.
 
After tying for third in the Atlantic Hockey regular season race that season, the Tigers rallied to win the AHA postseason title with Garbowsky earning Postseason MOP honors. The victory set the stage for more RIT NCAA magic. Just five years removed from their Frozen Four run, the Tigers entered the 2015 NCAA Tournament as the No. 16 seed and stunned top-seeded Minnesota State in the first round of the Midwest Regional in South Bend, Ind., marking the first time the tournament's overall No. 1 seed was upset in the opening round.
 
In addition to the AHA honors that season, Garbowksy became RIT's first Division I AHCA All-American and was selected as a Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist.
 
"Matt Garbowsky was a complete player and a coach's dream," RIT head coach Wayne Wilson said. "His skill set included winning key faceoffs, shutting down other team's top line, killing penalties, running the power play, leading the league in scoring and leading his team to a championship and an NCAA berth. As much as we appreciated Matt, he was recognized by opposing coaches as a Hobey Baker candidate, the AHA's Best Defensive Forward and Player of the Year. Matt also excelled in the classroom and was great on campus and in the Rochester community. He will go down as one of the greatest players to wear the RIT jersey."
 
Garbowsky would go on to a professional career that included stints in the AHL, ECHL and Austria. He scored 135 points over two seasons with the ECHL's Colorado Eagles and was the ECHL All-Star Game MVP in 2017. He retired following the 2019-20 season.