On Thornton's request, Gambardella tried out for the Des Moines Buccaneers midway through the 2011–12 season and made the team.

[3] During this season, Gambardella was hit in the face with a puck causing a broken left cheek, sinus and orbital bones and a cut that required stitches.

[1] He competed in the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament but Massachusetts–Lowell lost to Boston College in the Northeast Region.

[5] In his junior year, Gambardella competed in all 40 games of the season as the River Hawks made another playoff push.

[8] On March 28, 2017, Gambardella concluded his collegiate career by signing a two-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers for the 2017–18 season.

[8] On April 3, 2017, the Edmonton Oilers American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, signed Gambardella to an amateur try-out agreement to conclude the 2016–17 season with them.

[15] Following his fifth season within the Oilers organization, Gambardella signed as a free agent closer to home in agreeing to a two-year, two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils on July 29, 2021.

The sideline grew into a business called Stride to Greatness, based in Somerset, New Jersey, where the local twin-arena was renamed the Joe Gambardella Training Centre.