Alec Connell

Alec Connell
Born February 8, 1902(1902-02-08)
Ottawa, ON, CAN
Died May 10, 1958(1958-05-10) (aged 56)
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Ottawa Senators
Detroit Falcons
New York Americans
Montreal Maroons
Playing career 1924–1937
Hall of Fame, 1958

Alec Connell (February 8, 1902 – May 10, 1958) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Falcons, New York Americans and Montreal Maroons teams in the National Hockey League. His nickname was "The Ottawa Fireman".[1]

Connell joined the Senators for the 1924–25 season after the Senators dealt Clint Benedict (Ottawa's former number one goalie) to the Montreal Maroons. In 1927 he was one of the first goalies to record a 30–win season, the year that the original Ottawa Senators franchise won the last of their Stanley Cups. In the 1927–28 season he set the NHL record for the longest shutout streak at 461:29, by recording six consecutive shutouts, from January 31 to February 18, 1928.

The Ottawa team fell into decline after that and, while the Ottawa team was in hiatus for the 1931–32 season, he played for the Detroit Falcons under loan. He returned to the Senators after that until his first retirement after the 1932–33 season. He was named team captain for that season.

He played one game for the New York Americans in the next season as a substitute. He then returned to the NHL to play for the Montreal Maroons and won a Stanley Cup in 1935. He retired again, but returned two seasons later with the Maroons.

His 1.91 career goals against average (GAA) is the all-time record among goaltenders of his era. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

He lived to see himself elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but died before his formal induction after a lengthy illness on May 10, 1958.

Career statistics

GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA GP W L T SO GAA
1924–25 Ottawa Senators NHL 30 17 12 1 7 2.14
1925–26 Ottawa Senators NHL 36 24 8 4 15 1.12 2 0 1 1 0 1.00
1926–27 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 30 10 4 13 1.49 6 3 0 3 2 0.60
1927–28 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 20 14 10 15 1.24 2 0 2 0 0 1.50
1928–29 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 14 17 13 7 1.43
1929–30 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 21 15 8 3 2.55 2 0 1 1 0 3.00
1930–31 Ottawa Senators NHL 36 10 22 4 3 3.01
1931–32 Detroit Falcons NHL 48 18 20 10 6 2.12 2 0 1 1 0 1.50
1932–33 Ottawa Senators NHL 15 4 8 2 1 2.56
1933–34 New York Americans NHL 1 1 0 0 0 3.00
1934–35 Montreal Maroons NHL 48 24 19 5 9 1.86 7 5 0 2 2 1.12
1936–37 Montreal Maroons NHL 27 10 11 6 2 2.21
NHL totals 417 193 156 67 81 1.91 21 8 5 8 4 1.19

References

External links