Alec Connell

Alec Connell
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1958
Born (1900-02-08)February 8, 1900
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died May 10, 1958(1958-05-10) (aged 58)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
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 19241937

Alexander Connell (February 8, 1900 – 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".[2]

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. As he was unable to gain a leave of absence from his job as Secretary of the Ottawa Fire Department, 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

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1917–18 Kingston Frontenacs OHA-Jr. 4 4 0 0 240 11 0 2.75
1918–19 Kingston Frontenacs OHA-Jr. 5 3 2 0 305 24 0 4.72
1919–20 Ottawa Cliffsides OCHL 7 4 3 0 430 8 2 1.12
1920–21 Ottawa St. Brigid's OCHL 11 8 2 1 660 12 2 1.09
1921–22 Ottawa Gunners OCHL 14 10 3 1 860 18 5 1.26
1922–23 Ottawa St. Brigid's OCHL 17 8 8 1 1090 26 4 1.43
1923–24 Ottawa St. Brigid's OCHL 12 8 4 0 740 14 5 1.14
1924–25 Ottawa Senators NHL 30 17 12 1 1852 66 7 2.14
1925–26 Ottawa Senators NHL 36 24 8 4 2251 42 15 1.12
1926–27 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 30 10 4 2782 69 13 1.49
1927–28 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 20 14 10 2760 57 15 1.24
1928–29 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 14 17 13 2820 67 7 1.43
1929–30 Ottawa Senators NHL 44 21 15 8 2780 118 3 2.55
1930–31 Ottawa Senators NHL 36 10 22 4 2190 110 3 3.01
1931–32 Detroit Falcons NHL 48 18 20 10 3050 108 6 2.12
1932–33 Ottawa Senators NHL 15 4 8 2 845 36 1 2.56
1933–34 New York Americans NHL 1 1 0 0 40 2 0 3.00
1934–35 Montreal Maroons NHL 48 24 19 5 2970 92 9 1.86
1936–37 Montreal Maroons NHL 27 10 11 6 1710 63 2 2.21
NHL totals 417 193 156 67 26,050 830 81 1.91

Playoffs

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1917–18 Kingston Frontenacs OHA-Jr. 4 3 1 0 240 18 0 4.50
1918–19 Kingston Frontenacs OHA-Jr. 4 0 1 3 240 20 0 5.00
1920–21 Ottawa St. Brigid's OCHL 8 6 1 1 520 14 1 1.62
1921–22 Ottawa Gunners OCHL 6 5 1 0 360 17 0 2.83
1925–26 Ottawa Senators NHL 2 0 1 1 120 2 0 1.00
1926–27 Ottawa Senators NHL 6 3 0 3 400 4 2 0.60
1927–28 Ottawa Senators NHL 2 0 2 0 120 3 0 1.50
1929–30 Ottawa Senators NHL 2 0 1 1 120 6 0 3.00
1931–32 Detroit Falcons NHL 2 0 1 1 120 3 0 1.50
1934–35 Montreal Maroons NHL 7 5 0 2 429 8 2 1.12
NHL totals 21 8 5 8 1309 26 4 1.19

References

Notes

  1. "Alec Connell Dies" The Miami News, May 11, 1958.
  2. Connell, Alex - Biography - Honoured Player. Legends of Hockey (1928-02-18). Retrieved on 2012-11-04.
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