Alec Connell
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]
| Alec Connell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1958 | |||
| Born |
February 8, 1900 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
May 10, 1958 (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 | 1924–1937 | ||
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 seven consecutive shutouts and another 41 minutes in the eighth game, 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
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | ||
| 1917–18 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHA-Jr. | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 11 | 0 | 2.75 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 240 | 18 | 0 | 4.50 | ||
| 1918–19 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHA-Jr. | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 305 | 24 | 0 | 4.72 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 240 | 20 | 0 | 5.00 | ||
| 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 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 520 | 14 | 1 | 1.62 | ||
| 1921–22 | Ottawa Gunners | OCHL | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 860 | 18 | 5 | 1.26 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 360 | 17 | 0 | 2.83 | ||
| 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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 120 | 2 | 0 | 1.00 | ||
| 1926–27 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 44 | 30 | 10 | 4 | 2782 | 69 | 13 | 1.49 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 400 | 4 | 2 | 0.60 | ||
| 1927–28 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 44 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 2760 | 57 | 15 | 1.24 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | ||
| 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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 120 | 6 | 0 | 3.00 | ||
| 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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 120 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | ||
| 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 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 429 | 8 | 2 | 1.12 | ||
| 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 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 1309 | 26 | 4 | 1.19 | ||||
References
- The Montreal Maroons: The Forgotten Stanley Cup Champions by William Brown
Notes
- "Alec Connell Dies" The Miami News, May 11, 1958.
- Connell, Alex - Biography - Honoured Player. Legends of Hockey (1928-02-18). Retrieved on 2012-11-04.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Alec Connell at Find a Grave