Rick Bennett

For other uses, see Richard Bennett.

Rick Bennett
Bennett with Union in 2014
Born	(1967-07-24) July 24, 1967 (age 56) Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Rangers
NHL Draft	54th overall, 1986 Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1990–1999
Coaching career
Biographical details
Alma mater	Providence College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–05	Providence (assistant)
2005–07	Union (assistant)
2007–11	Union (associate head coach)
2011–22	Union
2022–2024	Savannah Ghost Pirates
Head coaching record
Overall	192–133–45 (.580)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2014 NCAA Champion 3× ECAC regular season champion (2011-12, 2013-14, 2016-17), 3× ECAC Tournament Champion (2012, 2013, 2014)
Awards
2014 Spencer Penrose Award 2014 College Hockey News Coach of the Year 2014 USCHO Coach of the Year 2012 Tim Taylor Award 2017 Tim Taylor Award

Eric John "Rick" Bennett (born July 24, 1967) is an American former ice hockey left winger and former head coach of the Savannah Ghost Pirates. He is the former head coach of the Union Garnet Chargers men's ice hockey team of Union College, where he coached from 2011 until 2022. ^[1] He played 15 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers over three seasons from 1990 to 1991. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1990 to 1999, was spent in the minor leagues.

Playing career

Bennett was a four-year letterwinner (1986–90) and co-captain at Providence, where he was recognized as a Hobey Baker finalist (1990) and two-time winner of the Lou Lamoriello Trophy as team MVP. He was named an All-American during the 1988-89 season and earned All-Hockey East Second Team honors in 1990. A left-winger, Bennett finished with 134 points (50 goals, 84 assists) in 128 career games. Bennett skated on the famed B-B-G line, along with center Mike Boback and right wing Robbie Gaudreau. Rick, who graduated with a B.A. in general studies, was inducted into the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. ^[2]

Bennett was a third-round draft pick (54th overall) of the Minnesota North Stars in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. His draft rights were later traded to the New York Rangers. Bennett appeared in 15 games with the Rangers over three seasons (1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92). Bennett's 10-year professional career also included stints with the Binghamton Rangers (AHL), Springfield Indians (AHL), Hershey Bears (AHL), Springfield Falcons (AHL), Albany River Rats (AHL), Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL), Jacksonville Lizard Kings (ECHL) and Pee Dee Pride (ECHL). Bennett served as a player assistant coach for the Jacksonville Lizard Kings and Pee Dee Pride. ^[3]

Coaching career

Bennett served as head coach at Union College from 2011 to 2022, leading the Dutchmen to three ECAC Hockey regular season titles (2011–12, 2014-14 & 2016-17), three ECAC Hockey tournament titles (2012, 2013 & 2014), four NCAA Tournament appearances (2012, 2013, 2014 & 2017), two Frozen Fours (2012 & 2014) and one NCAA championship title (2014) by defeating Minnesota. Bennett won ECAC Hockey's Tim Taylor Award for conference coach of the year twice (2012 & 2017), ^{[4] [5]} and won the American Hockey Coaches Association's Spencer Penrose Award for NCAA Division I coach of the year in 2014. ^[6] Bennett resigned in 2022 following an allegation about his coaching style and practices that was substantiated through an investigation by Union College. ^[7]

On May 19, 2022, Bennett was announced to be the first head coach of the ECHL expansion team Savannah Ghost Pirates. ^[8]

On February 1, 2024, it was announced that Bennett would be relieved from his duties as head coach of the Savannah Ghost Pirates.

Personal life

Bennett and his wife, Karyn have five children together. The family resides in Clifton Park, New York.^{[ citation needed ]}

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985–86	Wilbraham & Monson Academy	HS-MA		20	30	69	99	25		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Providence College	HE		32	15	12	27	34		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Providence College	HE		33	9	16	25	70		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Providence College	HE		32	14	32	46	74		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Providence College	HE		31	12	24	36	74		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	New York Rangers	NHL		6	1	0	1	5		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	New York Rangers	NHL		6	0	0	0	6		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Binghamton Rangers	AHL		71	27	32	59	206		10	2	1	3	27
1991–92	New York Rangers	NHL		3	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Binghamton Rangers	AHL		69	19	23	42	112		11	0	1	1	23
1992–93	Binghamton Rangers	AHL		76	15	22	37	114		10	0	0	0	30
1993–94	Springfield Indians	AHL		67	9	19	28	82		6	1	0	1	31
1994–95	Springfield Falcons	AHL		34	3	5	8	74		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Hershey Bears	AHL		30	3	4	7	40		3	2	1	3	14
1995–96	Jacksonville Lizard Kings	ECHL		67	28	34	62	182		18	5	10	15	30
1995–96	Cincinnati Cyclones	IHL		4	0	1	1	0		1	0	0	0	2
1996–97	Jacksonville Lizard Kings	ECHL		64	23	33	56	120		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Albany River Rats	AHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Pee Dee Pride	ECHL		68	12	30	42	137		8	3	2	5	14
1998–99	Pee Dee Pride	ECHL		66	21	18	39	103		11	3	1	4	33
AHL totals				351	76	105	181	628		40	5	3	8	125
NHL totals				15	1	1	2	13		—	—	—	—	—

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Union Dutchmen (ECAC Hockey)(2011–2022)
2011–12	Union	26–8–7	14–4–4	1st [9]	NCAA Frozen Four
2012–13	Union	22–13–5	10–8–4	4th [10]	NCAA Regional finals
2013–14	Union	32–6–4	18–3–1	1st [11]	NCAA Champions
2014–15	Union	19–18–2	8–13–1	10th [12]	ECAC quarterfinals
2015–16	Union	13–14–9	6–10–6	9th [13]	ECAC first round
2016–17	Union	25–10–3	16–4–2	T-1st [14]	NCAA regional semifinals
2017–18	Union	21–15–2	16–5–1	2nd [15]	ECAC quarterfinals
2018–19	Union	20–13–6	10–10–2	7th [16]	ECAC quarterfinals
2019–20	Union	8–25–4	5–15–2	10th [17]	ECAC first round
2021–22	Union	6–11–3 †	4–6–1 †	-	N/A
Union:		192–133–45	107–78–24
Total:		192–133–45
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

† Bennet resigned mid-season. ^[18]

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-Hockey East Rookie Team	1986–87	[19]
AHCA East Second-Team All-American	1988–89	[20]
All-Hockey East Second team	1989–90	[21]

References

1. "Bennett Steps Down as Union Head Men's Hockey Coach". Union College. January 28, 2022.
2. "Rick Bennett - Head Men's Hockey Coach - Men's Ice Hockey Coaches".
3. "Rick Bennett - Head Men's Hockey Coach - Men's Ice Hockey Coaches".
4. "College hockey: Dutchmen reward Bennett". The Daily Gazette. June 6, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
5. "Union gives Bennett contract extension to stay behind bench through 2022-23". USCHO.com. August 25, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
6. Dilks, Chris (April 9, 2014). "Union's Rick Bennett Wins Spencer Penrose Award". SB Nation College Hockey. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
7. "Union hockey coach Rick Bennett resigns after investigation". The Associated Press. January 29, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
8. "VGK Announce ECHL Affiliation Relationship With Savannah Ghost Pirates". NHL.com. May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
9. "2011-12 Standings".
10. "2012-13 Standings".
11. "2013-14 Standings".
12. "2014-15 Standings".
13. "2015-16 Standings".
14. "2016-17 Standings".
15. "2017-18 Standings Presented by U.S. Army ROTC".
16. "2018-19 Standings".
17. "2019-20 Standings".
18. "Union men's hockey coach Bennett steps down after 'an allegation about his coaching style and practices that was substantiated through an investigation by the college'". USCHO. January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
19. "Hockey East All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
20. "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
21. "Hockey East All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database
• Coach Bio from Union College

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Nate Leaman Rand Pecknold	Tim Taylor Award 2011–12 2016–17	Succeeded by Rand Pecknold Mike Schafer
Preceded by Norm Bazin	Spencer Penrose Award 2013–14	Succeeded by Mike Hastings
Sporting positions
Preceded by Nate Leaman	Union Dutchmen men's ice hockey Head Coach 2011–22	Succeeded by John Ronan