Eric John "Rick" Bennett (born July 24, 1967) is an American former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and head coach of the

Savannah Ghost Pirates The Savannah Ghost Pirates are a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Savannah, Georgia. The team began play in the 2022–23 ECHL season with home games at the Enmarket Arena. History On May 19, 2022, the Ghost Pir ...

. He is the former head coach of the Union Garnet Chargers men's ice hockey team of

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

, where he coached from 2011 until 2022. He played 15 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

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. Bennett was a third-round draft pick (54th overall) of the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in the

1986 NHL Entry Draft The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was the 24th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 21, 1986, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the revers ...

. His draft rights were later traded to the

. 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 The Binghamton Rangers were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The market was previously served by: : Broome Dusters of the NAHL (1973 ...

(AHL),

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

(AHL),

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

(AHL), Springfield Falcons (AHL), Albany River Rats (AHL), Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL),

Jacksonville Lizard Kings The Jacksonville Lizard Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formerly known as the Louisville Icehawks, they played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1995–2000. They played their home games in the ...

(ECHL) and

Pee Dee Pride The Pee Dee Pride, known as the Florence Pride for the 2003–04 ECHL season, were a professional minor-league hockey team that was based in Florence, South Carolina, where they played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1997 until 2005. ...

(ECHL). Bennett served as a player assistant coach for the

and

Coaching career

Bennett served as head coach at

from 2011 to 2022, leading the Dutchmen to three

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

regular season titles (2011–12, 2014-14 & 2016-17), three

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), and won the American Hockey Coaches Association's Spencer Penrose Award for NCAA Division I coach of the year in 2014. Bennett resigned in 2022 following an allegation about his coaching style and practices that was substantiated through an investigation by Union College. On May 19, 2022, Bennett was announced to be the first head coach of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

expansion team

Personal life

Bennett and his wife, Karyn have five children together. The family resides in

Clifton Park, New York Clifton Park is a suburban town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2020 population was 38,029. The name is derived from an early land patent.Bits and Pieces of Saratoga County History by ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Head coaching record

† Bennet resigned mid-season.

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
Coach Bio from Union College
1967 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Albany River Rats players American men's ice hockey left wingers Binghamton Rangers players Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Jacksonville Lizard Kings players Minnesota North Stars draft picks New Jersey Rockin' Rollers players New York Rangers players Orlando Jackals players Pee Dee Pride players Providence Friars men's ice hockey players Sportspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield Indians players Union Garnet Chargers men's ice hockey coaches {{US-icehockey-winger-stub