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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

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 Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

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

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with the

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

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. 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 a former United States, American professional 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 serv ...

(AHL),

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...

(AHL),

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

(AHL),

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

(AHL),

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with ...

(AHL),

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heri ...

(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, was 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 The Spencer Penrose Award is awarded yearly to the top coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The finalists for each year's award comprise the conference Coach of the Year winners from each Division ...

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 minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

expansion team Savannah Ghost Pirates. 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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Head coaching record

† Bennet resigned mid-season.

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
Coach Bio from Union College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Rick 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 American inline hockey players 20th-century American sportsmen