As part of the American Hockey League’s 70th anniversary this season, theahl.com will be taking a look at some of the legendary careers that have been carved in the AHL over the last seven decades.
Harvey Bennett was one of the winningest goaltenders in AHL history, ranking fourth all-time with 260 career victories in an AHL career that spanned 13 seasons from 1946-59.
A Saskatchewan native, Bennett made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins in 1944-45, playing 25 games in what would be his only NHL season.
In 1946-47, Bennett was named a Second Team AHL All-Star after going 34-15-11 in 60 appearances with the Hershey Bears. He was injured late in the season and watched from the sidelines as the Bears captured the Calder Cup.
Two years later, Bennett went 43-18-6 and led the Providence Reds to a Calder Cup championship of their own. He would spend parts of 12 seasons in Providence, then settled in Rhode Island after his playing career and saw two sons — Harvey and Bill — follow his path into the AHL.
In 540 career AHL games, Bennett compiled a record of 260-239-41. He trails only Johnny Bower, Gil Mayer and Marcel Paille on the all-time wins list.
One of the best left-handed goaltenders of his era, Bennett passed away in 2004 at the age of 79.
| Career AHL Statistics – Harvey Bennett | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||
| Season | Team | GP | Record | GAA | SO | GP | Record | GAA | SO |
| 1946-47 | Hershey Bears | 60 | 34-15-11 | 2.68 | 5 | — | — | — | — |
| 1947-48 | Providence Reds | 63 | 40-19-4 | 3.84 | 0 | 5 | 1-4 | 4.60 | 0 |
| 1948-49 | Providence Reds | 67 | 43-18-6 | 3.16 | 3 | 14 | 8-6 | 2.10 | 1 |
| 1949-50 | Providence Reds | 60 | 31-26-3 | 3.65 | 0 | 4 | 2-2 | 4.00 | 0 |
| 1950-51 | Providence Reds | 57 | 19-33-5 | 3.40 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 1951-52 | Providence Reds | 47 | 24-19-3 | 3.45 | 1 | 14 | 8-6 | 2.10 | 1 |
| 1952-53 | Providence Reds | 58 | 27-31-1 | 3.82 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 1953-54 | Providence Reds | 59 | 23-33-3 | 3.90 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 1954-55 | Providence Reds | 48 | 14-29-5 | 4.00 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| 1955-56 | Providence Reds | 3 | 0-3-0 | 5.67 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| 1956-57 | Providence Reds | 7 | 4-3-0 | 4.14 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| 1957-58 | Providence Reds | 1 | 0-1-0 | 1.71 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| 1958-59 | Providence Reds | 10 | 1-9-0 | 3.90 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| AHL Totals | 540 | 260-239-41 | — | 15 | 37 | 19-18 | — | 2 | |
