Alec Connell
Alexander Connell 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".
Connell joined the Senators for the 1924–25 season after the Senators dealt Clint Benedict 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 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
