Obituaries

01:00 AM EST on Monday, November 22, 2004

WARWICK -- Harvey A. Bennett, 79, a former goalie for the Rhode Island Reds, and a passionate promoter of youth hockey in Rhode Island, died yesterday at West Bay Manor.

His five sons all played professional hockey. Yesterday, his son Jim Bennett, of Warwick, recalled how his father would round up all the young hockey players in their Cranston neighborhood for "hockey school" at the old Rhode Island Auditorium.

"It was the best time we had in our lives," Bennett said. "After having such a long career, he believed that hockey was a simple game, that it had to come from inside. He kept it very simple."

Mr. Bennett grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and with his pal Charles "Chuck" Scherza, walked three miles in snow to the hockey rink, lugging pads and equipment, Scherza said yesterday.

Scherza, who's 82 and lives in Pawtucket, said he and Mr. Bennett both played for the Boston Bruins before coming to Providence to play for the Rhode Island Reds, one of the charter members of the American Hockey League.

Mr. Bennett played for the Reds from 1946 to 1959, a career that brought two championship Calder Cups, in 1948 and 1949. The Reds were a Sunday-night ritual in Rhode Island, with fans lining up at 4 p.m. to join a standing-room-only crowd at the Rhode Island Auditorium on North Main Street.

"Harvey was one of the best left-handed goaltenders around," Scherza said. "Harvey never wore a mask or anything. No helmet. No one wore helmets in those days."

Mr. Bennett and his wife, Diana, who was also from Saskatchewan, settled with their sons in Cranston.

Mr. Bennett looked like Ronald Reagan, his son Jim Bennett said, only that he had a few more scars. His cheekbones and both hands had been broken by hockey. His bottom teeth were pretty much gone, Bennett said.

"He used to say, 'Geez, I used to be handsome.' The equipment wasn't what it is today," he said, "You had to really love the game."

Mr. Bennett worked outside of hockey, because the money in those days, like the equipment, wasn't what it is today. He had only Sundays off. And on those days, he taught hockey. Lou Pieri, who owned the Reds, allowed Mr. Bennett an hour of ice time every Sunday to teach youngsters how to play.

Mr. Bennett told his sons that hockey was only a tool to an education. He had an eighth-grade education, and always talked about how Pieri had gone to Brown University, Jim Bennett said. That's the kind of education he wanted for his sons, who went off to either Brown or Boston College.

Mr. Bennett ran Bennett Sports at the Cranston Veterans rink until he retired.

His wife died in 1996.

He leaves his five sons, Curt Bennett of Maui, Hawaii, Dr. John Bennett of Miami Beach, Fla., Harvey Bennett Jr. of East Greenwich, William Bennett of Cranston and James Bennett of Warwick. He was the father of the late Peter Bennett, who drowned as a boy when he was playing hockey on a pond at Roger Williams Park and tried to save the family dog that had fallen through the ice. He also had nine grandchildren.

The funeral will be held Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. from Jones-Walton-Sheridan Funeral Home, 1895 Broad St., Cranston, with a service at 10 in Trinity Church, 1309 Ocean Ave., Cranston.