Kenneth Leslie McAuley (January 9, 1921 – June 18, 1992) was a Canadian professional
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 ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
who played 96 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 ...
during the
1943–44 and
1944–45 seasons.
Playing career
McAuley played for 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 ...
, who experienced a shortage of players due to the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
draft. After serving a year in the military, McAuley was signed by the Rangers and played two seasons with the club. With a record of 17–64–15 he was not re-signed following the war. The Rangers opted to rotate
Charlie Rayner and
Jim Henry in net.
While playing in all but 20 minutes of the
1943-44 season, McAuley allowed 310 goals, setting a league record for worst
goals against average
Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...
(6.24) that has stood ever since. The closest any starting goaltender has come to breaking this record is
Greg Millen
Gregory H. Millen (born June 25, 1957) is a Canadian hockey commentator-analyst and a former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons for six teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently a colour commentator on ''H ...
, who recorded a 4.81 GAA as the
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...
starting goaltender in the 1982-83 season.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
References
External links
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1921 births
1992 deaths
Canadian expatriates in the United States
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Canadian military personnel of World War II
Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players
Ice hockey people from Alberta
Kimberley Dynamiters players
New York Rangers players
Sportspeople from Edmonton
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