Harry and Karen Bennett proudly watched on television as their son Doug celebrated with the Carolina Hurricanes moments after their Stanley Cup-clinching victory in Las Vegas on Sunday night.
Then, the phone rang inside their Westmont home, and Doug Bennett's name scrolled across the caller ID.
"I said, 'That's Doug calling us. Why is he calling us? He is on the ice,' " Karen Bennett recalled Tuesday.
In his 16th season on the Hurricanes training staff and ninth as Carolina's head athletic trainer, Doug Bennett wanted to share the on-ice hoopla with his parents after the Hurricanes' 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Stanley Cup championship in Game 6 at T-Mobile Arena.
"I got to FaceTime my mom and dad from the ice," an emotional Doug Bennett said, pausing to regain his composure during a phone interview.
"There was a Stanley Cup commercial from a few years ago that said there are no words to describe it. It's kind of like that.
"It's been a complete whirlwind since that empty-netter went in, when (Carolina's Nikolaj) Ehlers scored," he added.
"The weight of the playoff run and the pressure and all of that just was gone. It was off our shoulders. It's just been a surreal experience."
Johnstown Chiefs ties
In another link to the Johnstown Chiefs – where Doug Bennett got his start during the 2004-05 ECHL season – the Hurricanes' assistant athletic trainer Koryd Lavimoniere is the nephew of former Chiefs coach Scott Allen, currently an assistant coach with the NHL's Washington Capitals.
"He wanted to get into hockey. I said, 'If you're going to do this, you're going to do it the right way,' " said Allen, who coached the Chiefs to 144 wins from December 1997 through the 2001-02 season. "To his credit, his first year he started out in the Southern Pro League.
"Then he advanced to the ECHL in Norfolk. Then, the St. Louis Blues hired him to go to the American League and he was with the organization for a few years. This past summer, he lands the job in Carolina.
"I love the fact that he worked his way up the ladder.
"He proved himself in his previous stops. When he told me who his boss was going to be, his boss was from Johnstown, I said, 'This is crazy.' "
'What took so long?'
In a full-circle moment, Bennett replaced Chris Stewart as the Chiefs head athletic trainer in 2004-05 after Allen convinced Stewart to join him in the American Hockey League.
Stewart eventually won four Stanley Cups as an athletic trainer, one with the Hurricanes during his first NHL season in 2005-06 and three with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017). Currently, Stewart is lead athletic trainer for the NHL.
"I've heard from Stewy," Bennett said. "It's special.
"Johnstown's a hockey town, a sports town. It's special to maybe be such a small little part of a town with such a rich history."
Stewart joked with Bennett, "What took you so long?" because Stewart and the Hurricanes won in his first NHL season 20 years ago.
"Doug is a good kid. When I started working with him, he was growing into the profession," said Stewart, a Greater Johnstown High School graduate.
"He deserves this. He's been with them 16 years, both as an assistant and then the head athletic trainer.
"He's earned every bit of it. I'm really happy for him. He's one who started in the minors, like myself, and basically, you paid your dues," Stewart said.
'400 messages'
Along the way, Bennett has built relationships and friendships through hockey.
That was evident in the hours after Carolina won its first Stanley Cup in 20 years.
"When I first looked at my phone when I got to the locker room, I had 400 messages in there," Bennett said. "I think I've responded to most of them in some way, shape or form.
"It's been rewarding to know there are that many people out there that love and support me and what I do."
Allen marveled at another statistic.
"I was telling everybody this is nine Stanley Cups for Johnstown," Allen said.
"Stewy's got four, Dana's got four and now Doug has one."
Westmont Hilltop graduate Dana Heinze was part of Stanley Cup wins as an equipment manager with the Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017) and assistant equipment manager with Tampa Bay (2004).
"How freaking cool is it that a town the size of Johnstown to have nine Stanley Cups?" Allen asked. "It's actually amazing."
'Talking with my dad'
His Johnstown hockey roots played an important role in Bennett's journey, which also included stops on training staffs at his alma mater Penn State University, the University of North Carolina and with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
The FaceTime connection Sunday provided an opportunity to reminisce.
"Just talking with my dad about going to Johnstown Chiefs games when I was a little kid. It made me fall in love with the sport," Doug Bennett said.
"Me and my buddies, we sat in Section 21 every Friday and Saturday night," he said of his seats at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial during the ECHL days. "We were going to Chiefs games if they were home. That's where lifelong friendships started and developed. Such a special thing.
"A great hockey town."
Harry and Karen Bennett will join their son in Raleigh, North Carolina, as the Stanley Cup celebration continues.
"The parade is this weekend and my family is coming down from Johnstown for that," Doug Bennett said.
Harry and Karen Bennett wouldn't miss it.
"We're very proud of him. He's worked very hard for this," Karen Bennett said. "How do I explain it as a parent? It just filled my heart with joy because he got this."
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat.
He can be reached at (814) 532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
