Lauren Bench

Lauren Bench (born November 21, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played for MoDo Hockey of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). She played college ice hockey at Bemidji State and Minnesota.

Early life Bench attended Burnsville High School in Burnsville, Minnesota, where she was a four-sport letterwinner for the Blaze, earning five varsity letters in hockey, three in softball, two in golf, and one in alpine skiing.

College career Bench began her collegiate career for Bemidji State during the 2017–18 season. During her redshirt freshman year, she appeared in 19 games for the Beavers and posted an 8–9–0 record, with a 2.71 goals against average (GAA) and .903 save percentage with two shutouts. During the 2018–19 season in her redshirt sophomore year, she appeared in 23 games and posted a 9–11–2 record, with a 2.51 GAA and .909 save percentage. She set Bemidji State's longest shutout streak of 165:55 after not allowing a goal in eight-consecutive periods. Following the season she was named to the All-WCHA Third Team.

During the 2019–20 season in her redshirt junior year, she started 31 games and posted a 13–16–2 record, with a 2.25 GAA and .919 save percentage. Her 13 wins tied for the third most wins in a single season in program history, while she posted the sixth best GAA and seventh best save percentage in a single season.

On April 9, 2020, Bench announced she would transfer to Minnesota to pursue a master's degree in Sport and Exercise Science. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry with an emphasis in biochemistry/biotechnology and a minor in biology from Bemidji State University. She finished her career at Bemidji State with a 30–36–4 record, with a 2.45 GAA.912 save percentage and 10 shutouts. She ranked fifth in program history with 73 games played, fourth in career wins (30), fifth in career minutes played (4,266:00), third in career shutouts (10), fourth in career goals against average (2.45), tied for fourth in career save percentage (.912) and fifth in career saves (1,794). On June 17, 2021, Bench announced she would use her extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic and return to Minnesota for the 2021–22 season. During her fifth and final year, she appeared in 26 games and posted a 14–6–1 record, with a 1.98 GAA.919 save percentage and three shutouts. She led the team in wins, saves (491), and shutouts and ranked fourth in the WCHA in wins and fifth in conference GAA (1.98). She finished her career tenth in Minnesota program history in saves (838) and second in program history in saves per game (22.05). The PHF ceased operations on June 29, 2023, as a result she never played a game for the Force.

On December 12, 2023, Bench signed a reserve player contract with PWHL Minnesota for the 2023–24 season, where she was the team's fourth goaltender. On February 14, 2024, she was signed to a standard player agreement contract with Minnesota. She didn't appear in a game for Minnesota during the season and won the inaugural Walter Cup.

Career statistics