Ben Bowns

Ben Bowns
Date of birth	January 21, 1991
place of birth	Rotherham , England UK
size	188 cm
Weight	96 kg
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Left
Career stations
2004-2007	Sheffield Rapiers
2006-2008	Sheffield Steelhawks
2006-2009	Sheffield Spartans
2007-2010	Sheffield Scimitars
2010–2012	Sheffield Steeldogs
2012-2014	Hull Stingrays
2014-2020	Cardiff Devils
since 2020	EC Graz 99ers

Ben Bowns (born January 21, 1991 in Rotherham , England ) is a British ice hockey goalkeeper who has been under contract with the EC Graz 99ers in the Austrian ice hockey league since August 2020 .

Career

Ben Bowns, who comes from the neighboring town of Rotherham , began his career as a hockey player in various youth teams in Sheffield . As a 16-year-old he made his debut for the Sheffield Scimitars in the English Premier Ice Hockey League , the second highest division in the UK. Two years later he won with the Sheffield Spartans, for whom he played in parallel, the northern group of the National Ice Hockey League , the third highest league in the kingdom. From 2010 to 2012 he played for the Sheffield Steeldogs, the successor club of the Scimitars, also in the EPIHL. There he was elected to the Second All Star Team in 2011 . In 2012 he was elected to the EPIHL First All-Star team with the lowest conceded goals per game and the best catch rate in the league . He then moved to the Hull Stingrays in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), the highest British division. In 2014 he moved to league rivals Cardiff Devils . He won the EIHL Challenge Cup with the Welsh in 2015 and was voted British ice hockey goalkeeper of the year in the same year. In 2016 he was again voted British ice hockey goalkeeper of the year. He also received the title of best British player in the EIHL and best goalkeeper in the EIHL and was consequently also appointed to the league's All-Star First Team. In 2017 he won the EIHL main round with the Devils and thus the British championship and also the EIHL Cup. He himself had made a significant contribution with the lowest goals against and the second best catch rate in the league (after the Latvians Ervins Muštukovs from the Sheffield Steelers ) and was voted the best goalkeeper in the league and in their All-Star First Team. In 2018 he was again EIHL main round champion and also won the playoffs with Cardiff. He was also voted EIHL's best goalkeeper and part of the All-Star Team, and after 2016, EIHL's best British player again. In 2019 he won the EIHL playoffs again with Cardiff and also achieved the most wins and most shutouts in the league. Also in 2020 he was the player with the most wins in the EIHL. He then left the Welsh team after six years and moved to the Austrian ice hockey league for the EC Graz 99ers .

International

For Great Britain, Bowns competed in the junior division at the U18 World Championships in 2008 and 2009 and the U20 World Championships in 2009 , when he had the lowest average goal conceded of the tournament, and in 2010 in Division II and in 2011 , when he was the best goalkeeper of the tournament with the third best catch rate and was elected the best player on his team to participate in Division I.

In the senior sector, he was in his country's squad at the World Championships in Division I in 2013 , 2014 , when he was voted the best player in his team, in 2015 , when he and South Korean Park Sung-je had the lowest percentage of goals conceded per game in 2016 , 2017 , when he achieved the second-best catch quota and the second-best goal against goals of the tournament behind his compatriot Stephen Murphy , and in 2018 , when the British rose to the top tier of the World Championships for the first time after relegation in 1994. He then played in the top division for the first time at the 2019 World Cup , with the British remaining in relegation with a final 4: 3 win after extra time (after 0: 3 deficit) against France . He also represented his colors in the qualifying tournaments for the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014 , Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 .

Achievements and Awards

• 2009 Northern Group winners of the National Ice Hockey League with the Sheffield Spartans
• 2011 Second All-Star Team of the English Premier Ice Hockey League
• 2012 Lowest rate of goals conceded per game, best catch rate and member of the First All-Star-Team of the English Premier Ice Hockey League
• 2015 won the Challenge Cup of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) with the Cardiff Devils
• 2015 British Netminder Of The Year
• 2016 British Netminder Of The Year
• 2016 EIHL All-Star First Team, EIHL British Player Of The Year and EIHL Netminder Of The Year
• 2017 EIHL main round winner and British champion as well as EIHL Cup winner with the Cardiff Devils
• 2017 Lowest rate of goals conceded per game by EIHL, EIHL All-Star First Team, EIHL Netminder Of The Year
• 2018 EIHL main round winner and British champion as well as EIHL playoff winner with the Cardiff Devils
• 2018 EIHL All-Star First Team, EIHL British Player Of The Year and EIHL Netminder Of The Year
• 2019 EIHL playoff winner with the Cardiff Devils
• 2019 Most wins and most shutouts of the EIHL
• 2020 Most victories of the EIHL

International

• 2009 Promotion to Division I at the U18 World Championship Division II, Group B
• 2009 Lowest goals against goals against at the U20 World Cup in Division II, Group B
• 2010 Promotion to Division I at the U20 World Cup Division II, Group B
• 2011 Best goalkeeper of the U20 World Cup, Division I, Group A.
• 2015 Lowest rate of goals conceded per game at the World Cup in Division I, Group B
• 2017 Promotion to Division I, Group A at the World Championship of Division I, Group B
• 2018 Promotion to the top division at the World Championship Division I, Group A.

Web links

• Ben Bowns at hockeydb.com (English)
• Ben Bowns at eliteprospects.com (English)