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Ben Bowns

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Ben Bowns
Born (1991-01-21) 21 January 1991 (age 33)
Rotherham, Yorkshire, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
EIHL team
Former teams		 Cardiff Devils
Sheffield Scimitars
Sheffield Steeldogs
Hull Stingrays
Graz99ers
Nottingham Panthers
HK Dukla Trenčín
National team  Great Britain
Playing career 2006–present

Ben Bowns (born 21 January 1991) is an English professional ice hockey goaltender for UK Elite Ice Hockey League side Cardiff Devils and the Great Britain national team.

Playing career

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Bowns played youth hockey in Sheffield, before signing with the Hull Stingrays in 2012.[1] He would play two years as the starter in Hull before signing in Cardiff in 2014.

With the Devils, he won the EIHL Challenge Cup twice and has been named goaltender of the year three times.[2] Despite receiving offers from other European leagues, remained in Cardiff until 2020.[3]

On 14 August 2020 it was confirmed Bowns had departed Cardiff for IceHL side Graz 99ers. Bowns had played against Graz twice in the 2019–20 Champions Hockey League, helping Cardiff to two wins over the 99ers.[4][5]

In March 2021, Bowns was drafted by EIHL side Nottingham Panthers ahead of the 2021 Elite Series.[6][7]

On 16 June 2021 it was announced Bowns had signed to a second contract abroad after agreeing to join Slovak Extraliga side HK Dukla Trenčín for the 2021–22 season.[8]

After two seasons abroad, Bowns returned to the UK and to a second spell with Cardiff – re-signing in May 2022 ahead of the 2022–23 season.[9]

In February 2023, Bowns was credited with a goal in Cardiff's 4–1 victory at the Dundee Stars, as he was the last Devils player to touch the puck prior to the Stars' Johan Eriksson putting it into his own net.[10] As a result, he became the fourth goaltender to be credited with such an achievement in British league ice hockey, after Tony Melia, Jody Lehman and Mark Bernard.[11][12]

International play

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Bowns made his first appearance for the British senior team in 2012, and has played as the country's starter ever since.[13] In 2019, Britain made the IIHF Men's World Championship for the first time in 25 years, where Bowns was named player of the match after making 59 saves in a 6-3 loss to the USA. He finished the tournament as the goalie with the most saves.[14] Bowns again represented Great Britain at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, finishing with a save percentage of 91%.[15]

In late April to early May 2023, Bowns was Great Britain's starting netminder for the IIHF World Championship division 1A tournament in Nottingham. He played all five games in the tournament and was awarded netminder of the tournament[16] with a save percentage of 93.46%, a goal against average of 1.39 and 3 shutouts[17] against Korea,[18] Romania[19] and Lithuania.[20] Team GB was promoted to the 2024 World Championship in Czechia after winning all 5 games.[21]

Bowns would compete in the 2024 IIHF World Championship he finished the tournament with a 88.3 SV% and a 4.67 GAA.Great Britain's only win 4-2 over Austria Ben was between the pipes.[13][14][16]

Personal life

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Bowns has named former NHL goalie Patrick Roy as his favourite player growing up.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Did the Steelers miss out twice? A look back at the career of Ben Bowns so far » Chasing the Puck". 20 February 2020.
  2. ^ "IIHF – Ben Bowns backstops Brits".
  3. ^ "The Monday After: Bowns in the shop window | British Ice Hockey". 13 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Bowns departs Cardiff for Austria". Cardiff Devils. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Graz sign Altmann, Broda, Bowns and Cameranesi" (in German). Graz99ers. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "2021 Elite Series confirmed for April–May!".
  7. ^ "Draft Concluded: Full Summary".
  8. ^ @cardiffdevils (16 June 2021). "Good luck in Slovakia, Ben Bowns! @Bownsy21 will spend the 2021–22 season with HK Dukla Trencin 🏒🇸🇰#DevilsFamily" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ @cardiffdevils (30 May 2022). "A new signing for the 22/23 season…🥁#33 Ben Bowns…welcome back Bownsy 👏🏻😈🏒" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Smith, Kris (19 February 2023). "Trade-Mart Dundee Stars 1 Cardiff Devils 4". Dundee Stars. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  11. ^ Hopker, Antony (22 December 2003). "Goal stopper makes Blaze history". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Vipers slump to Bison loss". Evening Chronicle. 4 December 2005. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Bowns enjoying test against world elite". BBC Sport.
  14. ^ a b Pinelli, Brian (19 May 2019). "Britannia Rules the … Rink? Maybe One Day". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "Ben Bowns Career Statistics". Elite Prospects.
  16. ^ a b "TeamGBicehockey". Twitter. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  17. ^ "IIHF - Statistics 2023 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Division I, Group A". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  18. ^ "IIHF - KOR - GBR 29.04.2023 - 2023 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Division I, Group A - Game Centre Statistic". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  19. ^ "IIHF - GBR - ROU 03.05.2023 - 2023 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Division I, Group A - Game Centre Play by play". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  20. ^ "IIHF - GBR - LTU 02.05.2023 - 2023 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Division I, Group A - Game Centre Statistic". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  21. ^ "IIHF - GB takes the crown". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Ben Bowns Q&A | Puckstop".
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