The 2021-22 season was one to forget for Ben Churchfield.
Rightly or wrongly, depending on your viewpoint, Churchfield was discarded by the Sheffield Steelers without receiving a single minute of ice time.
The North Shields native ended up in the less-than-salubrious South Professional Hockey League.
The SPHL is probably better known as a league where Shannon Szabados plied her trade for a short while and some interesting team names.
Churchfield signed with a brand new team, the Vermilion County Bobcats.
Things did not go swimmingly for the expansion franchise, which due to various reasons, went through three head coaches by the time November rolled around.
They would finish the campaign with a fourth head coach in place.
There were also problems at the home arena with bad ice conditions leading to the postponement of the first set of home games.
Once hitting the ice, the problems continued, as the team managed just five wins in 56 games through their inaugural season.
The UK netminder was responsible for three of those victories but his statistics that year were far from flattering.
A record of 3-17-1, 0.884Sv% and 4.48 GAA.
Far from discouraged, Churchfield has stuck around in Illinois, signing with the Peoria Rivermen for the 2022-23 campaign.
Those with long memories might remember them as an AHL team.
After having their franchise moved out of town in 2013, ownership ensured hockey remained in Peoria under the same name but in the SPHL.
Peoria has enjoyed a fair amount of success in its (new) short history, claiming four regular season titles and winning their first-ever President’s Cup (play-off championship) in 2022.
A better scenario for the 26-year-old has resulted in him having a bright start to his second season in the SPHL.
He’s won all four starts and in a league notable for high scoring, posted a 1.69GAA and 0.925Sv%.
On November 22, 2022, Churchfield even took an accolade.
He’s become somewhat of a fan favourite, doubtless because of sequences like this.
Churchfield sustained an upper-body injury just three days after being named player of the week but has just been activated from the injury reserve.
Veteran Eric Levine is very much the first choice for Peoria, but there’s no reason Churchfield can’t challenge the 34-year-old for the starting role by the end of the year if staying healthy.
If the former Sheffield goaltender needed a reminder that anything is possible and you never know what is around the corner, he need only think back to last season.
The Iowa Heartlanders came calling when they required an emergency backup, and Churchfield received a very small taste of the ECHL.
Someone is always watching.
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