Goaltender Ben Norton never fails to deliver for Great Britain in international play.

He’s played at the U18 and the U20 levels, posting a 0.940Sv% through ten games and recording two shutouts. In that time, Norton has lost just once in regulation play.

The Doncaster native is pretty laid back about his impressive performances for his country, stating it’s down to “Pride. Every time I pull on that [GB] jersey I feel how lucky I am.”

Norton knew he wanted to play hockey at a tender age and specifically be the guy between the pipes.

“My mum used to watch the [Sheffield] Steelers in the 1990s and took me to a game. Apparently, I pointed at the goalie and said I wanted to do that.”

“I did start playing as a skater but kept hanging back. As soon as I got all the equipment, I knew I just wanted to be a goalie.”

That drive to be a goaltender and improve himself manifested itself at the age of seven when Norton told his parents he wanted to attend school in America.

In 2019, that ambition was realised, with Norton attending Northwood School in New York State.

Despite Covid-19 interrupting his time at the Prep school, it was an entirely positive experience.

“You’re living in a dorm with your teammates, playing every day. I was lucky to be on both teams, so I got to practise twice. We get a lot of ice time [than in the UK], with a fifty-game schedule.”

Unfortunately, the next port of call for the GB netminder wasn’t as rewarding.
Speaking about his time with the Columbia Infantry, Norton noted:

“It was a really bad experience.”
“I only played twelve games last year, it wasn’t great. It threw me off playing in America.”

I asked whether he thought UK players were sometimes overlooked because of their passport colour, regardless of their ability. “I definitely think it’s a factor.”

Before the opportunity to return to the UK came about, Norton was doing a showcase for another team with the possibility of staying in the States for next year.

“When I received the offer from Bristol and Cardiff, practising on the ice with [Ben Bowns] Bownsy and Euan King, I couldn’t turn that down.”

Practising and interacting with Great Britain’s #1 goaltender has proven to be a productive and instructive experience.
“Bowns emphasised the importance of rebound control. I feel my rebound control is probably the aspect of my game that’s improved most this year.”

When watching Norton live, you appreciate how good his stickhandling is, something that goaltenders at the professional level have had to improve upon in the modern game.

“Euan King emphahsis it [Stickhandling]. He runs a camp that’s just for stickhandling for goalies. I’ve always felt naturally good with handling the puck having done it a lot as a kid.”

Alex Oldale is part of the goaltending tandem for Great Britain in this tournament, giving the coaching staff the luxury of essentially 1A and 1B options.

“Alex and I played together at U15’s at Sheffield and then we also played together at U18 and U20. We are pretty good friends and we have a good goalie partnership.”

With thoughts turned to this current campaign, Norton is somewhat hard on himself when discussing his performance.

“I think I’ve played good but it’s never nice to lose. It would have been much better if I had won that game last night [Game Two loss against Lithuania in overtime].”

Jack Hopkins mentioned that Norton was down on himself after that game and blamed himself for the OT loss. Striving to be better and always perfect, is something every goaltender has to deal with.

He had no idea that he picked up an assist on Jack Hopkins’ goal via Kell Beattie’s stretch pass in the OT loss to Lithuania.

“The referee came down to me and asked me what my number was and that’s when it clicked that I had registered an assist. I’ve recorded quite a few assists before at U18 so it’s not an entirely new thing.”

Goaltending runs in the Norton family and brother Dan is the third/reserve goalie for Great Britain in this tournament.

“We are really competitive at everything and drive each other on.”
“I don’t get to see much of him because he’s in Milton Keynes and I’m in Bristol. So it’s nice to have his support and to have the chance to hang out with him.”

Now working alongside Ben Bowns, who is known for some distinctive mask designs, I asked Ben [Norton] what he would go for in the future when designing a mask – “The Big Ben clock would be cool.”
Personally, I can’t wait to see that incorporated!

The current Bristol Pitbulls netminder watches the NHL and is a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan.
“I try and watch as many games as I can. I’ve been to quite a few Tampa games live too.”

Unsurprisingly, Norton’s favourite goaltender to watch is Andrei Vasilevski. The GB puck-stopper would like to follow in his footsteps, in regards to going full-time.
“My end goal is to eventually turn professional.”

I wouldn’t bet against Ben Norton achieving that ambition but in the short-term, his eyes are fixed on the goal of helping Great Britain win gold and promotion this week.