Churchfield heads back to North America

Photo: Dean Woolley

The Sheffield Steelers announced early Saturday morning that they have released netminder Ben Churchfield.

"Ben asked for his release to pursue some options back in North America. We had a few conversations in the last couple of weeks about his situation and he was hoping for more game time with us. With our situation currently, it’s not something I could promise him so he wanted to explore his options elsewhere," explained Head Coach Aaron Fox.

"We had the chance for him to play with Leeds this weekend but he decided against that option. He came in midweek and said he would prefer to explore his options in North America rather than play in the NIHL.

"I wish him well, he is a good kid who works very hard every time he comes to the rink. He is committed to be a starting goalie somewhere and we all hope he gets his chance."

Churchfield was brought in by the Steelers ahead of the 2020/21 season which was canceled due to the pandemic. The homegrown netminder iced for the team in the 2021 Elite Series and posted 87.40% of shots saved through 10 games, and saw just 20 minutes of game time this season.