By: Allan Westerholt
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (November 22, 2022) – The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) announced today that goaltender Ben Churchfield of the Peoria Rivermen has been named the Warrior Player of the Week for November 14-20.
Churchfield helped guide the Rivermen to a trio of victories, moving them to fifth in the SPHL standings and extending their winning streak to three games.
For the week Churchfield posted a 1.02 goals against average and a 0.964 save percentage.
On Thursday, Churchfield stepped in after starter Eric Levine was pulled just 6:33 into the game. Trailing 2-0, he stepped up in a big way, stopping all 15 shots he faced over the next two and a half periods as the Rivermen stormed back to defeat Knoxville 3-2. The following night, he turned away 26 of 29 shots and led the Rivermen to a 4-3 overtime victory and sweep of the Ice Bears. On Saturday after the Rivermen found themselves down 3-0 early in the first to Huntsville, Churchfield came on again in relief of Levine and led the Rivermen to their third straight victory after stopping all 16 shots he faced and allowing the offense to put up six unanswered goals in route to a 7-3 victory.
Churchfield leads the Rivermen in victories with four, posting a 1.69 goals against average which is good for second-best amongst netminders. The North Shields, Great Britian native also carries a 0.925 save percentage, good for sixth-best in the SPHL.
Other nominees for the Warrior Player of the Week were: Jake Pappalardo, Birmingham (3g, 1a, +2, shg), Mike Ferraro, Evansville (2g, 2a, +4), Drake Glover, Fayetteville (2g, +2), Tyler Piacentini, Huntsville (2g, gwg), Justin MacDonald, Knoxville (2g, 2a, 2 ppg, gwg), Caleb Cameron, Macon (1g, 1a, shg), Christian Pavlas, Pensacola (2-0-0, 0.98 gaa, 0.961 sv%, shutout), Austyn Roudebush, Roanoke (0-1-0, 1.02 gaa, 0.964 sv%), TJ Sneath, Vermilion County (1g, 2a)
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