He’s Back-stopping us until 2025, #31 Sam Gospel extends his stay at The Castle, joining Captain #12 Kieran Brown as the second piece of the puzzle for next season!
The retention of starting netminder Sam Gospel is something we’re sure all fans will be happy about – except fans of other teams around the league!
Sam has played more than 100 games with the Knights, icing in 136 games he sits just 1 win shy of 100! This season has seen Sam also take on the role of Assistant Captain, alongside Jordan Griffin and Matt Haywood.
So far in the 2023-24 season, Head Coach Ryan Aldridge has been vocal on Gospel’s impressive performances and their importance, citing some of his standout performances as key factors in our hot start and we caught up with Ryan on the retention of Sam’s services – “It’s great to have Gossy back. He is a massive part of what we have achieved so far and what we are looking to achieve in the future, he is a great goalie and a great person, he is a leader in our group and we want to build a team around him and Kieran once again. Like Kieran his head and heart is in Leeds and we are grateful and honoured he feels that way and couldn't wish for a better goalie, or person, to have here.”
The last two seasons have seen Sam top the Netminder standings for NIHL Best Save Percentage twice, he’s led the way as the starting netminder for the NIHL First All-Star team both seasons, as well as having the best (lowest) Goals Against Average in 2022-23, as we became League and Playoff Champions!
On his stay at The Castle for an additional year, Sam Gospel is massively looking forward to backstopping the Knights through the 2024-25 season – “I couldn’t be happier. It’s a place where I want to play, it’s a good place to play and we get treated really well here. ”
Teaming up with Kieran Brown once again next season is something Sam is also looking forward to - “Kieran gets to go score and I get to save them at the other end so it’s a good partnership.”
You can join Sam Gospel as he goes for his 100th win at our next home game, on Friday 22nd December against the Hull Seahawks!
Tickets available here.
