Nottingham Panthers netminder Ben Bowns insists he’s getting better after it was revealed he took ill at the weekend.
The club reported he missed Sunday’s game with Coventry Blaze as a precautionary measure after coming off at the end of the first period in Saturday’s heacy defeat to Sheffield Steelers.
And the GB international, speaking to Panthers Radio, held his hands up and admits he should have reported it to the staff sooner.
“It was my own fault on Saturday,” Bowns said. “I stayed on the ice and it was my decision to stay on, so that was on me and the guys all know that. It doesn’t make it any nicer, but it makes you hungrier to perform even better.
“I’m feeling better now and plan to enjoy what I can of the sun while it’s here. It’s one of those things and you just need to keep your eye on it.”
It was a disappointing weekend as Panthers are slumped at the bottom of the standings, with one win from their five games so far in the Elite Series.
And Bowns insists he and his team-mates are feeling it as they look to turnaround their disappointing start to the tournament, beginning with Wednesday’s meeting with Manchester Storm.
“Obviously, the locker room is going to be a little down as you would expect,” he added. “I don’t think people ever really understand how it affects or how much it means to players.
“Fans are disappointed and if you times that by about 10 million, then that’s where the players are. It’s not nice and we’re the ones failing.
“Everyone’s professional in the room so it’s about working hard and letting what happened burn. Everything that happened, everything that was said, you put it in your back pocket.
“When we do win that next game or the whole thing, it’ll make all you’ve gone through all the more sweeter.”
