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Matthew Greenfield was told he would enjoy his time in West Kelowna.
More specifically, Bill Muckalt – former Kelowna Spartan and NHL veteran – vouched for the Okanagan while dealing the 20-year-old goaltender from the United States Hockey League’s Tri-City Storm for nothing more than “future considerations” back in December.
More than anything, the comment was probably meant to soften the blow of being traded to another league in another country halfway through his final season of junior hockey. It’s doubtful that either party thought that Greenfield’s release would be followed by the Florida native parading the RBC Cup through the streets of West Kelowna five months later as a B.C. Hockey League, Western Canada Cup and national junior A champion.
“He said I was going to love it here and that it was a great opportunity for me,” said Greenfield. “I didn’t fully believe him at the time, but he didn’t exaggerate one bit. He was spot on in everything he said. It’s been a really wonderful experience here. First class all the way.
“The city’s been unbelievable. I’ve loved my time in West Kelowna. Coming here with only two months left in my junior career I just wanted to give everything I had and leave it all on the table. Looking back and seeing what we accomplished here, it really feels surreal and unbelievable that it happened.”
Greenfield arrived in the Okanagan in December, but it wasn’t until Jan. 30 that he knew for sure that he was part of something special.
On the road in Powell River for their second of three away games in three nights, the Warriors responded to a 3-0 first-period deficit with a five-goal second period of their own, and later added a sixth goal in double overtime to complete the comeback win.
“We had every reason to quit, give up, pack it in, and go home,” admitted Greenfield, who would go on to post a 13-4-1 regular-season record with a 2.09 goals-against average and .938 save percentage. “Even though we were down, we never ran from adversity. It just made us grow and get better. That was the point where I knew we had a special group.”
It wasn’t just the team. Greenfield saw a pointed turn in their fans too – a moment where their support evolved from the usual cheers to a true belief they were watching a championship team. It’s an intuition that still hasn’t worn off.
“Everyone started to gather around us when we beat Penticton,” recalled Greenfield, who was a major reason the Warriors pulled off one of the most memorable playoff upsets in league history by stonewalling the Vees in four straight Interior Division final games after two opening losses in the series. “Games were selling out. It was pretty special, talking to all the fans and hearing all the support we had. It only grew from there. I was blown away by everyone. I’m getting stopped in public now, people are recognizing me. We had so many fans waiting for us at two in the morning when we came back with the cup. That was awesome. We have the best fans in the league. It’s truly unbelievable how they rallied around our team.”
Greenfield’s time as a Warrior wasn’t without its challenging times though – Keelan Williams relieved Greenfield in game five of the BCHL final after the Warriors’ starter was forced out of the net due to a concussion. Williams was also the winning goalie in the BCHL’s championship clincher at Royal LePage Place.
With Greenfield missing nearly two weeks of play — only sporadically returning to action before the final three games of the RBC Cup (3-0, .0.67 GAA, .980 SV%). Williams proved to be a dependable backup whenever given a start in the Western Canada Cup and RBC Cup, and also a great teammate to Greenfield during his recovery process and eventual return.
“Without him we wouldn’t have gotten it done,” Greenfield said of Williams. “He was outstanding while I was out. He won the team a bunch of games. We had a pretty good relationship, I’d say. We roomed together on the road, and spent a lot of time together. He’s a really good guy and a really good goalie. We’d always push each other in practice. We didn’t get too competitive as far as either of us being upset if the other was playing. We were generally happy for each other and happy for the team. It’s a team sport and all that matters is that the team plays well. We helped each other get better every day. That was a big thing for us.”
When Greenfield did return to the net, it took him a little while to shed the rink rust and get his bearings back.
“I had been off the ice only for a week or two, but it felt like I had been off for two months,” admitted Greenfield. “You go from playing all the time, then you get pulled out, then thrown back in – you’re out of shape, and you don’t feel really comfortable. It’s really tough to come back like that, but as I got a few skates under my belt I started to feel more comfortable and got back into a rhythm. Luckily I was able to play well in the games.”
Greenfield’s concussion haunted him for the duration of the Western Canada and National tournaments. Teams like the Brooks Bandits did his head no favors when he did reappear in the crease, taking all the liberties they could with Greenfield in hopes of finding a way to throw him off his game and put pucks past him.
“I had two concussions in about a two-week span, and they all knew it – especially Brooks,” Greenfield recalled. “I can’t control that and I can’t let it dictate how I play. All I can do is play my game, and trust that my teammates will protect me and make them pay on the powerplay if they do run me.”
Greenfield focused on doing his part, and trusted the five skaters in front of him would do the same.
“I knew that if I could find a way to hold us in the game for a period of so, they’d find a way to put up some goals,” said Greenfield. “The guys were outstanding, without a doubt. Our penalty killers particularly stuck out to me. They were unbelievable. People talk up our powerplay and goaltending, but when teams would try to enter our zone we’d just shoot it back down, score shorthanded goals, and block shots like I’d never seen before. If there was ever a scoring chance I often wouldn’t have to make a save because our guys would just block it. They would always find a way to clear it out, tie up a guy, or give me enough time to do something.
“Our forwards were unbelievable too – blocking shots from the point, scoring big goals, and scoring early. That helps as a goalie to know you have that kind of support in front of you.”
Greenfield is rightfully focused on enjoying his time at the top of the Junior A mountain at the moment, but thoughts of where he’ll be next year are definitely in the back of his mind – especially since junior hockey is now over for him, and he’ll need to prove himself all over again at a completely different level come the fall. Two seasons with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers present roadblocks to an NCAA stint, so the American-born netminder may be spending even more time in Canada than he originally thought.
“I’ll be playing some hockey somewhere next year,” Greenfield said. “Right now I’m leaning towards going to school in Canada.”
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