Ryder Gregga wasn't sure he would ever put a Nelson Leafs jersey on again.
Gregga had only played three games when he was injured Oct. 18 in what was technically his first home appearance with Nelson. After a teammate collided with him, Gregga stayed in the game and helped the Leafs earn a win.
He thought he might not miss much time, but the hip injury he suffered seemed to worsen as the days went by. He returned to his home in Ontario to recover, and was released by the Leafs.
"There were some days that I didn't think I was coming back, but I had a long-term recovery and the goal to come back here, and go on a playoff run and win a championship, so I had that to look forward to every day."
Gregga made his unlikely return Saturday with a 31-save performance that was the only positive for the Leafs in a 3-1 loss to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats.
Nelson had reason to be excited for Gregga when the season began. In last season's campaign, Gregga and the Kerry Park Islanders made a run to the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey final. When the league went independent, Gregga was left without a team and signed in October with Nelson.
After the injury, Gregga had to wait until Jan. 10 for a return to the ice where he worked with a goaltending coach. Gregga is in his final year of junior hockey, and decided he wanted to give it one more shot.
“I felt good but I didn’t know how it was going to be in a game scenario. I just said, it feels good, we’ve got to test it out.”
During his absence, Gregga said he made sure to keep the Leafs updated on his progress. Nelson head coach Gianni Mangone was thrilled to re-sign Gregga, who rejoined Nelson on Feb. 11.
“I think he's an incredible goalie and a great person in the room. So when I had the opportunity to do it, I gave him a call and had him sign back up.”
Brendon Hall scored for the Leafs (18-23-2), who are third in the Neil Murdoch Division with just one game left in the regular season.
Chase Bambrick scored twice and Liam Munro had a single for the Thunder Cats (16-23-3), while Brendan Smith stopped 28 shots.
Despite the long absence, Gregga was easily Nelson's best player on the ice and kept the game close as Creston Valley pushed in the second period.
“He played unreal. He’s the only reason it was close," said Mangone. "That was one of our not-so-great performances as of late. We've been playing really well, and today just wasn't it unfortunately.”
A point shot by Trey Schofield led to Nelson’s opening goal. Schofield’s shot was tipped by Hall past Smith five minutes into regulation.
The period was paused late after Creston’s Daniel O’Handley dropped his gloves and stick, appearing to want a fight against Nelson’s Devon Barclay. But the Leaf didn’t bite - all the Nelson players instead had a good chuckle as O’Handley was instead sent to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Thunder Cats drew level in the second period. Both teams were playing 4-on-4 when Taylor Schmideder found Bambrick for a one-timer that beat Gregga blocker side.
Creston Valley mostly controlled the middle frame, outshooting the Leafs 15-6. Nelson’s best chance was a Kane Kennedy shot that rang off the crossbar.
The visitors took the lead with six minutes left in the game. Gregga was being screened by Berkley Gross when Bambrick’s shot from the blueline made its way through into the net.
Nelson pulled Gregga with 1:25 left, then called a timeout to set a play. But just under a minute later Munro had an opening and scored into the empty net to seal Creston’s win.
Gregga's return adds an interesting wrinkle to the Leafs' season as playoffs approach.
The Leafs were two points clear of the fourth-place Castlegar Rebels at the end of Saturday, but Castlegar has two games in hand. Neither team wants to face the first-place Grand Forks Border Bruins in the first round, but the alternative of taking on the Beaver Valley Nitehawks is also daunting as both sides have been among the best in the KIJHL this season.
Mangone has Jacob Armstrong, the team's No. 1 goalie for several months, and backup Dylan Spackman to choose from when the postseason begins. But he didn't want to commit to a Game 1 starter just yet, a decision made more complicated by Gregga's arrival.
“I trust all my goalies. It hasn't been the season we wanted since I took over. I don't think it's been [the goalies'] fault whatsoever. We’ve had some bad performances along the way, and whoever's in net I have full faith in them when they're in the net.”
Gregga wasn't sure if he'll play in the playoffs, but he's been looking forward to it since his wayward season began.
“Getting a taste of the finals is something that I've had my calendar set for this year, and I think we have the guys in the locker room to make a good push this year. I think if we just stick to our game plan and the systems [Mangone] has for us, we can take it pretty far.”
Leaflets: Nelson finishes the regular season Feb. 22 in Spokane against the Braves. Nelson opens the playoffs on the road Feb. 28, plays Game 2 on March 1, then hosts Games 3 and 4 on March 3 and 4.
