FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2020
FORMER K-WING MATISS KIVLENIEKS MAKES NHL DEBUT
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender wins first NHL start Sunday, after appearing in eight games for Kalamazoo last season.
NEW YORK, NY – Former Kalamazoo Wings goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks became the 16th player in the team’s ECHL history to play a game in the National Hockey League, when he started for the Columbus Blue Jackets and made 31 saves in a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Kivlenieks, 23, also became the 673rd player in ECHL history to appear in a NHL game, and the 11th during the 2019-20 season. The Riga, Latvia native went 5-3-0 with a 2.71 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in eight appearances for Kalamazoo during the 2018-19 season.
The 6-foot-2, 178-pound goaltender has also played in 73 American Hockey League games with the Cleveland Monsters since 2017-18. Kivlenieks has a career record of 25-32-7 with a 3.26 goals-against average and .889 save percentage in the AHL.
Two former Kalamazoo Wings made NHL opening day rosters in 2019-20, including Stanley Cup Champion goaltender Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues and Yanni Gourde of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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