AHL Cleveland Monsters

Blue Jackets Assign Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to Monsters

Published on February 1, 2021 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release


CLEVELAND - The AHL's Cleveland Monsters, top affiliate of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, announced Monday that the Blue Jackets assigned goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Monsters and recalled goaltender Cam Johnson to Columbus' taxi squad. In six appearances for the Blue Jackets last season, the first NHL action of his career, Kivlenieks went 1-1-0 with a 2.95 goals-against average (GAA) and .898 save percentage (S%). Kivlenieks also contributed a record of 9-8-3 in 20 appearances for Cleveland last season with one shutout, a 2.96 GAA and .904 S%.

A 6'2", 178 lb. left-catching native of Riga, Latvia, Kivlenieks, 24, supplied a record of 27-33-8 with three shutouts, a 3.23 GAA and .892 S% in 77 career AHL appearances, all for the Monsters, spanning parts of three seasons from 2017-20. During the 2018-19 season, Kivlenieks went 5-3-0 with a 2.71 GAA and .923 S% in eight appearances for the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings.

Prior to his professional career, Kivlenieks posted a record of 36-7-2 with five shutouts, a 1.85 GAA and .932 S% in 49 appearances for the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers during the 2016-17 season, helping Sioux City claim the 2017 Anderson Cup as USHL Regular Season Champions. Kivlenieks also claimed 2017 USHL Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year honors, was named to the 2016-17 USHL First All-Star Team, and represented Latvia at the 2018 IIHF World Championships.

Cleveland begins the 2020-21 campaign on the road on Friday, February 5th at 7:00 p.m. versus the Rockford IceHogs with the team's home opener scheduled for Friday, February 12th at 7:00 p.m. versus the Rochester Americans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The State of Ohio recently approved an attendance variance request from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse permitting the Monsters to host up to 10% of the arena's total seating capacity for games, allowing the team to admit just under 2,000 fans per game. Seat placement for games will begin with Monsters Hockey Club Members, with all other possible ticket opportunities being announced at a later date. The team's broadcast and promotional schedules will be released in the near future.

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