estogoalie Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 (edited) Sad First Latvian goalie to ever beat Canada (with a shutout no less). Dead at 24. *Edit: First it was reported he slipped by a hot-tub and hit his head, but now it was updated, and he died in a firework accident, a mortar shot him in the chest. https://www.iihf.com/en/news/26534/matiss_kivlenieks_1996-2021 https://apnews.com/article/columbus-blue-jackets-matiss-kivlenieks-hockey-nhl-sports-032b8580cdc3cd53c4a950886714c6d2 Edited July 5, 2021 by estogoalie 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creasecollector Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 So sad. May he RIP. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonder35 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Killed by mortar like fireworks, massive chest trauma. https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/blue-jackets-goaltender-matiss-kivlenieks-dies-age-24/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scythe Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 i was thinking car accident first then read a firework mishap. Very sad. rip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTH Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 Did you guys see the layout at Manny Legace's house? I guess they were lighting them off at the fire pit area on the lake. Sweet setup with the hot tub overlooking the lake. Crazy accident. Where I was with my family on the 4th - there were neighbors lighting fireworks. I had that feeling of 'this could be a bad spot' and moved my boys. Terrible accident. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estogoalie Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 If you would have told him right here he'd be dead in a few hours, I'm sure he wouldn't have believed it. Funny how life is. I know it's cliche, but it really reminds you to enjoy each day. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike24 Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 Very sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Boiss Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Small update coming out of Kivlenieks memorial service today: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagoal Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 5 hours ago, CJ Boiss said: Small update coming out of Kivlenieks memorial service today: More info here. I knew they were at Manny Legace's house, but didn't know what the occasion was. https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-matiss-kivlenieks-died-a-hero-says-elvis-merzlikins/c-325662842 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chenner29 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 28 minutes ago, seagoal said: More info here. I knew they were at Manny Legace's house, but didn't know what the occasion was. https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-matiss-kivlenieks-died-a-hero-says-elvis-merzlikins/c-325662842 Quote Merzlikins said he and his pregnant wife, Aleksandra, were hugging about 20-30 feet behind Kivlenieks when he was hit in the chest with a stray mortar. "He saved my (unborn) son. He saved my wife and he saved me," Merzlikins said. "He saved many lives. … If that wouldn't have been me, my wife or son, it would've been 50 other people. He died a hero. And that's not me saying it. That was the doctor saying it. If he would just sit, it wouldn't have happened. … I just wanted to let you know that he was a hero. He saved a lot of lives." [....] Merzlikins said their son, due in September will have Matiss as a middle name. The feels... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaveByRichter35 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Not trying to take anything away from the kid but the first reports I remember reading was that he died due to head trauma after hitting his head on concrete diving out of the way of a firework accident. Now the report is that he took a motor to the chest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagoal Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 4 minutes ago, Chenner29 said: The feels... yep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaveByRichter35 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Geez that is awful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Boiss Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 13 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said: Not trying to take anything away from the kid but the first reports I remember reading was that he died due to head trauma after hitting his head on concrete diving out of the way of a firework accident. Now the report is that he took a motor to the chest? Yeah, he dove in front of a firework mortar that had tipped over. Saved a lot of lives. Biggest save he ever made. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagoal Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Originally I thought it was his head hitting concrete that got him. Now, it seems that was a secondary result of the blast he covered. He had both chest and skull injuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaveByRichter35 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Yea definitely, god bless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seagoal Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 1 minute ago, SaveByRichter35 said: Yea definitely, god bless For sure. I put a stick out for him that day, this really got to me and hit me hard that day. Life is so fragile and can turn tragic so damn fast. I bet Elvis pays him tribute on his mask next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunnyman666 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Absolutely crazy that he went to cover that mortar. I never noticed him before, but now he’s MY hero. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpawtendy48 Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 God, the more I learn about what happened the more devastating it gets. Hearing what Elvis said along with what Legace said about him in the service just makes this all the more heartbreaking. RIP to a true hero. Praying for his loved ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estogoalie Posted July 16, 2021 Author Share Posted July 16, 2021 10 hours ago, seagoal said: I bet Elvis pays him tribute on his mask next year. Merzlikins has seen quite a bit of tragedy already in his life. His father died when he was 3. His mother re-married and moved to Switzerland, and then she died when he was in his teens (his step-father was a hockey coach). I'm sure having another Latvian goalie on Columbus, they must have gotten pretty close, and this must have been hard on him. On the bright side, being married with a kid on the way, I hope he has some more positive things to look forward to in the future.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estogoalie Posted July 16, 2021 Author Share Posted July 16, 2021 It's also amazing how Kivkenieks moved up from the bottom rungs on Junior hockey to the NHL: https://eu.azcentral.com/in-depth/sports/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/2021/07/14/matiss-kivlenieks-kivi-death-blue-jackets-goalie-remembered/7934855002/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTH Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Told this story to my boys. Extremely sad, but an amazing act by him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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