Created: July 06, 2021 05:02 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast in what authorities described Monday as a tragic accident at a Michigan home on the Fourth of July. I m still struggling with it , said Dennis Canfield, Kivlenieks’ former coach with the Forest Lake Lakers. It doesn t almost seem real.
Canfield coached the young Latvian goalie for the Forest Lake Lakers in the former Minnesota Junior Hockey League back in 2014. Every time we showed up at the rink, we had an advantage, we had a guy that everybody knew was the best player in the rink,” Canfield said. “To have that guy, it s a mental advantage for sure, he won a lot of games for us.