Ryan Nie Ryan Nie ( born April 15 , 1985 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for Lillehammer IK of the GET - ligaen . Career . Nie started his professional career with the Kalamazoo Wings of the UHL , signing with the team prior to the 2006 - 07 season as a backup to former longtime Rochester Americans goaltender Tom Askey . While Askey saw the majority of the team ' s starts , it was Nie who led the team with a league - record 2 . 02 GAA and a . 929 save percentage . Nie ended up taking over the starting duties during the postseason , leading the K - Wings to the UHL Finals and posting a 2 . 73 goals - against average over 19 games . Upon the completion of the season , Nie was named to the UHL All - Rookie Team The following season , Nie signed with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL . He was named ECHL goaltender of the week twice during the season : the week of October 22 – 28 , 2007 and the week of March 24 – 30 , 2008 . He was also briefly signed to a PTO contract by the Providence Bruins on November 25 , 2007 , playing in one game and allowing two goals in forty - three minutes of game time in relief of Bruins ' goalie Mike Brown . Nie was released from his PTO contract on November 28 , 2007 . Nie went 29 - 12 - 4 with the Chiefs , breaking the former record held by former Chiefs ' goaltenders Stan " Smokey " Reddick ( 1991 – 92 ) and Frederic Deschênes ( 2001 – 02 ) . Nie spent the 2008 - 09 season in the ECHL but split time between three teams : the Bakersfield Condors , Elmira Jackals before completing the season with the Cincinnati Cyclones . Nie led the Cyclones to the conference Finals but lost the series 4 - 0 to the eventual Kelly Cup champions South Carolina Stingrays . Nie started the 2009 - 10 season as a member of the San Jose Sharks training camp before being sent to San Jose ' s AHL affiliate in Worcester . Nie was eventually assigned to Kalamazoo ; the same team he started his professional career with , except that Kalamazoo was now a member of the ECHL . Nie would be recalled by several teams during the 2009 - 10 season ( Portland Pirates , Worcester Sharks , and the Houston Aeros ) , but Nie would only see ice time during one of the recalls . On February 5 , 2010 , Nie signed a PTO contract with the Houston Aeros due to the injury of Aeros ' goaltender Josh Harding . The following night , Nie started in goal for the Aeros but surrendered five goals on nineteen shots . Nie was released from his PTO contract the following day and returned to Kalamazoo for the remainder of the season . Nie returned to the Wings and led the team in wins ( 28 ) and shutouts ( 3 ) . At the conclusion of the regular season , Nie was named the Kalamazoo Gazette ' s 2009 - 10 Most Valuable Player . Nie signed an extension with the Wings on August 10 , 2010 , returning to the club for a third season . Nie was loaned to the Binghamton Senators on December 29 , 2010 . Nie dressed as a backup for two games but did not play . He was released from his PTO contract on January 6 , 2011 . Nie returned to the Wings and once again led the team in games played ( 52 ) , goals against ( 2 . 80 ) , and set a personal best in regular season wins ( 30 ) . At the conclusion of the season , Nie was named the Wings Most Valuable Player . Nie led the Wings to the Kelly Cup finals , but would eventually lose to the Alaska Aces four games to one . On June 20 , 2011 , Nie agreed to a one year contract with Lillehammer IK of the Norwegian GET - ligaen . In an interview held by the team , Nie said talked to a former teammate who had played in Norway and said it was a good experience and recommended it to him .