Here is a story used without permission. I thought Badgers fans would enjoy
it, and Lacher followers as well.
CAPITALS FIND A HOT ROOKIE GOALTENDER OF THEIR OWN  3/7/95
 
BY ED DUCKWORTH
 Providence Journal
 
BOSTON -- Blaine Lacher of the Boston Bruins isn't the only hot young rookie
goaltender in the National Hockey League.
 
The Washington Capitals appear to have found themselves one, too.
 
Twenty-year-old Jim Carey of South Weymouth, Mass., a former Catholic
Memorial star, made a memorable professional debut at the Garden last night,
kicking out 36 shots in sparking the Caps to a 3-1 victory over the Bruins.
 
Only a 45-footer by defenseman Ray Bourque early in the first period
prevented Carey from posting a shutout in the fourth NHL start of his career,
all of which, incidentally, he has won.
 
Carey, the Caps' second-round pick in the 1992 draft who spent two seasons at
the University of Wisconsin before turning pro this fall, was at his best
early in the second period when he held the Bruins scoreless during a
two-man, two-minute power play.
 
But, in truth, he was solid from start to finish and the Caps made his
efforts pay off by doing a superb job of checking the Boston forwards through
the neutral zone and in their defensive end.
 
Offensively, the Caps got goals from Kelly Miller, Keith Jones and Calle
Johansson as they won their fourth in a row in front of Carey, improving
their once-dreadful road record to 2-7-4.
 
Things started poorly for Carey as Bourque opened the scoring at 4:45 of the
first period on what appeared to be a innocent shot.
 
The all-star defenseman took center Jozef Stumpel's pass along the blue line,
cut from left to right and snapped off a 45-foot wrist shot at the net.
 
Whether it was speed or the unexpected nature of the across-the-body drive,
the shot surprised Carey and sailed under his arm into the corner of the net.
 
But the Caps, who had gone 3-1-3 in their previous seven, didn't appear to
let the goal fluster them and it wasn't long before they began dominating
play.
 
Still, when Peter Bondra couldn't flip a rebound of Dimitri Khristich's
15-footer over a prone Blaine Lacher in the 13th minute, it looked as if
their efforts might never pay off.
 
Then at 15:52, after Lacher had sprawled to block Steve Konowalchuk's
15-footer during a two-on-one rush, Miller tied the score by wristing home a
rebound.
 
Washington stretched its advantage to 2-1 at 1:59 of the second period on
what may have been their luckiest fluke goal of the season.
 
Jones cashed the gift when he slid the puck into the empty net after Rob
Pearson's routine clear-in apparently hit a seam in the doorway where the
Zamboni enters the ice before bouncing into the slot.
 
Lacher, who had left the crease to retrieve Pearson's shot for a Bruin
defender, simply had no chance of returning to his post before Jones had
buried the puck.
 
The Caps probably should have been given credit for a third goal a few
minutes later when Johansson appeared to hit the net -- and not the post as
referee Steve Walkom ruled -- with a 15-footer.
 
But neither that nor a a two-man advantage the Bruins enjoyed in the eighth
minute when Joe Reekie and Kevin Kaminski were penalized for mugging Brent
Hughes could slow the Caps.
 
Indeed, Washington's defense was so solid during Boston's long power play
that Carey was forced to turn aside only two shots -- a long slapper by
Bourque and a deflection by Mats Naslund.
 
Neither could the Bruins tie the score on either of two more power-play
opportunities early in the third period, although they came close when Cam
Neely hit a post and Naslund failed to get a handle on a neat pass from Don
Sweeney.
 
But the Caps didn't miss out on the chance to put the game away at 12:40 when
Johansson finally beat Lacher, gunning a 15-foot backhander into the top
corner in spite of Mariusz Czerkawski's attempt to check him.