This is from the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune (Mass.), 12/20/92.  The LET covers
Merrimack hockey (usually :-)) as well as the Bruins.
 
EX-MERRIMACK GOALIE RIGHT AT HOME IN NHL by Bill Burt
 
BOSTON GARDEN - Jim Hrivnak shows little emotion, good or bad.  He has
cat-like reflexes.  And his confidence is not lacking.
   Except for his peers, not much has changed.
   Hrivnak played goalie against the Boston Bruins last night.
   His first game in these parts since January of 1989, when he left the
Merrimack College hockey team to become a professional.
   Hrivnak doesn't talk about survival in the greatest hockey league in the
world.
   He talks about winning a Stanley Cup.  About the Hall of Fame.  About
comparisons to Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy.
   He wasn't talking about those same things in 1988, when little-known
Merrimack College shocked the college hockey world by nearly knocking off
eventual NCAA Div. 1 champ Lake Superior State.
   But he thought about them.  A lot.
   "I've never doubted my ability," says Hrivnak.  "All I wanted was a
chance.  And I got that at Merrimack, and then Baltimore (minor league) and
now with Washington."
   But he does get nervous once in a while.
   Case in point: Last night.
   His first-ever game in the Boston Garden.  His first-ever game before his
best friends.
   "I still consider Boston and Merrimack a home for me," says Hrivnak.  "I
spent three and a half of the best years of my life here.  I wouldn't trade
it for anything.  I had been thinking about this game for a while."
   Plus, it's the Bruins.  The hated Bruins.
   "I grew up with the Canadiens and I always hated the Bruins," says
Hrivnak, a Montreal native.  "I was nervous about playing the Bruins at our
place (in Landover, Md. on Nov. 25).  It felt good to beat them (6-2)."
   Only 1:14 into last night's game, Bruin forward Joe Juneau's slap shot
hit the stick of Washington defenseman Paul Cavallini and went in the net.
Hrivnak never saw it.
   "I was a little nervous, but it didn't affect me," Hrivnak said after
last night's 4-3 loss to the Bruins.  "I think I played pretty well, but
I'm disappointed, especially playing in front of my friends."
   Despite his record (10-4-1) and ranking among the top five NHL goalies
in goals against average (2.93) and saves percentage (.900), Hrivnak is not
Washington's No. 1 goalie.
   Thirty-one year old Don Beaupre, 8-11-1 with a 3.73 GAA, is.
   Beaupre started the previous three games and will probably get the nod
tomorrow night in Ottawa.
   "I don't worry about that," says Hrivnak.  "He's been around longer.  As
long as I get to play at least once a week...The numbers will speak for
themselves."
   All has not been fun and games since Hrivnak departed North Andover.
   Because of Mike Liut, an ex-Washington backup goalie making around a
half-million dollars, Hrivnak did more time in the minors than he liked.
   "It was depressing," says Hrivnak.  "I would go to Baltimore and then
to Washington.  And then back to Baltimore.  I had winning records every
time I was up (with the Capitals) but they kept the guy that was making
the big coin.  There was no challenge in the minors."
   That was not a problem last night.
   After two losses in a row, the Bruins were hungry.
   Two of the game's top play-makers in the NHL, Adam Oates and Joe Juneau,
were in on three of the four goals that got past Hrivnak.
   Two goals were tipped by his own players.  Overall, he made 24 saves.
Three were of the heroic type, including one with his glove on Oates while
he was down.
   "It was a lot of fun playing here," says Hrivnak.  "I'd like to get that
third goal back by (Dave) Reid.  It handcuffed me.  That will never happen
again...Hey, I'm 1-1 lifetime against the Bruins.  I'll be back."
   Surprise.  Hrivnak boarded the plane for Ottawa last night with his
confidence intact.
   "I realize how lucky I am when talk to some of my friends from
Merrimack," says Hrivnak.  "Chris Kiene tells me he gets up at 8 in the
morning and works to 9 at night.  And Jim Alcott, he works a couple of jobs.
   "I'll take this job any day."
   Hrivnak will be a free agent in May.
   "I would like to stay with Washington," says Hrivnak.  "We have a shot at
winning the Stanley Cup.  I really believe it.  I also love the Maryland
area.  The ocean is close...Washington is a fun city and it is beautiful."
   Millions of people have said the same thing about Boston.
   "Are they looking for a goalie?" says Hrivnak with a smile.
END
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Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)    *HMN*