Blaine Irwin Lacher (September 5, 1970 – January 29, 2024) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. Lacher played for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) in the mid-1990s.

Biography

Lacher was a standout goaltender at

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States. It enrolls approximately 1,600 students. Due to its proximity to the Canada–United States border, ...

in college, leading his team to a national championship in 1994. In his final season at Lake Superior State, Lacher led the nation in both

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

(SV%) and

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

(GAA) at .918 and 1.98, respectively. He set an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

shutout record of 375:01, which still stood as of 2024. Lacher gave up his final year of eligibility to sign as a free agent with the Boston Bruins. Lacher started his professional career with the

very well, losing only one of his starts down the stretch to get the team into the

1995 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League was played between May 6 and June 24, 1995. The 1994–95 NHL regular season was shortened to 48 games, and the playoffs pushed to a later date, due to a loc ...

, where they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

. During the 1994–95 season Lacher made 35 appearances with a 19–11–2 record, 2.41 goals against average (GAA), a .902 save percentage (SV%), and four shutouts. After being promoted to the full-time starting goaltender the next season, Lacher's earlier performances did not keep up and his statistics suffered. He was part of a rotation of goaltenders in the 1995–96 season, which ended with Craig Billington signing onto the Bruins and when the Bruins traded for one-time Bruins prospect Bill Ranford from the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. Lacher played for several teams during the 1995–96 season, playing for the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL), and the Bruins' minor-league affiliate, the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

, of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL). Even in Providence, Lacher's record was hardly up to his numbers from the previous season. With Boston, Lacher's record was 3–5–2 with a poor 3.93 GAA and .845 SV%. Lacher retired from professional ice hockey after the 1996–97 IHL season with the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

. In 11 games with the Griffins, Lacher was 1–8–1 with a 3.76 GAA and a .877 SV%. On January 29, 2024, Lacher died in Medicine Hat, Alberta, at the age of 53.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacher, Blaine 1970 births 2024 deaths Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Cleveland Lumberjacks players Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) players Ice hockey people from Medicine Hat Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey players Melville Millionaires players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions Providence Bruins players Undrafted National Hockey League players