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Michael Thomas Richter (born September 22, 1966) is an American retired professional ice hockey goaltender. He played parts of 14 years in the National Hockey League (NHL) all with the New York Rangers. He also played for the United States in international play and won a silver medal with them at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame along with his former teammate Brian Leetch in 2008.[1]
| Mike Richter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Richter lifting the Stanley Cup | |||
| Born |
September 22, 1966 Abington, PA, USA | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for | New York Rangers | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL Draft |
28th overall, 1985 New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 1989–2003 | ||
Before playing in the NHL, Richter played college hockey with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers from 1985 until 1987. He also played 2 years in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Colorado Rangers/Denver Rangers organization.
He was drafted 28th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. On April 9, 1989, Richter made his NHL debut in Game 4 of the Division Semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[2]
The Rangers lost the game and were eliminated from the playoffs but Richter was chosen to be a regular member of the team. The next two seasons, he shared goaltending duties with John Vanbiesbrouck. When the Rangers traded Vanbiesbrouck to the Vancouver Canucks before the 1993–94 season, Richter became the Rangers starting goaltender. During his first year as the Rangers starter, he was able to record 42 wins and a 2.57 goals against average, as the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy. Richter was also named the Most Valuable Player of the NHL All-Star Game that year.
Richter helped the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks. During Game 4, Richter made a career highlight when he was able to stop a penalty shot by Pavel Bure.[3] The Rangers were able to defeat the Canucks in Game 7 and win the Stanley Cup, their first since 1940.[4] He helped the United States win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and was named as the Most Valuable Player.[5]
Richter was able to record 300 regular season wins before he was forced to retire from playing professional ice hockey on September 3, 2003 because of a skull fracture and concussion.[6] On February 4, 2004, the Rangers retired Richter's jersey #35.[7]
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