After graduating, he played a year of professional hockey with the Toledo Blades and then spent almost a decape playing senior hockey in the USHL. He played for the US national team at the 1969 Ice Hockey World Championships that lost all 10 games and saw the club demoted to Group B. Five years later, Lackey made a second appearance for the national team, helping the team go undefeated in Group B and return to the top bracket.