(AP Photo) Michigan State forward Andrew Conboy is restrained by a referee after Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer, on ice, was injured during the third period of Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor.
MSU hockey players Corey Tropp, Andrew Conboy suspended for season; Steve Kampfer’s father apologizes for confronting MSU player
Posted by Kevin Ryan
The Ann Arbor News
January 26, 2009 17:40PM
Michigan State University suspended hockey players Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp for the rest of the season Monday evening after their attack of Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer during the teams’ game at Yost Ice Arena on Saturday night.
Earlier Monday, Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson identified Bruce Kampfer, father of Wolverines junior defenseman Steve Kampfer, as the person who physically confronted Tropp in the Spartans’ locker room just before the game ended.
In the wake of that spectator-player incident, Michigan formed a task force and is changing its security policy at the visitors’ locker room at Yost.
With 53 seconds remaining in Michigan’s 5-3 victory Saturday, Kampfer, a junior, was clothes-lined and punched from behind by Conboy along the boards. As Kampfer lay motionless on the ice, Tropp whacked at Kampfer’s neck area with his stick. Moments earlier, Kampfer had knocked Tropp off his feet with what appeared to be a clean open-ice hit.
“What happened near the end of the game this weekend is not the way in which we want our hockey program represented,” Michigan State coach Rick Comley stated in a prepared release by MSU. “We cannot condone their actions. We felt that we had to send a strong message that this behavior will not be tolerated.”
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association, of which Michigan State and Michigan are members, had been investigating the incident and supported the university’s decision. The players will sit out the Spartans’ final 10 regular-season games, plus the playoffs.
“We feel that the measures taken by Michigan State are appropriate and consistent with the parameters of the sanctions that were being contemplated by the league,” CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos stated in a prepared release Monday night.
Tropp was ejected from the game after being assessed a five-minute major penalty for slashing, two 10-minute misconducts and a double game-disqualification. Conboy was given a double minor roughing penalty.
About a half hour after the game, Kampfer, who on Oct. 12 sustained a fractured skull during an off-ice assault, was placed on a gurney with a brace around his neck and transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. He was released Sunday morning and said Monday that he had a sprained neck and did not sustain a concussion. He did not practice with the team Monday. He had returned to action with the team on Dec. 27.
Kampfer, of Jackson, said he was scheduled to undergo a few more medical evaluations before returning to the ice. He anticipated skating again on Tuesday or Wednesday and playing this weekend against top-ranked Notre Dame.
Berenson, talking after practice Monday afternoon at Yost, said Bruce Kampfer called him over the weekend and apologized for his actions, which occurred before the game ended at Yost Ice Arena. According to Diane Brown, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, a 48-year-old man from Jackson was detained and escorted from the arena after confronting a player in the visitors’ locker room.
Bruce Madej, Michigan’s associate athletic director for media relations, gave members of the media a walk-through at Yost and explained how Bruce Kampfer gained access to the Spartans’ locker room during the final minute of play.
Here’s Madej’s explanation:
• A person serving as a event staff worker was standing just outside a holding area blocked off to fans by a large curtain. That area, created to make more space and provide a cushion between players and fans, is located directly in front of the visitors’ locker room door.
• When the first player – Tropp, a sophomore forward, who was ejected after slashing Steve Kampfer in the neck – came off the ice, the event staff worker’s job was to leave his assigned area at the curtain and greet the player as he stepped off the ice and escort him to the locker room door behind the curtain.
• When a second player came off the ice – freshman Conboy, after being assessed a 2-minute roughing penalty; there were 53 seconds left in the game, meaning there was no need for him to sit in the penalty box – the event staff worker again left his spot at the entrance to escort him to the locker room.
• A moment after the worker left his spot to aid Conboy, Bruce Kampfer walked through the curtain unchecked, walked into the locker room and went after Tropp before DPS officers were called in for assistance.
Bruce Kampfer did not return phone calls left at his home.
Said Berenson: “I can’t coach the parents. I called coach Comley and I apologized for the security around the bench and around the locker room. … We’ve had no incidents up until now in the back locker room. That’s why we put the locker room there, so there’d be no crossover of players and fans, and no skirmishes at the end of games or between periods. So it’s been fine. But obviously we need … they’re dealing with it.”
According to a prepared statement by Mike Stevenson, executive athletic director at Michigan, new security procedures will be in place at the visitors’ locker room for future games. He said a credential will be required for anyone entering the locker room, and there will be an increase in presence by DPS.
On Monday evening, Brown said DPS was still investigating the incident. She said its findings could be forwarded to the county prosecutor’s office once the university’s investigation is complete.