From: Fosters.comby Al Pike
(left) There's two sides to every story, so while North Dakota star T.J. Oshie cops a one game suspension from "Easygoing" Dave Hakstol, UNH Coach Dick Umile came down hard on Mike Radja and gave him "at least" a two game suspension.
DURHAM — After leading the University of New Hampshire hockey team to a 7-4 win last Saturday night at North Dakota with a career-high five points, senior forward Mike Radja was arrested and fined for disorderly conduct and suspended indefinitely by coach Dick Umile.
Although Umile indicated he wasn't privy to many details, he did say Wednesday afternoon that the incident took place in an elevator and involved at least one North Dakota player. Radja, who was unavailable for comment, will miss both games this weekend and perhaps more.
"Supposedly they were in an elevator," said Umile, who noted that athletic director Marty Scarano was made aware of the incident along with the coach's decision to suspend Radja immediately. "I don't know all the particulars about it other than the police were there. ... It was one of their guys and one of ours. That's all I needed to hear. It was enough to do what I did."
The Wildcats play at Merrimack on Friday night and host St. Lawrence on Sunday afternoon in a non-league contest at the Whittemore Center. Radja, an alternate captain who informed Umile the following day of his arrest, leads the team in goals with 10 and ranks second in points with 17, nine coming in two games. He had four points — including a hat trick — in a 5-2 victory over Brown on Nov. 24.
"We'll see how this plays out," said Umile, who noted that Radja's parents attended the two-game series in Grand Forks, N.D. "My immediate reaction was to suspend him. That means everything this week. ... He could come back the following weekend. I told him I was very disappointed. I'm sure his family is. He's going to miss two important games for us."
Radja's absence leaves No. 7 UNH shorthanded up front. The Wildcats are already missing freshman James vanRiemsdyk, who is currently playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic. vanRiemsdyk, who leads the tournament in scoring, has six goals and 15 points in 13 games for the Wildcats and is expected to miss both games this weekend for an overall total of five.
"We're missing two real offensive guys in vanRiemsdyk and Radja," said sophomore forward Peter LeBlanc. "I think it's an opportunity for everyone else on the team to step up. We've got a real deep team. There's a lot of guys that can put the puck in the net and create offense so I don't think we'll have a problem in that department."
Radja's suspension comes at an inopportune time for UNH, which will be without two of its top three scorers as it resumes Hockey East play Friday night at Merrimack. The Wildcats have a home-and-home series the following weekend against No. 5 Massachusetts. Despite the suspension, Radja has been practicing with the team this week.
"We'll just have to work a little harder," said sophomore forward Bobby Butler. "Someone's just got to pick it up. Hopefully we'll do it as a team."
4 comments:
Maybe the "Fighting Sioux" should start representing North Dakota State Prison.
I believe that one of Hak's selling points is "Free Legal Representation" while playing on the team.
lmao
nice picture!
and Coach mentions that he's suspended for AT LEAST two games.
In case anyone was unaware of the definition of the offense
"Almost every state in the United States has a disorderly conduct law that makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of obnoxious or unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such statutes are often used as "catch-all" crimes. Police may use a disorderly conduct charge to keep the peace when people are behaving in a disruptive manner to themselves or others, but present no serious public danger. Disorderly conduct is typically classified as a misdemeanor."
There is also a Jan. 16th court date and I'm not sure how that will affect Mike's ability to play once the suspension is up. Seems like it will fall between the Mass series and the Riverstone Cup game (Dartmouth) - so probably not.
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