Bad news, like sorority girls, tends to arrive in bunches. Such was the case last week as Wisconsin men's hockey Head Coach Mike Eaves had to deal with the double migraine of losing star defender Ryan Suter to the NHL and returning leading scorer, junior forward Ryan MacMurchy, to suspension.
Now, I am not a hockey expert, and I don't profess to be one. (Why? You might be asking. Well, to be quite honest, there's just no future in hockey journalism. Unless I spoke Swedish, in which case I could probably get a great job covering the Swedish Elite League for the Svenska Dagbladet.)
You see, the NHL's owners have been hemorrhaging money faster than a Ben Affleck/J. Lo vehicle, and in an effort to curb their deficits, the owners asked the players to accept pay cuts and a salary cap. This is like asking Britney Spears to stop sleeping with back-up dancers or asking Ralph Nader to not run for president. You just can't because it's never going to happen. As a result, there may be no NHL season this year.
With the players locked out, Suter will instead suit up with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, which to my knowledge stands for the Absolutely nobody cares Hockey League. I'm not going to say the AHL is a step down from the Badgers, because technically it is a \pro"" league, but what I will say is the crowd at the Olympic speed walking finals was probably bigger than the one that will be at Suter's first game with the Admirals.
In any case, the damage is done. Suter has his million-dollar contract and his departure will seriously test the mettle of his remaining teammates, a highly touted group of recruits, and the coaches.
Their task will not be made easier by MacMurchy's off-ice antics over Labor Day weekend. He was recently suspended for one game after he was arrested for taking part in some unsanctioned fisticuffs at the Kollege Klub. (I would never condone that kind of unruly behavior, but when one takes a closer look at the circumstances, maybe the punishment is a little too stiff. I mean, the guy he fought with was a 30-year-old guy at a college bar, and who wouldn't want to clout that dope?)
With Suter gone, there's no doubt that some of the excitement has been taken away from the Badger hockey season. But even if the whole first line were to get injured in a freak gasoline fight accident while fueling their mopeds, you can be sure the Kohl Center will still be ten times more exciting than the Admirals' season opener. I'd bet MacMurchy's next bail payment on it.
Joe is a sophomore planning to major in journalism. He can be reached for comment at jphasler@wisc.edu.
