Michael Rosenberg’s column today ‘An inside look at ugly incident on and off the ice’, (again, can’t the Freep come up with better column titles?) takes a deeper look at Saturday’s assault.   He starts by putting you in Bruce Kampfer’s shoes: Everybody knew about Steve’s injury. Is that why the Spartans went after him? How much more unprovoked violence could you take against your son? Bruce Kampfer apparently decided he’d had enough. He got out of his seat and made his way to the visitors’ locker room. MSU coach Rick Comley said Tuesday that Kampfer “attacked” Corey Tropp. What if it were your kid? That’s a good question, for fathers out there, perhaps one that you’ve already asked yourself.  Rosenberg’s considers this question for not only the Kampfer family, but also the Tropp’s.   More on that in bit. Rosenberg then takes a look at Corey Tropp by talking to a former coach who confirms he’s a normal kid, and consults his bio where Tropp points to his dad as his main hockey influence.   It kind of sounds like those quotes from neighbors of the convicted serial killer, and no, I’m not likening Tropp to Ted Bundy. Further down Rosenberg asks a question about the coverage of the incident: As wrong as Tropp was — as seriously, unequivocally wrong as…

Chris Summers, roommate of Steve Kampfer and acting Michigan hockey captain, joined the Big Show with Ben Holden on WTKA yesterday to discuss Saturday’s assault, his impressions from the bench, his chat with Peaches, jr., and his feelings on the penalties handed down. Per Summers, there’ll be no retaliation/vengence on the ice this year (if the teams meet in CCHA playoffs) or ever. You can get the full audio here. Here’s the part about the MSU incident: [display_podcast] Notes: Kampfer doing well, should be ready this weekend. (Summers is pre-med). He was on the bench when it happened. Said “everyone was in shock. Couldn’t believe that happened.” “They deserve what is coming to them.” Hoping to get some of the Red Berenson audio up from last night’s coaches show soon.

Via MVictors reader BiggieMunn, Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp, the guys who attacked Steve Kampfer late in Saturday’s night game at Yost, have been excused from the MSU team with a chance to return next season.  Conboy, a freshman, decided to hang up the Green skates for good [via the State News]: After being suspended for the duration of the MSU hockey season, freshman forward Andrew Conboy has withdrawn from MSU. MSU head coach Rick Comley said he wasn’t surprised with Conboy’s decision to leave the university after Comley kicked both he and MSU sophomore Corey Tropp off the team Monday night. Comley said he doesn’t know if Tropp will follow Conboy’s path or if he will continue his studies at the university. Tropp’s future with the team is up in the air, but Comley said he “would be willing to sit down with (Tropp) in the spring and discuss his status further.”

Now that the suspensions have been set down by Michigan and the CCHA, much of the talk amongst fans is whether Steve Kampfer should sue Tropp, Comley and/or Michigan State for Saturday’s incident. Many of the comments on this site have suggested this, and former Ann Arbor News columnist Jim Carty (who’s in law school now and couldn’t wait to test his chops) discussed the possibility on WTKA 1050AM Monday morning.  An excerpt of his call [full podcast here]: [display_podcast] . Basically Carty explains that there’s certain risk that you assume when you engage in any activity, in this case, college hockey.  The question becomes whether the incident occurs outsides the bounds of the normal risk that is assumed to be part of the game.  And then, to sue, Carty offers that you usually tie the suit to some form of damages, like if Kampfer lost an eye or experienced damage to the head, for instance. For more on this, I contacted former WTKA morning host Dave Shand who’s still in the throes of his lawsuit against Bill Martin.   The former NHL and Michigan player, and assistant under Red Berenson offered his perspective of this. “There are probably going to be criminal charges filed and Steve is going to have a heck of a civil suit against Tropp, Comley and…

Sorry for the delay on getting out an update on Dave Shand’s suit against Michigan athletic director Bill Martin. The former Michigan hockey player, assistant coach and NHL’er claims that Bill Martin directed local sports radio station WTKA to fire Shand from his post as morning show host. Shand’s attorney, Nick Roumel of Nick Roumel & Associates, advised that Martin was deposed on January 21st and “denied everything”.  The athletic director’s attorneys have filed their third motion to dismiss the case. Looking for Deep Throat One other interesting side note. It turns out Roumel is on the look out for someone who might have information related to the case. Apparently an anonymous caller contacted Shand on September 14, 2007.  They spoke for quite a while and this person claimed to have some very specific information about this case (I don’t have any detail on what was said).    This person was going to deliver some documentation supporting whatever information he had, but this never happened. Roumel is looking for this person to come forward and contact him at nick [at] nickroumel [dot] com or call 734.645.7507. Related: * Jim Carty’s take on the Shand Case

Via Maize ‘N Brew: The Associated Press reports Michigan State head coach Rick Comley has suspended Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp for the remainder of the season following their attack on Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer near the end of Saturday’s game. “What happened near the end of the game this weekend is not the way in which we want our hockey program represented,” Comley said in a news release. “We cannot condone their actions. We felt that we had to send a strong message that this behavior will not be tolerated.” MSU athletic director Mark Hollis said he and Comley agreed that their actions were “were spontaneous, emotional actions carried out during a highly competitive game” but added “their actions were completely inappropriate and reflect poorly on our program.” Also, from the Michigan Daily, Coach Berenson confirmed that the guy who went into the State lockerroom looking for a piece of Tropp was Steve Kampfer’s dad: After Tropp was ejected from the game, a 48-year old man from Jackson, Mich. confronted him inside the visitor’s locker room. The two were separated before any punches were thrown. Berenson confirmed the man who confronted Tropp was Kampfer’s father, Bruce. “Yeah, he called me and apologized,” Berenson said.