Friday Quick Hits: The Latest on Zack Novak, Steve Kampfer
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1 Comment- This weekend’s hockey schedule:
Friday – at #1 Notre Dame, 8:05 p.m. ET, CBS College Sports
Saturday – vs. #1 Notre Dame, 7:35 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit - Michigan heads to West Lafayette on Saturday to play Purdue in basketball. The game will be on CBS and start at 1 p.m. ET.
- Whether or not Zack Novak will be with Michigan tomorrow is uncertain. The Big Ten contacted Michigan about the incident on Thursday, and it is already being looked into by U-M. My guess is that Novak will miss the game and return next week against Penn State. I believe John Beilein would have punished Novak anyways, but with the Big Ten contacting U-M I think they will make a move rather than let the conference do something.
- A preliminary hearing for Mike Milano about his alleged assault of Steve Kampfer was held on Thursday morning. The Michigan Daily has the details of what was discussed during the hearing.
- Bruce Kampfer, the father of Steve Kampfer, has been banned from all University of Michigan buildings except the hospital (should he have a need to go there). Kampfer got into the Michigan State locker room last Saturday and confronted Corey Tropp, who slashed Steve in the head/neck area twice when he was already knocked to the ground. Bruce was given a trespass order and can try to get the ban lifted by going through an appeals process.
- Tropp was interviewed yesterday by the Argus Leader and talked about the incident with Steve Kampfer on the ice and the incident with Bruce Kampfer in the locker room. I’m not going to bother talking about what he said since this story has been beat to death already, but I will mention that Tropp wants to return to MSU once his suspension is over. That is something to keep an eye on down the road.
- The University of Michigan sent out an e-mail to students on Thursday warning about using profane language or gestures at hockey games. The e-mail is in response to the “F*** You State” chant that erupted after the hit on Kampfer during Saturday’s game. That chant basically eliminated any patience U-M had left in regards to profanity, as they have been trying to stop people from using inappropriate language for years. Plus, the chant was very, very loud and could be heard clearly on FSN Detroit, which I’m sure angered U-M.
People in my section have already been ejected this past season for saying the last word in the c-ya chant (c***sucker), and another person was ejected for dropping the f-bomb over and over again during the first MSU game at Yost back in December. This past Saturday, the entire row in front of me was actually kicked out for chanting “F*** You State.” I and just about everyone in the student section was chanting the same thing, which is why it made no sense that only one row was ejected. I understand the event staff’s need to make an example out of people to send the message that you can’t use inappropriate language, but it simply doesn’t make sense to randomly eject people like that when thousands and thousands of other people are doing the same thing.
My opinion on the situation is that random f-word chants are unnecessary. For example, at the Ohio State basketball game a couple weeks ago some people in the Maize Rage started chanting “F*** Ohio.” I didn’t understand why it was necessary and didn’t participate in the chant. John Beilein actually sent an e-mail this week to the student section about not using inappropriate language, and I imagine it won’t be a problem in the future since it wasn’t a problem before that game.
On Saturday against MSU, though, I fully participated in the FYS chant since that was not random by any means. There was lots of anger in that arena, especially since Kampfer was on the receiving end of the sucker punch and slashes. Much worse things than chanting FYS could have happened, and the students were simply releasing their anger. There is a time and place for using language like that, and Saturday night after that hit was pretty much one of the few situations where it was alright. And yes, I get that children were at the game or watching on TV, but it’s not like this chant went on for a few minutes. It lasted around 20 seconds. Students then decided to start chanting “Sore Losers” and “Steve Kampfer.”
- The University of Alabama-Huntsville is going to apply to join the CCHA.
- Chris Summers was interviewed by the Big Ten Network.
- Michigan starts spring practice for football on March 14.
Sean,
Conboy has officially left MSU’s team for one of those hockey leagues beneath the NHL. As of now, Tropp is supposedly considering his options, but I would expect he will be gone as well if I had to make a prediction. (I beleive Tropp has already been drafted, so I would predict he would choose that route. If I were the team that drafted him, I would revoke any offer made.)
Just an FYI. Conboy leaving is a done deal, Tropp’s future is up in the air. If it were up to me, I would kick Tropp off the team. Both players are an embarrassment to MSU, and I am glad that your player was not seriously injured.