As first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, former Wisconsin star and “Miracle On Ice” Olympian Bob Suter died Tuesday, of an apparent heart attack.
Suter was 57.
“We are all stunned,” said Suter’s teammate at Wisconsin and on the Olympics and current Wisconsin women’s coach Mark Johnson in a statement. “Everyone is shocked. It’s a sad day for not only the community of Madison, but the hockey community who knew Bob and all of the players who he touched and who he gave an opportunity to play hockey and climb up the ladder. Whether it’s high school, onto college or onto the professional ranks, he touched a lot of kids and gave them an opportunity. I think he was in a great place with the new USHL team coming in and they were just getting up and starting to practice and getting ready for some exhibition games.
“It is unfortunate that this happened at such a young age and there are a lot of people who are going to miss him.”
Suter played for the Badgers from 1975 to 1979, winning a national title in 1977, and later won gold for the United States at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
“This is a heartbreaking day,” added Wisconsin coach and former teammate Mike Eaves. “Bob was the ultimate teammate. He could skate like the wind and was as hard of a competitor that I ever knew. He has passed much too young.”
A Madison, Wis., native, Suter helped youth players through the Madison Capitols program at the Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton, which is where he was when the heart attack occurred Tuesday.
Ryan Suter, Bob’s son, currently plays for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and like his father and uncle, Gary, also played at Wisconsin.
