Connor Reilly, the Gophers men's hockey team's top goal-scorer, is out indefinitely because of a lower-body injury.
The redshirt sophomore forward was kneed by Wisconsin's Corbin McGuire early in the second period of Saturday night's series finale, a 4-4 tie that ended with a Badgers' shootout victory in Madison, Wis.
"I feel bad for Connor," Gophers coach Don Lucia told the Star Tribune. "He's had to go through more than any athlete should with injuries."
Replays showed McGuire dipping into Reilly's right knee for the what appears to be knee-on-knee contact. Reilly struggled to get up and left the ice with a limp.
The Big Ten suspended McGuire, a freshman forward, for one game under the conference's supplemental discipline process on Monday morning. McGuire received a five-minute major kneeing penalty, but remained in the game and eventually scored the shootout-winning goal in the seventh round.
The Gophers reportedly contacted the conference immediately after the game seeking a review of the incident. Lucia said on Saturday night that he expected Reilly to be out for a while, and Monday's news confirms his worst fears.
"Those are career injuries," an angry Lucia said Saturday. "You stick out a knee and go knee-on-knee with guys. You talk about wanting to clean up our game and that's just a bad, bad play."
Reilly leads the team with 11 goals after overcoming a pair of major knee injuries that kept him sidelined for 19 months in 2012-2013.
