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The University of Vermont men’s hockey team has been rocked with yet another hazing scandal.
According to Jack Korte of NBC5 in Burlington, captains Mario Puskarich and Brendan Bradley were both suspended five games as a result of the hazing incident. Also suspended five games were alternate captains Chris Muscoby and Anthony Petruzzelli. A third alternate captain, Travis Blanleil, was not suspended because he was not present at the party.
At a 3:30 p.m. press conference, University of Vermont Athletic Director Jeff Schulman described the incident as freshman hockey players being forced to drink alcohol and eat bread soaked in tequila while just in their boxer shorts.
The announcement of the sanctions comes just two days after it was learned that UVM coach Kevin Sneddon had cut two returning players, defensemen Jake Kearly and Mitch Ferguson.
This is reminiscent of another scandal involving the UVM hockey program in 1999 that resulted in the cancellation of the remainder of the 1999-2000 season, and eventually forced Mike Gilligan out as the program’s head coach.