MADISON -- Bucky Badger took a tap on the shins from a North Dakota hockey player on Saturday -- and now the University of Wisconsin mascot will receive an apology.
WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said Sioux defenseman Joe Finley was captured on videotape slashing Bucky Badger -- played by UW student David Blanchard -- before Saturday's game, which North Dakota won 3-1.
Finley must write a letter of apology to Blanchard, McLeod said.
The commissioner made no ruling on a separate incident in which Blanchard and Sioux goaltender Jean-Phillippe Lamoureux bumped into each other prior to the third period.
The players for Wisconsin and North Dakota also tangled on the ice Saturday, with 10 players engaging in a 75-second brawl that yielded 122 penalty minutes.
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McLeod said that after reviewing videotape of the incident, there would be no further penalties assessed.
However, McLeod said Badgers coach Mike Eaves and his Sioux counterpart, Dave Hakstol, will talk this week. They were involved in a verbal confrontation following the game.
That incident seemed to bother McLeod. "Under any circumstances, I don't think it's a good thing," he said.
