Rink and Run blog: UMD 2010-11 roster without Stafne

The Minnesota Duluth athletic website has posted a men’s roster for 2010-11 that appears below. There are 27 players including freshmen forwards Joe Basaraba, Max Tardy and JT Brown, and defensemen Justin Faulk and Luke McManus; and walk-on goalie Christian Gaffy, who joins red-shirt freshman goalie Aaron Crandall. Senior defenseman Trent Palm has been awarded a medical red-shirt season and is returning.

Not on the roster is recruited Duluth forward Chris Stafne. Coach Scott Sandelin said Wednesday that Stafne would not be part of the team and came to a resolution with the former Denfeld High School player last week.

Stafne, 20, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct July 22 in St. Louis County District Court after being charged with domestic assault for an incident in a St. Scholastica dorm room.

“We took our time in making what we think is a fair decision concerning Chris,” said Sandelin. “It was based on a lot of things and not just one incident, but we thought it was best for him to have a fresh start in his college hockey outside of Duluth. We will do anything on our end to help him do that.”

Stafne played two years in the U.S. Hockey League, including with Des Moines (Iowa) in 2009-10, and has used up his junior eligibility. He had 31 points in 60 games last season.

The Bulldogs began off-ice conditioning Wednesday. The season opens Oct. 9 at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

The link to the roster is here.

Tags: daily updates, umd hockey, scott sandelin, chris stafne, sports