A star player on the University of Minnesota’s back-to-back NCAA national championship men’s hockey teams has been charged with his fourth drunken-driving offense in Minnesota in recent years.
Troy Riddle, 43, was arrested Feb. 6 on a warrant in the Milwaukee area where he lives, then booked into the Hennepin County jail Saturday night and released on a $50,000 bond several hours later ahead of a court appearance Tuesday.
Riddle was charged with felony drunken driving based on him having at least three convictions for the same offense within the past 10 years. His attorney declined to comment about the allegations.
At the time of the crash, according to a state Department of Public Safety spokesman, Riddle was under court order to only drive a vehicle with an ignition interlock device. The mechanism requires a motorist to give a breath sample to ensure sobriety before hitting the road.
In his four years as a forward with the Gophers, Riddle scored 82 goals and played a key role during the regular season and the playoffs in helping Minnesota win NCAA championships in 2002 and 2003.
Following the end of his professional playing career in the minor leagues in the U.S. and in Europe, Riddle coached the sport at his alma mater, as an assistant for Benilde-St. Margaret High School in St. Louis Park and in Milwaukee as head coach for Marquette University’s club team.
According to the latest charge:
Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 13, Maple Grove police were alerted by a 911 caller who reported seeing a man, later confirmed to be Riddle, who could barely walk at a gas station near Grove Drive and Elm Creek Boulevard, then seeing the man drive away.