Bob Suter was part of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.
Former UW defenseman and Miracle on Ice star Bob Suter died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack. He was 57.
“We are all stunned,” UW women’s hockey coach Mark Johnson, who played with Suter on UW’s 1977 NCAA championship team and on the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, said in a statement released by UW. “Everybody is shocked.
Wisconsin men’s coach Mike Eaves also teamed with Suter and Johnson to lead the Badgers to the ’77 NCAA title in Detroit.
“This is a heartbreaking day,” Eaves said in the release. “Bob was the ultimate teammate. He could skate like the wind and was as hard of a competitor that I ever knew.
Suter suffered the heart attack at Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton, using the facility for his work with the Madison Capitols youth program.
Suter went to Madison East High School. He is the father of Ryan Suter, who played at UW in 2003-04 and last season completed his ninth season in the National Hockey League.
“I was extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Bob Suter,” UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said in the UW release. “The Suter name is synonymous with Badger hockey.