GRAND MARAIS, Minn. — A former professional hockey player and forward for the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic team has been charged with felony assault for allegedly beating his neighbor with a metal pole, breaking several bones.
Sixty-one-year-old Mark Pavelich faces multiple counts. According to a criminal complaint, the assault happened last week in Pavelich’s home in northern Minnesota after he and his neighbor returned from fishing.
The complaint says Pavelich told authorities he believed the man “spiked” his beer, prompting the alleged assault. KMSP-TV reports the victim had a bruised kidney and several broken bones including two cracked ribs and a fractured vertebrae.