CONBOY SIGNS WITH CANADIENS AFTER MICHIGAN STATE SUSPENSION


Forward Andrew Conboy, suspended by Michigan State University this season for an attack on a Michigan player, has signed a three-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

Conboy opted to turn pro with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL, Montreal's top farm team, after he was suspended. The six-foot-four 200-pound left-winger has one assist and four penalty minutes in seven AHL games.

The 20-year-old Conboy and teammate Corey Tropp, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, were suspended for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs by the Spartans on Jan. 26 after an incident with less than one minute to play in a 5-3 Michigan win.

After Michigan's Steve Kampfer knocked Tropp down with an open ice hit, he was punched to the ice from behind by Conboy and Tropp then swung his stick at the Anaheim prospect's neck or head. Kampfer was taken to hospital with a sprained neck, but there was no concussion.

Conboy, a Burnsville, Minn., native who was considered the Spartans enforcer, was selected 142nd overall by Montreal in the 2007 draft. He had three goals, two assists and 76 penalty minutes in 21 games as a freshman at MSU