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Sports
The Associated Press and Matt Sepic
Anoka, Minn.

Death of 'Miracle on Ice' standout Pavelich ruled suicide

Jack O'Callahan and Mark Pavelich
Jack O'Callahan, left, and Mark Pavelich of the 1980 U.S. ice hockey team talk during a "Relive the Miracle" reunion at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. Pavelich has died at a treatment center for mental illness.
Mike Groll | AP Photo file

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Last month's death of "Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey standout Mark Pavelich was ruled a suicide, a Minnesota medical examiner said Monday.

Pavelich died March 4 at a residential treatment facility in Sauk Centre. He was 63 years old.

A judge in northern Minnesota ordered him civilly committed for mental health care after prosecutors charged him in August 2019 with assaulting a friend. Pavelich allegedly thought the man had spiked his beer.

New York Rangers hockey player Mark Pavelich.
Image cropped from a circa 1986 postcard of New York Rangers hockey player Mark Pavelich.
New York Rangers | Public Domain

Pavelich, the speedy center from the Minnesota Iron Range, assisted on Mike Eruzione’s winning goal against the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics. That U.S. team went on to win the gold medal. Pavelich sold his gold medal for more than $250,000 in 2014, two years after wife Kara died in an accidental fall.

Pavelich starred at Eveleth High School and was an All-America selection at the University of Minnesota Duluth before earning a spot on the Olympic team.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound forward spent five seasons with the New York Rangers and played briefly for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks, finishing with 137 goals and 192 assists in 355 NHL regular-season games. He had a five-goal game for the Rangers on Feb. 23, 1983, in an 11-3 victory over Hartford.

“As a kid growing up in Hibbing I used to go to the arena and hang out with gear in hand waiting to see if I could skate with the teams that rented the ice,” former Minnesota and NHL player Pat Micheletti tweeted after Pavelich died. “Mark Pavelich always let me join with the Eveleth guys. He taught me so much about the game.”

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Espanol: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting 741741