Bob Nardella, the head coach of the Chicago Wolves, received a 10-game suspension from the American Hockey League on Tuesday for directing homophobic language toward game officials.
Nardella was assessed a bench minor and a game misconduct for abuse of officials on Saturday night when he protested a double-minor given to one of his players.
“The American Hockey League is committed to building a culture that is safe, inclusive and free from abuse, harassment and all forms of unethical behavior or misconduct,” the league said in a statement.
It was unclear who would coach the Wolves in the interim. Nardella is allowed to be with the team when it practices on non-game days.
Nardella, 55, is in his first season as the unaffiliated team’s head coach after six seasons as an assistant coach. He’s also a former Wolves’ player, ranking second all-time in regular season games played with 476.
The league also suspended Wolves forward Dominic Franco for one game automatically as a result of Franco receiving an “abuse of officials” game misconduct for the second time this season.
–Field Level Media
