A former star player on the University of Minnesota’s back-to-back NCAA national championship men’s hockey teams has struck a plea deal in connection with his fourth drunken-driving offense in Minnesota in recent years.
Troy Riddle, 43, of Excelsior, agreed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court to first-degree drunken driving, a felony, in connection with his arrest in Maple Grove on Dec. 13, 2024.
The plea agreement between the defense and the prosecution calls for Riddle to be spared a three-year prison sentence and instead go through what is informally known as DUI court, a treatment program for repeat offenders designed to steer them toward sobriety. Sentencing is scheduled for July 18.
Riddle was charged with felony drunken driving because he had at least three convictions for the same offense within the past 10 years.
In his four years as a forward with the Gophers, Riddle scored 82 goals and played a key role during the regular season and the playoffs in helping Minnesota win NCAA championships in 2002 and 2003.
Following the end of his professional playing career in the minor leagues in the U.S. and Europe, Riddle coached the sport at his alma mater, as an assistant for Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in St. Louis Park and in Milwaukee as head coach for Marquette University’s club team.
According to the latest charge:
Shortly before 6:30 p.m., police were alerted by a 911 caller who reported seeing a man, later confirmed to be Riddle, who could barely walk at a gas station near Grove Drive and Elm Creek Boulevard, then seeing the man drive away.
