Report: Andrew Ference Facing NHL Disciplinary Hearing in Regards to Hit on Jeff Halpern in Game 7

by Mike Cole on Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 12:49AM

Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference may not be with the Bruins on Saturday afternoon when they open up their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup in Philadelphia against the Flyers.

According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, Ference will have a phone hearing with the NHL on Thursday at 11 a.m. to discuss his hit on Montreal's Jeff Halpern. The hit in question took place in the third period of the Bruins' 4-3 win over the Canadiens in Game 7 of their first-round series.

Halpern fell to the ice and eventually had to be helped off after apparently colliding with Ference's shoulder. The hearing will likely center around whether or not Ference leaned into Halpern to deliver the blow.

As McKenzie pointed out in a later tweet, it will be interesting to see what the league does for a guy like Ference, who was critical of teammate Daniel Paille after Paille received a four-game suspension February for his hit on Dallas' Raymond Sawada.

On the other hand, Ference was already punished by the league in the first round after he made an apparent obscene gesture toward the Montreal crowd after scoring a goal in Game 4.

See the hit in the video below.