TORONTO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The NHL Friday suspended Phoenix Coyotes left wing Darcy Hordichuk 10 games without pay for an abuse of an official incident in Thursday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Hordichuk bumped into referee Mark Faucette to protest what he believed should have been a penalty on Philadelphia's Michal Handzus seconds before Kim Johnsson scored a goal for the Flyers midway through the second period. Hordichuk fell to the ice after he was elbowed to the head by Handzus.
When no penalty was called, Hordichuk quickly regained his feet and bumped into Faucette while screaming at the ref. Faucette promptly hit Hordichuk with a game misconduct, a 10-minute misconduct, and a two-minute unsportsmanlike penalty.
The league said the suspension is automatic, a result of Rule 76, Category II, which states: "Any player who deliberately applies physical force to an official in any manner, which physical force is applied without intent to injure, shall be automatically suspended for not less than 10 games."
Hordichuk, 22, will not be eligible to return until a Nov. 27 game against Anaheim.
The 6-1, 215-pounder leads the team with 45 penalty minutes in 10 games. He had 127 penalty minutes in 33 games with the Atlanta Thrashers last season.
