March 16, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference (21) celebrates his goal with the Bruins bench during the second period against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew Ference has earned that “A” on his chest. He has become one of those players that is the ‘soul’ of the Bruins. Our own eco-warrior has gone out and done his best for his team, and has made serious in-roads in the local community. ‘Ferry’ as he is known to his brother Bruins has been the man behind the ‘star of the game’ gifts given to the best player after each game in all the B’s post season runs since the ’10-’11 season. He has always played with passion and a very severe intensity.
That intensity might get Ference into a little trouble. In the first period of the game, Mikhail Grabovski is skating with the puck low side behind the Boston net. At the 7:00 mark, Andrew Ference comes up to Grabovski and makes contact with his head. From several angles (including the refs), it doesn’t look like a dirty hit, but the video filming behind the Bruins net shows a different picture. (Keep in mind the HNIC commentators offering their opinions may not reflect your own.)
In the end, no penalty was called on the play. Nazem Kadri got the puck and the game kept going. The action of the game was moving at a blistering pace, and it’s likely none of the refs saw it. Had Grabovski had been hurt on the play, this would have likely ended up with a five minute major and perhaps an ejection for Ference. He might have even gotten a Shanaban from the NHL office. Thankfully, Grabovski got right back up and starting playing. So, perhaps we dodged a bullet here.
Allow me to be devil’s advocate for a moment. I don’t want to argue against the Bruins, I just want to argue against these kinds of hits. C’mon Bruins Nation, we’ve been on the other side of this. We know what it’s like to see one of our best players get leveled and be taken out of the game. I think we all remember what happened to Nathan Horton in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. Suspensions are not a very common occurance in the post season(Rome did get four for that hit though.). In most cases, what would be a five game suspension in the regular season would equate to one or two in the post season.
So, hopefully Ference has had his personal mea culpa moment, and the league won’t make too big of a stink about this. But if that was Ference who took that hit, I’d be spewing vitriol by now.