(Reuters) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Jody Shelley has been suspended 10 games, including five in the regular season, for a hit from behind in a preseason game, the National Hockey League said on Thursday.
Shelley received a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for his hit on Toronto Maple Leafs forward Darryl Boyce during a September 21 game.
The Flyers forward, who is considered a repeat offender due to a pair of suspensions last year totaling four games, will miss his team's remaining five preseason games and the first five of the NHL's 2011-12 regular season.
"Shelley hit Boyce squarely from behind into the glass," Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's Senior Vice President of Player Safety, said in a statement. "Boyce's back was turned toward Shelley well before the contact, requiring that Shelley avoid or minimize the check. He did neither".
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Steve Keating)
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