HELSINKI – The IIHF Independent Disciplinary Panel has issued a one-game suspension to Slovak defenceman Branislav Mezei for a check to the head against Austrian forward David Schuller. Mezei will miss the game between Slovakia and Russia on 12 May 2013 at 20:15 in Helsinki. The incident occurred at 07:31 in the first period. Schuller had control of the puck in the neutral zone, and as he moved forward to push the puck into the Slovak zone came into contact with Mezei. Mezei’s shoulder and upper arm make contact to the head and neck area of Schuller. ­ After reviewing the video evidence and the respective reports, including the Referee Supervisor Report and the report from the hearing with the player, it has been determined that although Mezei did not deliberately attempt to injure Schuller, he was in clear violation of the playing rule 540a “Checking to the Head and Neck Area” and would have to serve a one-game suspension. The Disciplinary Panel also carried out the automatic review of the game misconducts concerning infractions involving Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk and Finnish forward Janne Pesonen. Both players were assessed five-minute majors and automatic game misconduct penalties for roughing late in the game between Finland and Russia on 10 May 2013. Following the review, the Disciplinary Panel concluded that no additional action is to be taken. However, should Kovalchuk or Pesonen receive another game misconduct in the tournament, an automatic one-game suspension will be handed down, according to the IIHF rules.