Blue Jackets defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen lay face up on the ice, his eyes glassy, his head bleeding and trainer Mike Vogt rushing toward him.
During a Dec. 7 fight in Anaheim, Tollefsen was trading punches with Ducks forward Ryan Carter when the defenseman's helmet popped off. As the weary combatants wrestled for leverage, they fell.
Carter landed on top of Tollefsen, who hit the back of his head on the ice. One of the most chilling moments of the Jackets' season produced little more than a gash and a headache.
"I was lucky," Tollefsen said two days later.
He somberly addressed the issue again three weeks later after a Canadian senior hockey player, Don Sanderson, died of a head injury suffered in a fight.
"As soon as I read about it, I thought about what happened to me," Tollefsen said. "I feel so sorry for that man's family and friends."
Sanderson's death and a precipitous increase in fighting since the 2005-06 season have led the NHL to examine the role of fisticuffs in the game. The league's general managers begin three days of meetings today in Naples, Fla., and one topic is fighting.
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