from Jeff Z. Klein of the New York Times,

Researchers at a Mayo Clinic conference on concussions in hockey called Wednesday for a ban on fighting at all levels of the sport, eight days after a Montreal Canadiens enforcer was hospitalized because of a fight on opening night of the N.H.L. season.

“Science has responded to the game on the ice,” said Ken Dryden, a Hall of Fame Canadiens goalie and a member of the Canadian Parliament, who spoke at the conference. “Now it’s time for the game to respond to the science.”

Although no direct link has been established between fighting in hockey and brain trauma, pathological studies indicate that fighting could lead to serious brain damage, the conference organizers said.

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