1. Doroshenko, Jordan, “Fighting in Hockey — Player Perceptions” (2013). Sport Management Undergraduate. Paper 61.

Background: A survey was taken of men’s division 1 hockey players located in the Northeast region to gather their perspective on violence in the game of hockey. The article summarizes a plethora of sources when it brings us to the point fighting is not considered by players to be “violent” pg. 8. According to this source there are various reasons as to how players perceive fighting but most players would not respect a teammate or player who will not fight. 52 of the total 127 players selected winning a fight as the incident that gives them the greatest acceptance within the culture of the team. Overall, the results drawn from this study show that fighting is needed in hockey. The results showed something counterintuitive. Forwards in hockey who tend to fight less ranked winning a fight as one of the most important aspects of a game.

How I used it:  This article helped me greatly in building my causal argument. Through the study I was able to build a strong case of the thoughts in players minds. The psychological aspects of the article were vital to building a causal chain to relate to my thesis. I quoted this study multiple times in my writing including statistics from the his analysis to summarize the perception of fighting.

2. Sirianni, A. (2019, February 22). The Specialization of Informal Social Control: Fighting in the National Hockey League from 1947-2019. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/j9qpd

Background: This paper authored by Sirianni takes a formal look at the social control aspect that fighting in hockey creates. Sirianni uses data to analyze who is fighting, how often and when. The paper lays out and defines all of the necessary terms and begins discussing how fighting increases the marketability of the sport. As hockey is the lagging behind the major sports in terms of viewership the league should attempt to market the violent aspects. However, they choose not to as it seems the league is looking to move beyond fighting and have more higher skill, highly marketable, star players on the ice. Afterall the paper concludes that based on the provided data enforcers on the ice have affected the willingness of opponents to commit violent plays.

How I used it: In my research paper I utilized this piece to explain to my readers how opposing teams stand to gain from injuring star players. Sirianni lays out how hockey allows fighting to prevent these types of injuries which I relayed by quoting his work. Allowing the reader to understand that injuring an opponent raises the likelihood of winning the game creates a need for police.

3. Thelen, D. G. B. (2022). Fighting In Ice Hockey: There is More Behind a Clenched Fist than Pain (Master’s thesis).

Background: This master thesis written by Thelen touches heavily upon the code in hockey. This paper also uses a large survey of players, fans, coaches, and officials and their views on fighting in hockey. Additionally, he touches upon the relationship of past societies where rules were enforced by violence. The discussion expands outwards to a male’s role as viewed in the past as the caregiver and the protector and how this has translated throughout hockey’s history. He states, “fighting in ice hockey occurs when disrespectful and dirty plays do not get called or seen, and the players take justice into their own hands with The Code. The Code is simple, play dirty and retaliate dirty, you will be held accountable for your actions on the ice.”

How I used it:  This quote and his research greatly correlate to my hypothesis since we are drawing the same conclusion; fighting keeps players in line therefore making it safer. I used a block quote from Thelen’s work to describe the code in hockey. The work illustrates a clear premise, one must be accountable for their actions. I used this to enforce my thesis throughout the paper so the idea fighting creates safety is fresh in their mind.

4. McKay CD, Tufts RJ, Shaffer B, et alThe epidemiology of professional ice hockey injuries: a prospective report of six NHL seasons

Background: British Journal of Sports Medicine 2014;48:57-62.

This journal reviews all injuries in the NHL across six seasons (2006-2012). The article cites an electronic database that tracked all injuries, how they were caused and primarily the time missed from the injury. Through the use of statistics, they were able to amass the average time missed per injury type, location and much more. The results related to my hypothesis show fighting is a significantly lower cause of injury in the NHL. Body checking is the leading factor, and it additionally keeps people out the longest. This is counterintuitive because a sport that allows assault sees less frequent injuries from fighting than nearly any other aspect.

How I used it:  This work was key in illustrating that injuries occur quite frequently in hockey.To prove protection is needed on the ice I must first prove there is danger. Through the use of statistics gathered in this work, I was able to convey that all players no matter the position are injured during a season.

5.K. Pasternac, D. Weiner, D.P. Milzman,448 Results of 1,300 Consecutive NHL Fights: Fists of Fury With Minimal Injuries, Annals of Emergency Medicine,Volume 58, Issue 4, Supplement,2011, Page S330, ISSN 0196-0644, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2011.06.482.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196064411011826)

Background: This statistical analysis directly measures injuries which occurred from fighting. The team reviewing watched footage of every NHL fight from the 2010 season and counted strikes landed, heigh, weight and various other variables. The results are profound. Out of 710 fights only 17 injuries were recorded. Of these injuries 0.39% were concussions which is significantly lower than the 4% chance from body checking. To quote Pasternac, “The brutality of fighting is clearly over-rated in terms of short and long term injuries.”

How I used it: I did not include any direct quotes from this article in my research paper. However, reading this analysis helped me gather a deep understanding of the specific injuries caused by fighting. It illustrated that fighting was one of the safest aspects on the ice which was very counter intuitive. Reading this helped me build a stronger and more persuasive argument against banning fighting in my rebuttal.

6. Colburn Jr., Kenneth. 1986. “Honor, Ritual and Violence in Ice Hockey.” The Canadian Journal of Sociology 10: 153–70.

Background: This work discusses the sociological aspects of hockey that play out on the ice. Buccigross uses qualitative materials such as players viewpoints to describe the beliefs on fighting. He draws a conclusion that fighting is only used to put conflicts between players to an end. He also finds that the players do not view themselves as violent individuals.

How I used it:  I used this work to express the nature of a brawl on the ice. Readers may have a perception that fighting is utter violence and there is no beauty at all. This work helped my contrast this opinion by explaining the rituals that must occur before a fight. Consent must be given and a quick drop of the gloves signifies the ritual is underway.

7. John Buccigross, “The Pros and Cons of Fighting in the NHL,” espn.com, Jan. 8, 2007

Background: This webpage shows a pros and cons chart for fighting in hockey. Each aspect is explained using references to other academic work. The analysis is unbiased and leaves the conclusion to be drawn by the reader.

How I used it:  I used this work to dispute the old adage violence is never the answer because in hockey that is not the case. The quote used restates my exact thesis showing it is somewhat common knowledge within the game. It was used a retort to show once again that fighting is about creating a safe and stable environment.

8. Kuhns, Joseph. (2012). Understanding Decisions to Burglarize from the Offender’s Perspective. 10.13140/2.1.2664.4168.

Background: This statical analysis builds upon previous data sets to attempt to understand the decision-making process of criminals. It surveys 422 random incarcerated people and asks them various questions. The crimes they commit vary greatly and give a wide array of people and their thoughts.

How I used it:  Kuhns’ writing was used to create a similar idea in my reader’s mind.Since the idea fighting makes the game safer by deterring players actions is an abstract idea, I used this work to draw a more common example. I quoted statistical evidence that having a security system sign stops a break in.This idea correlates with hockey since no action has to be taken to stop the act of violence.

9. Nadav Goldschmied and Samantha Espindola, “‘I Went to a Fight the Other Night and a Hockey Game Broke Out’: Is Professional Hockey Fighting Calculated or Impulsive?,” Sports Health, Sep. 2013

Background: This journal is a study created to help understand the fighting behavior in hockey across time. The piece details quantitative information such as the number of fights and when they occurred during the game across many years. The conclusion drawn shows players will not fight when a penalty is detrimental to the team’s success showing they truly are not violent.  

How I used it:  This article touches upon the fact that fighting decreases in the playoffs which I usedto show the players themselves are not violent people and they do not carry these ideals off the ice. A reader may see a fight and think these people are stable and violent which is not the case.

10. Nick T. Pappas, Patrick C. McKenry, and Beth Skilken Catlett, “Athlete Aggression on the Rink and off the Ice: Athlete Violence and Aggression in Hockey and Interpersonal Relationships,” Men and Masculinities, Jan. 2004

Background: This opinion piece draws a conclusion that hockey players are inherently violent on and off the ice. With a sample size of five former players the author basis an assumption that due to head injuries that occurred from fighting the players were more violent when drinking alcohol.The work also touches upon hockey players notion of masculinity creating a culture of aggression.

How I used it:  I used this piece as my main target to retort. The work draws an inaccurate depiction of hockey players being violent on and off the ice. The article creates a sense that players cannot control their actions which was not backed by any statistics but rather only by opinion,