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Hockey is a very contact heavy sport. I wouldn't really say fighting is tolerated, there just aren't fines imposed when fighting occurs, but each team is penalized whenever a fight breaks out. There are many opportunities in hockey for injuries to occur, and more injuries occur from regular play then from the fights, there's a reason most hockey players are missing teeth, and I doubt it is from fighting. And in my opinion, the action on the ice of the game is far more action ridden then any of the fights when they break out. Besides, its probably safer for the refs to wait out the fight until the fighters hit the ice then it would be to break it up in the middle of the fight as they are both standing and get an inadvertant elbow or fist themselves. and as SleepyJeff's post points out, if there wern't fighting allowed, there would probably be a larger number of slashings and other cheap shots.
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