The Latest Victim of "the Code"

It's amazing that this sort of tragedy doesn't happen more often:

A 21-year-old member of the Whitby Dunlops Senior hockey team remains in critical condition in Hamilton General Hospital with a severe head injury suffered Friday night when his head struck the ice in a fight in Brantford, Ont.

The Dunlops are posting updates on Don Sanderson's condition at the team website.

Turns out that the Ontario Major League has strict fighting rules - a fight means automatic ejection from the game.

But the fact that this is a rare incident is little consolation to Sanderson's family.

A tragedy only takes one bad fall. And how many times have you cringed while watching a couple of bare-headed fighters tumble to the ice? (Usually with one of them looking like he could land head first.)

In the NHL, where fighting is much more common, many players refuse to correctly strap on their helmets, and there are no rules against removing your helmet to fight, the prospect of an on-ice death from a fight seems almost inevitable.