Hockey fighter's goal: Use the force, Luke
By Avery Holton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT via Statesman.com
Published: 8:48 p.m. Thursday, March 4, 2010

CEDAR PARK — Call him an enforcer, an ice intimidator or a bruiser. The truth is, Texas Stars left wing Luke Gazdic doesn't care how you label him, as long as you recognize he's more than a pair of flying fists.

Gazdic, who leads the Stars in penalty minutes — a good chunk of those a result of the vicious right and left crosses he throws — fights, but fights with purpose.

"I get a rush from fighting, but I only do it when my team needs me to," Gazdic said. "Any other time, I'm like any other guy out there, trying to get minutes and move up to the next level."

It's a sentiment that's backed by the NHL, which began looking for ways to decrease the dangers of fighting after a pair of altercations resulted in tragedies last year.

Ontario Hockey Association rookie Don Sanderson died after hitting his head on the ice during a fight. Garrett Klotz, playing for the American Hockey League's Philadelphia Phantoms, suffered a seizure after he was involved in a scrape on the ice.

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