I'm a football (American football) fan first and foremost, but I've been at hockey games and watched it on TV since the 1970s.
I don't like the fighting either and I see no purpose in it. Hockey is a physical sport, with plenty of chances to retaliate short of fisticuffs. So if a guy takes you to the boards and you don't like it, you'll get your chance to do the same. I don't see why a fight is needed.
You'll notice that there are seldom any fights in NFL games. Now, I'm sure there's plenty of nasty stuff going on. But if a player doesn't like it, he will get a chance to 'right the wrong' by planting a hit or block on someone. So the score can be evened without resorting to a fist fight.
What I'm saying is that, the more physical a sport is, the LESS need there is for fighting.
The one sport in which fighting does not surprise me is baseball. If a pitcher throws at a guy's head, the batter has no way to even things up unless he charges the mound. I'm not saying it's right, but in baseball, the lack of physical contact would seem to heighten the sense of frustration in some instances.