TMC: Hockeyland

Teebz's Movie Club makes a return on this Tuesday night as I wasn't feeling very motivated to get my butt outside to shovel the dusting the snow we received today. While I know better than to sit inside and let the snow accumulate, I decided to dig through the pile of movies and TV shows I have at my disposal thanks to my streaming options, and I stumbled across Hockeyland for which I had heard many positive reviews. Hockeyland, directed by Tommy Haines and produced by Northland Films, follows the stories of two historic high school hockey programs heading in opposite directions as we follow Eveleth and Hermantown in this Friday Night Lights-like documentary. We often hear about how hockey is life in Canada, but there's no doubt that hockey is life for these senior high school students in Minnesota who are dreaming of playing under bigger and brighter lights one day.

Having been to Minnesota a few times for hockey-related adventures and having seen teams come north across the border, I already had a deep appreciation for how important hockey is to families, programs, and players in Land of 10,000 Lakes. I'm not sure any of us know exactly how deep the passion runs, though, without being in the shoes of the players where we all can walk a mile or, in this case, skate a mile. Hockeyland brings that passion these kids and these towns have for the game to life and injects us directly into their perennial battle for hockey supremacy.

Hockeyland was filmed during the 2019-20 hockey season, but it doesn't exclusively look at life on the ice for the players the filmmakers follow. Aydyn and Indio Dowd play for Hermantown, and we learn that their mother, Lori, is battling cancer and multiple sclerosis while trying to be her sons' biggest fan. At one point, Indio talks about his back problems and how he should have had surgery to correct the problems, but he didn't want to miss the hockey season so he's forced to stretch his back often to prevent it from being acutely painful.

There's an interesting review of Blake Biondi choosing to stay in Hermantown to play high school hockey rather than moving on to play junior hockey at the USHL level. He was the eventual Mr. Hockey winner in the state of Minnesota, but it's clear that the ties to the town and the high school hockey program mean something to Biondi. While he certainly is one of the stars on the powerful Hawks team, his humbleness and team-first mentality are seen time and again in this documentary.

Pat Andrews, Hermantown's head coach, also plays a large role in the movie in terms of providing context to how deep the high school hockey roots run with a look back at his high school hockey playing days. Andrews' motivational speeches in the locker room for Hermantown are seen throughout the film, and it's clear he holds the program in extremely high regard which only serves to reinforce those roots. Andrews might be the coach in the film, but he's also a tie to the past hockey battles between Hermantown and Eveleth.

We also meet, in different capacities, Will Troutwine, Elliot Van Orsdel, and Eveleth coach Jeff Torrel whose stories have their own unique hockey paths. There are long, lingering shots of the two towns mixed with the intensity of locker room speeches, players driving to and from games and practices, players on the ice and on the bench, and the reactions of the crowds in response to the action on the ice. Haines does a good job in illustrating the challenges both teams face in chasing the dream of becoming Minnesota State Champions while keeping the human side of the story as the main focus.

There are some moments of pure emotion that may tug at the heart strings a little. Watching the tears flow after Eveleth's season comes to an end was particularly moving after we got to know a few of their players, but the sting that Hermantown's players show following their final game can't be ignored either. Hockeyland shows the highs and lows of being a player, but the heart-wrenching moments in listening to Lori's battles with cancer treatments and everything she's going through keeps things in perspective.

If you're thinking about sitting down with your kids to watch this, I should warn you there is some choice language in Hockeyland over its hour-and-48-minute runtime. This language shouldn't be unexpected as teenagers and adults alike show their frustrations through verbal outburts at times, but it may not be entirely suitable for younger children based on the words used. There's nothing overly offensive from my vantage point, though, so I'll leave this one up to the parents in giving it a PG-13 rating based upon my own assessment of the film.

Overall, I enjoyed Hockeyland for its in-depth look at hockey in Minnesota, the emotional and personal ties the people featured in the film have to the game, and overall arc of two teams moving in opposite directions when it comes to their high school hockey teams. I almost feel like each of the people introduced should have had their own episode in a mini-series only because I'm not sure how much of their stories were left on the editing room floor. I'd like to know more about Pat Andrews and Jeff Torrel and everything they go through as coaches. Nonetheless, Tommy Haines has put together a solid film that takes you from the start of the 2019-20 season right through to the state championship final while not glossing over the human side of the game which is what makes this game part of Minnesota's culture.

Teebz's Rating: ★★★★ out of five stars

There are all sorts of ways one can watch Hockeyland if one is wanting to see this picture. You can stream it on-demand via Vimeo ($6.95 to rent), via iTunes ($4.99 rental vs. $9.99 to buy), or via Amazon ($4.99 vs $9.99 again). If you want a physical copy, Blu-Ray copies are $19.99. If you're a sports fan, this isn't going to be a documentary that will present itself as heroes-vs-villains, but it may give you a new perspective about everything that happens under the surface of two seemingly quiet hockey towns in Minnesota whose high school programs have put them on the map. I do recommend it based on my rating, so give it a watch if you want to learn more about the high school hockey scene in Minnesota!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!