AFF Review: Hockey Night in Texas

The documentary feature Hockey Night in Texas follows two Austin teams through an entire season as they compete for the championship. The 400 members of this recreational adult hockey league come from all walks of life, from artists to chefs to doctors to execs at major corporations. From all skill and experience levels, what they share in common is the desire to play hockey and drink beer.

The film features footage of the B-Division in action along with behind-the-scenes encounters with the team captains. Also mixed in is commentary from hockey professionals from the Dallas Stars, including assistant coach Mark Lamb and play-by-play announcer Ralph Strangis. Strangis talks about both the beauty and the violence of the game, comparing it to the gladiators of Rome.

Additionally Hockey Night in Texas includes several mock educational shorts entitled "Foundation for Better Hockey presents Learning the Game with Billy," featuring local child actor Nolan McNearny and former Austinite Trace Crutchfield. As mildly offensive and humorous as the shorts are, the personalities on the ice are the most entertaining.

Goalie Terry Caldwell of the B-Division's Crown Kings has played five seasons. His goal is to be able to get up from a prone position after a save on the ice. Another new goalie researching hockey equipment on the Internet inadvertently wound up on a gay goalie fetish chat forum. As much as players proclaim to be "fat drunks who play hockey," the love for the game fuels the competition. As Captain Denis Lebreque of the Moose Knuckle Selects states, "You can say you don't take it seriously, but winning is better than losing."

Hockey Night in Texas could benefit from a bit more editing, as the dialogues with the captains are lengthy at times, and the captioning in the version I saw contains quite a few misspellings. Knapp's documentary is informative and humorous, but unless you are a big hockey fan you might find it difficult to remain engaged for the film's full length. Nevertheless, the passion and dedication of the people featured in this sports documentary make it worth a viewing for a sport that doesn't receive attention in Texas like baseball and football.

Notable Austin Locations: A primary location is the Chaparral Ice Skating Center in Northcross Mall.