Pond hockey came early to Boston this year. Not the sport itself – it’s still too warm for that – but the documentary Pond Hockey was screened at Boston University this week. The event was held at the Agganis Arena, serving as both a screening of the film and a tribute to Jack Falla, the celebrated hockey journalist and professor at BU.
The event was well coordinated in every way, and I don’t just write that because of the open bar. Hockey fans, players, men, women, boys and girls all came out to the screening and sat, transfixed on the screen as every level of hockey player talked about the game we all love. The two greatest active coaches in men’s college hockey even managed to make it to the festivities. Friends and rivals Jack Parker of Boston University and Jerry York of Boston College were on hand to watch the movie and show their support for the Jack Falla Memorial Fund.
But the real stars of the night were those players featured in the film. Pond Hockey is a film made for those who love the game, by guys who love the game. It is about the love of the game in its purest form. It is about hockey the way it was supposed to be played, the way it was originally played.
The film follows the journey of two teams at the US Pond Hockey Championships. But that simply serves as an extension of examining the game. Whether competitive games or whether games where none know the exact score, it is irrelevant. The documentary reminds us all that the game isn’t about suicides or two-on-three drills. It’s not about whether you are playing sober or drunk or have a bonfire going or have a warming hut or only have the sun to provide some warmth or none at all. It’s about playing ice hockey.
In an era of elite camps, travel teams, over practicing, and year round training, the player begins to forget that it should be fun. The irony is that those players are playing or practicing too much to appreciate what they are doing. Being on the pond signifies that freedom that few take the time to recognize anymore. A pond doesn’t cost $125 an hour. You don’t have to schedule time. You don’t have to go because you think your coach is going to pissed if you don’t show. You go because you would rather do nothing else.
Pond hockey is about the love of the game because anyone skating out there loves the game. He or she loves it so much it doesn’t matter how cold it is. Most of them thrive on it. They inhale the taste of winter and exhale the exhilaration of the moment in pure vapor form.
Pond hockey is not just about pond hockey. It’s about pure hockey. It is about the game, not the sport. Pond, river, backyard, parking lot or anywhere else frozen water can become a rink serves the sprit of the game and those crazy enough to play it. The film reminds us what it means to be out there on a fresh sheet. It shows us that any player – from the Great One himself to the guy who was the last cut on the high school team – can lace up a pair of skates, step onto the ice and be taken away to a special place where he can exist until his mother or wife calls him in for dinner.
