For these novices who inspired a documentary, hockey is 'so much more' than just a game

On Sundays at the St. Bon's Forum in St. John's, the scoreboard is used only for its clock.

In this weekly hockey game for women, the scores don't matter, says Liz Ohle, the creator of the Sunday games.

"It's much more about, 'Did I play as well as I wanted this week? Did I play better than last week?'" Ohle said. "'Did I make a new friend today?'"

It's not only beginner-friendly, Ohle says — it's made for beginners: no judgment or drive for competition, just a safe place for women and non-binary people to enjoy the game with each other and discover what they're capable of achieving.

"Whenever anybody scores a goal, everybody cheers from both sides. It's just an accomplishment and we all recognize it," Ohle said, before adding with a smile, "Well, except the goalies."

But even the goalies cheer on the players who make a good move, she said.

In nearly 18 years of weekly games, this unofficial women's league, informally known as Liz's Sunday Game, has attracted women of all ages and backgrounds, as well as the attention of a filmmaker.

Filmmaker Vaida Nairn, who'd recently moved to Newfoundland from Scotland, was on the hunt for a good story when she met Ohle.

"I soon realized that this hockey game, it's not just a hockey game — it is so much more."

Not long after, she and a small crew began filming the games and the stories of the women who showed up to play.

A free screening of the film, The Golden League, is scheduled for Saturday at Memorial University's Bruneau Centre.

"What intrigues me about this group of people so much," Nairn said, "is that as a woman, when I was growing up and once you start getting slightly older, you start hearing people saying, 'You're too old to do this, you're too old to do that.'

"And when