Colgate and the village of Hamilton celebrate a coach and a team this weekend (August 1-4) that brought the two together during one special season that no one will forget.
This coming weekend as part of the Hamilton International Film Festival, the Hamilton Movie Theater debuts “The General,” a special documentary about Terry Slater and the 1990 Colgate hockey team. The film was produced by Terry’s sons, Grant and Todd Slater, and they partnered with local filmmaker Kenny MacBain.
The brothers got the idea for a film about the team from MacBain at the second annual Hamilton International Film Festival, which they founded five years ago. MacBain debuted a film about the Hamilton boys soccer team that year and approached the Slater brothers about the idea of doing a film on the 1990 Frozen Four squad.
“Grant and I liked the idea of telling the story of the most successful hockey team in Colgate’s history,” Slater mentioned. “But as we started to make calls and set interviews for Kenny, we started to get more involved. We spent a lot of time talking through the film and what could really make people want to watch even if they weren’t hockey fans or from Hamilton.”
Another reason they got involved was because the story was close to home.
“It was also very personal since it involved our dad and close family friends,” Slater said. “We took a very active part in putting the whole film together so we could eventually find the film distribution and a larger audience.”
The film is a story of a hockey team from a small school filled with walk-ons, transfers and rookies that came together under their exceptional coach to reach the 1990 national championship game.
Slater mentioned that there are a lot of messages from the film, but the one that stands out for him was how the community came together to support the title run.
“The message that holds true to us is how a community, when faced with adversity and a challenge, can really come together to accomplish something great,” Slater said.
Slater explains that there were more stories at work during the magical season of 1990.
“The film really shows how our father related to a team and to a community, and how they all came together to accomplish something amazing,” Slater said. “We wanted the story to be more than just about winning or losing a hockey game.”
Terry Slater came to Colgate from professional hockey and was hired out of the World Hockey Association, where he coached the Los Angeles Sharks and Cincinnati Stingers. He spent 10 seasons at Colgate, and his coaching style was unorthodox but caught on quickly with his players and community.
Many players from that 1990 team will be in attendance this weekend for the film’s debut. It features many of them talking about the experience, but is going to have community members included as well.
Slater said he couldn’t think of a better place to debut the film than here in Hamilton.
“This is the hometown we grew up in and it will always hold a very special place in our hearts,” Slater mentioned. “We created the first ever film festival in Hamilton as a way to give back to the area we grew up in and it could not be a more perfect time than to showcase a movie about our father, Colgate, the people of Hamilton, and an incredible story.”
It has also been a real stroll down memory lane for both brothers.
“We have watched the film and all the interviews so many times we can now recite the lines by Carl Clause or Joel Gardner before they even appear on screen,” Slater said. “It has really been a great experience and something we felt we should have probably done years ago. Like anything in life though, sometimes it’s just about the timing of things, and the process has really allowed us to connect with old friends and so many people who are special to our family.”
The film will be shown as part of the film festival at the Hamilton Movie Theater from Aug. 1-4. Movie goers can purchase tickets ahead of time at the theater or by calling 315-824-8210.
