By Paige

On Monday, a recent documentary entitled Les Chiefs, the debut film from local theatre director Jason Gileno, will be screening at the Pilot Tavern in Yorkville. It follows the semi-pro Laval Chiefs as they bash their way through a season in the rumblefish League d’hockey Semi-Professionnel de Quebec. Along the way, a group of feisty players like Mike Bajurny (whose penalty minutes-to-goals ratio in his three seasons with the Chiefs ran at 100:1) come in contact with a boxing promoter who pits player against player between the ropes for large sums of cash. The financially strapped young men, some of whom share a makeshift shanty room in the team’s hockey arena, warm up to the idea and start to hone their off ice-punching skills, but as they contemplate the rewards of the boxing tournament’s $20,000 purse, their parents, lovers and children anticipate more crippling outcomes.
The screening is FREE and you can load up on pitchers while you’re at it, so it’ll be much like going to watch the game at your local watering hole. Except this time, you’ll have to stick around for a compelling glimpse into the mindset behind every punch and the pain under every bruise.
Photo: SemiPro Magazine