IF YOU LIKE REALITY CHECK ....

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... and you want to further your hockey education ...

  • AIHL
    The Australian Ice Hockey League site: scores, stats, news and features
  • NHL
    The world's best league may still feature social media input from Australian Sasky Stewart    ​
  • Puck Daddy
    Comprehensive, up-to-date blog which has been a friend of Aussie hockey
  • The Hockey News
    Follow this magazine's Facebook feed for (mostly NHL) updates
  • Sean McIndoe
    Down Goes Brown blogger and Grantland columnist always worth a read
  • Nick Does Hockey
    Nick Place takes up hockey - at the age of 45.
Originally, Reality Check was going to be a book based on not just Australian hockey, but my impressions of the sport after taking an epic journey through North America, especially Canada. Logistics precluded the international odyssey, but in preparation for that would-be book, I read and watched a lot of hockey-related material, which stood me in good stead for Reality Check. (Keep in mind that I was as interested in lower tier hockey as the NHL)
    Here's a few items I heartily recommend:
   
Books:
Zamboni Rodeo by Jason Cohen
A picaresque portrait of minor-pro hockey in Texas at the end of the 1990s. Hilarious, horrifying, utterly compelling.

Tropic of Hockey by Dave Bidini
A funny, perceptive writer chases hockey in places way more exotic than Australia. An insightful delight.

Gretzky's Tears by Stephen Brunt
The departure of Wayne Gretzky for Hollywood told with intelligence and objectivity. A book about Canada.

They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven by Ken Baker
An entertaining chronicle of a unique comeback, and a great portrait of life on the fringes of a minor-pro franchise.

Journeyman by Sean Pronger
NHL without the glitter, by a player funny and humble enough to make the title a badge of honour.

The Making of Slapshot by Jonathan Jackson
If you like behind the scenes showbiz stories, and hockey, this is pure candy.

TV series:
Ice: Road To Threepeat by Resolution Media
Must-see six-part fly-on-the-wall documentary heralded a new era in the AIHL.

Hockey: A People's History
National broadcaster tackles a big topic in a style not unlike a Ken Burns doco. A good beginner's overview.

Movie: Slapshot
Its flaws are forgivable, its successes are triumphs. Funny, revealing, bawdy, compassionate and brutal all at once.