Matt Gannon and Michael Sarner's Los Angeles-based StickmenPictures will release the ice hockey documentary In The Crease in the US and Canada on Dec 7.

The company will primarily handle the release of its debut filmthrough its website www.inthecreasemovie.com as well as through sports stores.

In The Crease takes an inside look at a youth sport and what it means tochildren and their families by charting the tumultuous exploits of a teenagehockey team called the California Wave as they pursue a national championship.

The film features special appearances by such ice hockey legendsas Jeremy Roenick, Craig Conroy, Scott Niedermayer, Derian Hatcher, RJUmberger, and Al MacInnis. Gannon and Sarner co-directed and produced.

'This is a great hockey story, packed with action andemotion, and it also transcends the game itself to be a great story of all thatcan be good about sports and their impact on kids and families,' Gannonsaid.

'California Wave coach Mike Lewis and his players are aninspiration, and the NHL stars deliver fantastic personal stories and insightsabout growing up playing hockey in America, Canada and Europe.'

'While we follow one team's journey, the movie isn't just oneteam's story - it's every team's story,' Sarner added. 'It'sthe first movie to go inside the world of youth hockey as lived by kids,coaches and parents everywhere: the passion, the commitment, the hard work andthe sacrifices that are made by all, and the life lessons that are learnedalong the way.'

Prior to co-founding Stickmen, Gannon was a production executiveat Fox Searchlight where he worked on Antwone Fisher and Quills, among others.

Sarner previously served as a marketing executive at UnitedArtists, where his campaigns included Hotel Rwanda and Coffee And Cigarettes.