Bundling up and heading to the rink, playing an impromptu game of shinny on a sheet of homemade ice or scoring a winning goal are all images that come to mind when you think of hockey in Canada.

But what about bursting into song in the middle of centre ice or doing a choreographed dance in the locker room?

In "Score: A Hockey Musical," the new film by Toronto-director Michael McGowan, we see a whole different side of our country's beloved sport.

But does combining the gritty game of hockey with the over-the-top theatrics of musicals actually work?

The movie stars Noah Reid as 17-year-old Farley Gordon, a teenager who gets discovered by a hockey scout while playing a game of shinny with his buds at the neighbourhood rink. He is quickly turned into an overnight sensation, complete with media attention, endorsement deals and a revealing billboard in Toronto's Dundas Square.

But this home-schooled teen has been raised by New Age parents (Marc Jordan and Olivia Newton-John) who believe in love, not war, which proves to be problematic when Farley is confronted with the violent part of the game. Farley's idea of solving conflict is reciting Gandhi, not throwing a punch.

If he wants to stay in the game, he's going to have to learn how to fight.

He's also going to have to fight for his best friend Eve (played by Allie MacDonald) if he wants more than a friendship or else he's going to lose her to someone else.

McGowan, who also wrote and produced the movie, wrote most of the lyrics to all of the 20 songs that appear in the movie and what works well is that the musical numbers serve to move the plot forward, rather than being random outbursts of song.

It's not to say some of the lyrics aren't rather "cheesy," though.

"Hockey without fighting is like Kraft Dinner without cheese. It's still pasta. But the palette it won't please," is just one example.

Some of the scenes are also on the hokey side. Take for example, how Farley tries to teach his fellow hockey players some tricks with the puck -- after picking up some tips while his family was living in an ashram in India. At one point, all of the hockey players are actually shown meditating -- and levitating -- cross-legged on the ice.

While the b-boy dance in the locker room is neat to watch, especially considering it features the very talented So You Think You Can Dance Canada alumni Miles Faber, some of the Busby Berkeley-inspired choreographed numbers on the ice are just over the top.

As well as musical contributions by the likes of Hawksley Workman and the Barenaked Ladies, one of the film's funniest songs comes from Olivia Newton-John and Marc Jordan, who wrote the tune "Hugs" with Jordan's real-life wife Amy Sky.

Newton-John and Jordan, who's making his acting debut in "Score" even though you'd never know it considering how natural he is, provide much of the film's comic relief.

Reid and MacDonald are exceptional as the two young leads. They're able to perfectly combine wide-eyed innocence with a mature presence, and they pull off the musical numbers -- in particular the ones where they realize they have feelings for each other -- with a genuineness that overshadows the campiness.

"Score: A Hockey Musical" is also unabashedly Toronto, with scenes shot everywhere from the Art Gallery of Ontario to the outdoor rink at Nathan Phillips Square. The film features cameos by a number of notable Canadians, including Nelly Furtado, Theo Fleury, and of course, Walter Gretzky.

The movie received standing ovations after opening the Toronto International Film Festival and four other festivals across the country. It certainly stands out for being the most overtly Canadian film this year and audiences have been enjoying the tongue-in-cheek look at our culture. It's also perfect timing to release a film to a nation that is still on a high from the Olympic Gold win on home ice in Vancouver last February.

But even though some of the lyrics or dance numbers may make you groan, McGowan succeeds at combining two concepts no one ever thought would go together. The novelty of it alone makes it worth seeing.

And whether you think show tunes belong on the ice or not, it's hard not to leave the theatre without singing along to the closing anthem of "Hockey, hockey, the greatest game in the land."

Two and a half stars out of four.