Philadelphia Film Festival photo Geraldine Linn, left, and Cheryl Englert are co-founders of Nittany Films, LLC. The two met while attending Penn State in 1984 and have been collaborating on projects ever since.

By Shelly Anderson
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Two of Cheryl Englert's three hockey-playing sons are goaltenders, one exclusively. Her old college friend from Penn State, Geraldine Linn, is a hockey and Penguins nut.

When the two South Hills natives decided to risk a career change by starting a film-production company, Nittany Films, it was a natural that they gravitated toward a feature-length documentary on the psyche and personality of the goaltender.

Then Englert met Jordan Sigalet and his mother last summer when Sigalet was working at a goaltending camp. Sigalet, who starred at Bowling Green, is a Boston Bruins prospect who has advanced to their American Hockey League affiliate in Providence.

He also is battling the extremity numbness and fatigue that come with having multiple sclerosis.

Some research turned up five other goaltenders who play despite various challenges -- United States women's team member and 2006 Olympic bronze-medalist Chanda Gunn (epilepsy); Ontario's Joanne Lukasik, who has played and coached more than 30 years despite losing her legs in a farm accident when she was 16; 2006 high school graduate Corey Marko of Amherst, N.Y. (prosthetic legs); Josh Piercy of Nova Scotia (Type 1 diabetic), a youth instructor who hopes to play for a U.S. college next season, and Joe Schuck, a 2005 high school graduate in suburban Philadelphia (hearing impaired), who also hopes to play college hockey.

The stories of the six athletes will make up the Englert and Linn film, "Mind-Body-Mask." A trailer is available at www.mindbodymask.com.

As first-time filmmakers, Englert and Linn face the usual fears over funding and distribution. They also found themselves drawn personally to the stories they are documenting.

"The biggest reward has been meeting these individuals and learning how they cope and live their everyday life and play hockey," said Linn, 40, an Upper St. Clair native.

"They all have great outlooks on life," said Englert, 39, originally from Upper St. Clair.

Teaming to form Nittany Films was not on the horizon when Englert and Linn became friends at Penn State.

Englert majored in animal production and worked for several horse farms. Linn majored in political science, went to law school at Duquesne and worked in Pittsburgh as a medical malpractice defense attorney.

But they often talked about making films.

"Both of us have wanted to do this for a long time," Linn said.

Eventually, Englert moved to Philadelphia and took film classes at a junior college. She began slowly, making team highlight films and selling them to parents, editing some horse films, a music video and sports demos.

Last year, the two women made it a full-time endeavor. Linn moved to Philadelphia, and Nittany Films was born.

They have traveled around North America working on "Mind-Body-Mask." Filming is about one-half to two-thirds complete.

"It's really scary," Englert said. "We're still learning our way every day. But it's also rewarding."

The six goaltenders and those around them have been cooperative. In Manitoba at the women's world championships this spring, Englert and Linn had nearly unprecedented access to the U.S. team and Gunn.

"It's been fantastic," Linn said.

They were in Nova Scotia recently filming Piercy, and Linn got the idea of visiting the hometown of Penguins star Sidney Crosby, but she found that it's a large province and Cole Harbour was too far out of the way.

Englert and Linn would like to wrap up "Mind-Body-Mask" by next May if they can get enough funding help. Then they'll take it to various film festivals with the hope of getting it distributed.

"The dream is for someone to see this and want us to do other work," Linn said. "Otherwise, it will be back to law for me."