http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=3c71939b-9f30-4d9d-b904-502525bf0e4d&k=34255

This thought occurred to Mathieu Dandenault as he chased Maurice Richard down the wing in July, one take after another, after another, after yet another:

"How do I club the Rocket over the head with a hockey stick and make it look authentic, without fracturing his skull?"

Those who attend Charles Biname's magnificent film, Maurice Richard, will see that the Canadiens defenceman indeed found a way.

Roy Dupuis, who offers a brilliant portrayal of the Rocket, lived to take a bow last week at a red-carpet premiere.

"I'm thinking: 'Hit him on the head, but just make sure you don't crank him. He's your lead actor,' " said Dandenault, cast in the film as rugged Boston Bruins defenceman Hal Laycoe.

Fifty years ago in Boston, Laycoe clipped Richard on a rush toward the Bruins goal. The Rocket, his famously short fuse lit by the sight of his own blood, retaliated by slugging Laycoe with three hockey sticks, grabbing another off the ice each time one was yanked from his fists.

The third stick, broken over Laycoe's back, and Richard's punching of linesman Cliff Thompson, resulted in his suspension and fuelled the fires of a Montreal riot four nights later.

You could hear a heartbeat in Theatre Maisonneuve as the ugly stick-swinging scene unfolded. But nine rows from the screen, Dandenault was laughing aloud as Richard's stick exploded across his wool Bruins sweater.

Why not enjoy your motion-picture debut, he figured, when you're bludgeoned by one of the greatest names in hockey, in a touchstone event that changed not just a game, but a society?

In late July, a week before Dandenault signed with the Canadiens, he was on a movie set, taking the lumber to the Rocket.

And as usual, Richard was giving at least as good as he got.

Dupuis broke six sticks, weakened for impact, over Dandenault before Biname was satisfied. Or, perhaps the director wasn't going to press his luck when the final chop splintered over an unhelmeted head.

"They gave me a little padding on the back, but it was pretty useless," Dandenault said. "Going down the last time wasn't acting. I really felt it.

"We watched the last take in slow motion and you could see the stick snap on my head. You know it's coming. The goalie is saying: 'Here he comes, here he comes ...' and then - boom!"

He laughed again.

"I thought I gave an Oscar-worthy performance. And if I did now in the NHL what I do in this movie, I'd be suspended for life."

The 29-year-old was cast for his on-ice talent and decent resemblance to Laycoe. In fact, he came to the role late, in relief of an actor who withdrew a few weeks before shooting began.

Dandenault's younger brother, Alex, and a cousin, Eric, already had been signed for the film, and he recalls how brotherly love made the violent scene with Dupuis especially difficult.

"Alex told me: 'I know this is acting, and I know what he's going to do, but when he hits you, I still want to jump him and come to your defence,' " he said.

Elder brother Louis-Philippe is the serious actor in the family, with many varied credits. He plays the Canadiens' Yvan Cournoyer in a coming

mini-series on the 1972 Canada-U.S.S.R. Summit Series.

The Bruins had made the most generous bid for Dandenault's NHL services this summer, and he wondered whether it wasn't an omen when he was photographed on the movie set in a Boston sweater - "as the bad guy," he jokes.

But then the Canadiens entered the free-agency picture, and the native of Sherbrooke, a career Detroit Red Wing, and his Quebec-born wife, Marie-Christine, were thrilled to come home.

The hockey scenes rolled in Quebec's Le Colisee, dressed to become the 1940s and '50s Montreal Forum and arenas in Boston, New York and Toronto.

Adapting to primitive equipment proved a huge challenge.

"You couldn't shoot with those sticks," Dandenault said. "I've got a lot of respect for the guys who used them, and played in that equipment."

He could barely stand in the old leather skates provided, so he wore his own CCMs, painted black, with vintage tubular steel blades riveted to the boots.

And then there were the thick glasses worn by Laycoe.

"Harry Potter glasses," Dandenault said. "Whenever I stepped on the ice, someone on the crew told me to take them off, thinking they were mine. I'd never wear glasses like those."

Dandenault was in uniform 12 hours a day for three days, playing in every Bruins scene. He didn't do it for the money, earning union scale of $200 daily, less tax, for his non-speaking part.

Not counting "Ouch."

He also pocketed a small bonus when classified as a stuntman for absorbing Dupuis's half-dozen sticks in a dramatic scene shot over a full day from many angles.

Dandenault gained great respect for the craft of filmmaking, and for the acting genius and hockey skills of the film's star.

"Roy's a really nice guy," he said. "He's competitive on the ice and a pretty good player, and he was happy when I told him that. He's done a tremendous job."

A cherished memory is having seen former Canadiens defenceman Stephane Quintal, a right-handed shot, struggle as Montreal's Dollard St. Laurent, a lefty.

"We were in tears, watching Steph try to pick up the puck and make a decent pass," Dandenault said. "They finally told him: 'People won't buy this. Go right-handed.' "

But there's also something profound he takes from this experience.

"You hear bits and pieces about the Rocket from your parents and grandparents," he said. "But now, guys my age and younger kids can understand what he had to go through, how good a player he was and what he meant to Quebec."

Better yet, Dandenault can tell his grandchildren that he played against the Rocket in the Forum - Maurice Richard is now showing in a cineplex that occupies the former hockey shrine.

Maurice Richard and its English-subtitled version, The Rocket, are now playing throughout the Montreal area. Check Gazette listings for showtimes.

dstubbs@thegazette.canwest.com