Ron MacLean's new book features stories of Victoria, Castlegar hockey stars
Courtnall brothers from Victoria, and Steve Bozek of Castlegar highlighted in veteran broadcaster's book
Ron MacLean's new book Hockey Towns: Untold Stories from the Heart of Canada, explores some of the smaller stories of life on and off the ice — including those from B.C. towns.
The veteran Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster teamed up with renowned hockey writer Kirstie McLellan Day for the book, which is chock-full of stories of players, coaches, hockey moms and dads and rivalries and careers both doomed and destined for glory.
B.C. hockey stories
In the book MacLean, now with the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour, hones in on two B.C. cities: Castlegar and Victoria.
For Victoria, the focus is on the Courtnall brothers — Russ and Geoff, who both had lengthy careers in the National Hockey League, and who made efforts to finance mental health services after their father Archie committed suicide in 1978.
"Even Steve Nash would attribute a lot of his success in the NBA to the Courtnall boys," MacLean told The Early Edition's host Rick Cluff.
"[It's] a really compelling story in the book."
For Castlegar, the focus is on Steve Bozek, a two-way forward and strong penalty-killer who spent 11 seasons in the NHL.
MacLean said that though he had covered Bozek's career with the Calgary Flames, co-author McLellan Day's expertise came in handy for the player's early NCAA career.
Bozek was one of five players from Castlegar who ended up playing for the Northern Michigan Wildcats, leading the university's brand new team to the NCAA Division 1 final in 1981.
Another major achievement, MacLean said, was Bozek's role in a game known as the Miracle on Manchester.
In that 1982 playoff game, Bozek, playing for the Los Angeles Kings, helped the team beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 after the Kings had been trailing 5-0.
Bozek tied the game with a backhanded shot, with only five seconds left in the third period.
"His whole life, little Steve Bozek out of Castlegar, B.C., is attached to so many big stories that it just can't help but make a good chapter," MacLean said.
To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled: Ron MacLean shares stories of lesser known B.C. hockey legends in new book