Longtime voice of the Minnesota North Stars, Al Shaver passes away

(Vancouver, BC) — The Minnesota hockey community is mourning the loss of longtime North Stars play-by-play voice Al Shaver. His family says Shaver died after a brief illness at age 96 in Vancouver Island. Shaver called North Stars’ games from the inaugural season 1967 until the team moved to Dallas in 1993. He did Gopher men’s hockey games for three more seasons before retiring. Shaver was known as the “Voice of Hockey” in the state. His son, Wally, is now the radio play-by-play voice for University of Minnesota hockey, while his grandson Jason calls games for the A-H-L Chicago Wolves.