The year is 1947. Ten-year-old Gerry Pang sits in his living room with his mother and brothers, listening to Hockey Night in Canada on the radio. This has become a tradition on Saturday nights while their father is fighting overseas. He doesn鈥檛 know it yet, but these moments will spark a love within him for hockey that will last a lifetime.

Now, more than 70 years later, Gerry Pang has finally decided to hang up his skates.

Pang, a Fernie resident, had a love for many sports throughout his youth and adulthood, and also served for nine years in the army. He eventually slowed down, had kids, and passed on his love for sports to them.

One of his sons, Darren Pang, is a retired Chicago Blackhawks goaltender, and current hockey media personality with the St. Louis Blues. Gerry introduced him to hockey when he was five-years-old and it got to the point where he couldn鈥檛 get him away from the rink 鈥� 24/7, the kids wanted to play.

When he was 17, Gerry played three seasons of professional baseball with the Air Canada Fastball Association in Val-d鈥橭r, Quebec. As a young man, he loved fastball. Somewhere in his archives, Gerry has a letter from John Mullins, chief scout of the Milwaukee Braves, now known as the Brewers. It was an invitation to come to camp and play pro ball. However, he was making more money playing Senior A fastball in Quebec than they would have paid him in the States. He was scolded by his father for not taking the opportunity.

Looking back, Gerry believes that if he had taken that invitation to play pro ball, his life would have taken a much different path.

鈥淟ife looks simple, but destinations are tough sometimes,鈥� Gerry shared.

Gerry played old-timers hockey up until the age of 54. Even after he retired his own goalie pads, he continued to coach youth as a way of staying in the sport. He came to Fernie from Canmore in 1991 with the intention of staying for just one year. Before he knew it, nearly three decades had passed.

鈥淎s an ex-goalie who didn鈥檛 go far, that became just natural to help,鈥� said Gerry. 鈥淎nd I just fell in love with teaching.鈥�

Nothing ever got between Gerry and hockey. For him, hockey is life.

鈥淗ey, I鈥檝e had a heart attack, I鈥檝e served nine years in the military. I served in the Middle East in the 50s, got blown up, almost lost my right ankle and foot, spent seven or eight months recuperating,鈥� he said.

鈥淏ut that didn鈥檛 stop me. My idea was, I鈥檓 getting back on the skates and I鈥檓 going to play hockey again.鈥�

Pang started coaching locally in 1997 after receiving a phone call from the head coach of the girls鈥� midget team, the Fernie Bladerunners. Pang worked with this team for five years, and in those five years, they won four B.C. Championships and four Western Shield medals 鈥� two bronze, one silver and one gold.

While he was coaching the Bladerunners, he got a call from Fernie鈥檚 Junior A Ghostriders team. At the time, they were the only Canadian team in the American Western Hockey League. Gerry has fond memories of teaching many great kids over his three years with this program.

Gerry took a couple of years off but in 2002, he was called back to help teach the Ghostriders, and he鈥檚 been with them ever since. March 1 marked his 28th year in Fernie. Gerry has been coaching the Ghostriders for half of these years.

Asked why he came back, Gerry said, 鈥淥nce you play a little bit of hockey, and got a little touch of coaching, it comes to the point where, this is the game I love. I love this game. I like to go golfing. I always said, I like golf, I love hockey.鈥�

Throughout his 21 years of involvement with hockey in Fernie, Gerry has missed only a few games. He missed just one game in the past four years with the Ghostriders, due to a flu. Before that, he missed only a few weeks with the Junior A team and the Bladerunners after he suffered a heart attack in practice.

鈥淚 was working with the Bladerunners, we were doing a drill and I thought I was 20-years-old. I came off the ice, and all of a sudden I felt bad. I said to Rob Poupart who was the head coach at the time, Robbie get me to the hospital, I鈥檓 having a heart attack.鈥�

After a week in the Fernie hospital, Gerry was taken to Calgary, where he stayed for surgery, rested for a few days then strapped on his skates again. When he entertained the idea of returning to the arena, he was advised against it. To this Gerry responded, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care. So I had a heart attack. I can still walk. I feel fine, I want to go see the boys practice.鈥�

鈥淲hen you commit to helping a club then your commitment has to be 100 per cent,鈥� he added.

Whenever he ran a goalie camp, Gerry had one strict rule: you didn鈥檛 pay him and you didn鈥檛 charge the kids.

鈥淚 think every Canadian grows up wanting to be a hockey player, until the costs start to run. The costs today are unbelievable鈥� but the hockey鈥檚 still good.鈥�

Gerry carried his knowledge of what the sport used to be with him throughout the years, and implemented some strategy of old into his coaching. One example was the two pad stack, a last-resort goalie move from the 1960s and 70s.

鈥淚 thought, this is just another weapon they can put in their arsenal, and if they get a chance to use it, it鈥檚 there.鈥�

Gerry has always been and old-style hockey coach. In the old days, hockey players weren鈥檛 that big, and the equipment was pretty flimsy. There was less physical contact, and more speed and skill.

He remembers back to 1972, when Canada beat Russia in The Summit Series.

鈥淭he Canadians came into camp, they weren鈥檛 in very good shape,鈥� said Gerry. 鈥淭hey came off the golf course, and I鈥檓 sure they must鈥檝e had a six pack of beer with them when they walked into the dressing room.

鈥淏ut they had one thing the Russians didn鈥檛 have 鈥� they had heart. And that鈥檚 one thing I鈥檝e always mentioned in pre-game talks. You鈥檝e got to have heart to play this game. You鈥檝e got to. You鈥檝e got to have the love for it, and you鈥檝e just got to have the heart.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have heart, you鈥檙e not going to go nowhere.鈥�

There鈥檚 one thing that hasn鈥檛 changed over the years. Still, the best place to talk about hockey is the post office. Sometimes, he runs into people ready to hand out criticism.

鈥淓verybody becomes a coach now, right off the street, they鈥檙e a coach. But they don鈥檛 know what teams go through. No team has gone through what we did this past year with the loss of three great gentleman,鈥� he said.

鈥淓very home game was an away game for us. But that鈥檚 part of life, that鈥檚 part of growing up. I think that might have helped a lot of young players we had this year, grow up, become young men.鈥�

At the Ghostriders鈥� year end banquet, Gerry made sure to thank the volunteers, and the parents of all the players who came and played hockey for them this past year.

鈥淭hey brought these kids into the world, and allowed us to develop them into better hockey players, and young men.

鈥淵ou come in as boys, and you leave as men. I鈥檝e never run into a bad Ghostrider, in all these years. So many good people, and so many great parents.鈥�

Gerry says it鈥檚 the players and all the volunteers who are the reason he鈥檒l keep coming back to watch games, even in his retirement.

Sixteen years after he said he was done the first time, Gerry has stepped back for good. He says his last few years with the Ghostriders have been filled with enjoyment, and he especially enjoyed working with the coaching staff and medical team. He says he鈥檒l always be proud to represent the Ghostriders, anywhere.

Gerry has spent so many years with the hockey team that he says it鈥檒l be impossible for him to just forget about it. That being said, he鈥檚 looking forward to his new-found free time. He also looks forward to going to a Ghostriders game, paying admission, sitting down in the stands and watching the team improve as the season progresses.

Even when he鈥檚 banging the ball around on the golf course, Gerry knows that he鈥檒l still be talking about hockey.

Looking back on his life, Gerry鈥檚 enjoyed every minute of it. He鈥檚 81 now, turning 82 in November. People have asked him how he鈥檚 stayed healthy through his life. They ask if he鈥檚 on some kind of special diet. To this, Gerry says that he eats whatever he wants. If he craves a hotdog, he鈥檒l have that. A hamburger, that too.

Throughout his life, Gerry has seen a lot, done a lot, and overcome a lot. And for many years of his life, sports have been the reason he鈥檚 gotten out of bed in the morning.

鈥淗e鈥檚 done everything,鈥� said 2017/18 Ghostriders captain, Mitch Titus. 鈥淚 tried my hardest to learn from Gerry. Panger鈥� he鈥檚鈥� he鈥檚 incredible.

鈥淗e鈥檒l tell you stories that will make you cry, he鈥檒l tell stories that鈥檒l make you laugh until you can鈥檛 laugh anymore. It鈥檚 pretty amazing, having a friend like that.鈥�

Gerry sees sports as a common denominator.

鈥淵ou can fall off the fence, you can sit on the fence, or you can climb over the fence,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 see kids today; maybe they鈥檙e not playing hockey because of the expense. But when they鈥檙e playing sports, they become better people.

鈥淚f the glass was half full, I think sports fills the glass.鈥�