Mac Colville

Mac Colville teamed with his brother Neil, a Hall of Famer, to help propel the Rangers to the 1940 Stanley Cup championship.

In the late 1930's and early 40's, Mac Colville on right wing, Neil Colville at center and Alex Shibicky at left wing formed one of the top lines in the National Hockey League. The unit was known as the Bread Line because it was considered the bread and butter of the Rangers' offense.

Mac scored two goals in the opener of the Rangers' semifinal playoff series in 1940 against the Boston Bruins, and the Rangers went on to win the Stanley Cup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers did not win another championship until 1994.

Neil Colville was more the scorer while Mac, 17 months younger, paid attention to defensive play.

"I did all the backchecking," Mac told The Globe and Mail of Toronto in 1986. "Old Lester Patrick told us never to give the puck away because the other team couldn't score if we had it," he added, referring to the Rangers' general manager.

Matthew Colville, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, made his N.H.L. debut with the Rangers in the 1935-36 season and remained with them through 1947 except for the World War II years, when he played with Neil Colville and Shibicky on the Canadian Army's Ottawa Commandos. He had 71 goals and 104 assists in nine N.H.L. seasons.

He later coached in the minors and worked for the province of Alberta.