Legendary Hockey Night in Canada Play-by-Play man Bob Cole passed away Thursday at the age of 90.
For Canadian hockey fans, there weren't many voices as familiar as Bob Cole's. For 50 years, Cole's voice was part of the hockey soundtrack, and it always sounded best on Saturday night. If you have a great Hockey Night in Canada memory, there's a pretty decent chance Cole called it.
Amazingly, his career lasted from 1969 until his "retirement" in 2019. And when I asked him once in a radio interview what kept him going into his 80s, he said it was simply the love of the job.
"I'd do this for free," Cole said.
On the day of his passing, we look back at five great Ottawa Senators moments that Bob Cole helped sear into our memories.
October 1993: Neil Brady scores the first goal in Senators' history.
Unlike Vegas and Seattle, Ottawa was given access to only a fraction of the existing talent in the league in the 1993 expansion draft. So the Sens won only 10 games all season. But on opening night, we all wondered if maybe Rome was built in a day. The Sens somehow defeated Montreal, the eventual Cup champs that season. And Bob Cole called it...
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6STkJ8UzoyU[/embed]
April 2017: Clarke MacArthur's Game 6 overtime goal to Eliminate Boston.
After missing almost the entire regular season with a concussion, MacArthur returned just in time for the playoffs and scored the series winner in OT. When the playoffs were over, it was hard not to raise an eyebrow when MacArthur retired due to concussion issues. But it remains a great moment in Sens history. And Bob Cole called it...
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3EzdvN0Pbc[/embed]
April 2012: Kyle Turris's Game 4 overtime goal against the Rangers.
The Senators trailed the Rangers 2-1 in their first round series, and were in danger of going back to New York down 3-1. That is, until Jimmy O'Brien dropped a pass back to Kyle Turris who fired a laser past Henrik Lunqvist. And Bob Cole called it...
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns9a7NIJNb8[/embed]
May 2002: Daniel Alfredsson's Game 5 goal following hit on Darcy Tucker.
This goal was the game winner that gave the Senators a 3-2 series lead in round two of the Stanley cup Playoffs. They obviously didn't hold on to win the series, but this play is often hailed as one of the most satisfying moments in club history. Alfredsson clobbers Toronto's most obnoxious player with a big hit, then scores the game winning goal in front of enraged Leaf fans. A masterpiece, a chef's kiss, and Bob Cole called it...
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygsh23z4eMM[/embed]
May 2007: Daniel Alfredsson's Game 5 overtime goal to win the Conference Title.
After eliminating the Senators three times in nine years, the Buffalo Sabres were getting to be a pain. But the Sens finally figured them out in 2007, taking them out in five, winning the Eastern Conference and advancing to their first Cup Final. Who else but Alfie would score the winner? And who else but Bob Cole would call it?
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDYjCzgGXzU[/embed]
Those are just a few of the many great Ottawa Senator moments that Bob Cole has described to us over the years. We'll not see his like again.