TORONTO (AP) — Bob Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half century who served as the soundtrack for some of the national sport's biggest moments, has died. He was 90.
Friend and fellow broadcaster John Shannon said Cole died Wednesday night in his hometown of St. John's, the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the network for which Cole worked, announced his death Thursday, adding daughter Megan said her father had been healthy “up until the very end.”
“He’s such a legend, such a great man,” said Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon, a Nova Scotia native. “I’ve met him a few times over the years. At charity golf tournaments in Halifax, he’d come out and support Atlantic Canadians. Amazing person, super funny. Just a great guy and obviously some of the best calls of all time.”
Known for his “Oh baby!” catchphrase, Cole called some iconic games as part of CBC's “Hockey Night in Canada." His distinctive play-by-play style added even more flavor to the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, when he did the radio broadcast, the 2002 Olympic final in Salt Lake City and numerous Stanley Cup Finals.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Cole “made every game he called sound bigger" and transcended generations by sharing his obvious passion for our game and his stunning talent for conveying hockey’s excitement and majesty with both eloquence and enthusiasm."
Cole called his first game, on radio, between Boston and Montreal in April 1969 and moved to TV in 1973. He called his last game on April 6, 2019 — the regular-season finale between the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs — and in between was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, winning the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.
“The hockey world, we lost a legend,” Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness said. “All the coaches around the league and all the hockey people, they trusted him. He was a true pro. You could tell him anything and he called a great game.”
Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper — speaking poignantly even after his team lost a playoff game to Florida 5-3 to fall into a 3-0 hole in that series — said his passion for the game truly started by listening to Cole. Cooper went as far to say that he's “probably not coaching in this league if it wasn’t growing up and having a passion for this game because of the voice of that man.”
“It was all because of the emotion that Bob Cole brought to this game," Cooper said. “And he’s the Wayne Gretzky of announcers. My passion for this game is built on what Bob Cole said and every night watching ‘Hockey Night in Canada,' I'd turn that thing on at 5 o'clock just to hear his voice.”
Cooper met with Cole in Montreal in 2018, after a pregame skate, and was just in awe of the moment, standing alongside Cole at the broadcast position high over the ice.
“I'm not star-struck often,” Cooper said. “I was star-struck when he came down.”
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe opened his remarks between playoff games Thursday by passing along condolences to Cole's family.
“Someone who touched the game in so many ways, as an icon in our sport and the voice of hockey, not just in Toronto, but in our country,” Keefe said. “A sad day for sure.”
Added Cooper: “I’m going to miss that man. He was a superstar in this sport.”
Cole’s reach extended beyond hockey. He skipped Newfoundland at the 1971 Brier and 1975 Canadian men’s curling championship, served as quiz master on “Reach for the Top” and worked for the Newfoundland government.
AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Bob Cole attends an Order of Canada ceremony at Rideau Hall, Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario. Broadcaster Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half-century, has died. He was 90. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP, FIle)
FILE - Broadcaster Bob Cole looks out over the ice prior to calling his last NHL hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Montreal, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half-century, has died. He was 90. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP, FIle)
FILE - Broadcaster Bob Cole poses prior to calling his last NHL hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Montreal, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half-century, has died. He was 90. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP, FIle)
BOSTON (AP) — Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery wanted to do something different with his team heading into a first-round Game 7 matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins were facing the prospect of blowing back-to-back 3-1 leads in the opening round and a sense of impending doom hung over the team.
Montgomery hoped a little change of scenery might do the trick. So instead of sleeping in their own beads ahead of the winner-take-all game Saturday night, they stayed at a hotel and took buses to TD Garden.
“The thinking was, we're 2-5 at home the last two years in the playoffs, and what's going to allow us to eliminate the noise?” Montgomery said.
He thought back to a visit he made to the New England Patriots' spring minicamp last year. There he spoke with former coach Bill Belichick about the importance of limiting distractions.
“It's something that stuck with me. And it's something that I've been preaching as the playoffs have been nearing,” he said.
It just may have saved Boston's season.
The Bruins overcame a deficit to tie it in regulation, then David Pastrnak scored 1:54 into overtime and the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 2-1.
It was the kind of total team performance Montgomery was aiming for since taking a 3-1 lead on Toronto.
It was also a slump-busing night for Pastrnak, who had a team-high four shots on goal after posting just two goals and two assists through six games. His puck handling was integral to jumpstarting Boston's offense in the third period and in overtime.
“A little relief as well,” Pastrnak said. “Obviously, the happiness from the group and sticking together the whole series was unbelievable and we couldn't be prouder of ourselves.”
Boston moves into the next round with netminder Jeremy Swayman playing at nearly his highest level of the season. Since Montgomery stopped alternating Linus Ullmark and Swayman in Game 3, Swayman hasn't allowed more than two goals in a game.
“He was our best player in the series and it's not close,” Montgomery said.
It helped them narrowly avoid becoming the first NHL, NBA or Major League Baseball team to lose consecutive best-of-seven series after holding a 3-1 lead.
Montgomery said it is an experience he thinks will help them going forward.
“I think we’re a better team because of what we just went through. Now they know what it takes to push through,” he said. “First round’s the wild, wild west. It usually is. This year it seems like there’s only two Game 7s. But usually there’s six.”
And next up is another chance at redemption against a Florida Panthers team that rallied from 3-1 in last year’s first round to send home a Bruins team that set league records for wins and points in the regular season.
“That’s playoff hockey," Montgomery said. "Last year had no bearing on how this was going to bear out. We knew that. It’s a storyline, and that’s part of what comes with playoffs. That’s going to happen. But at the end of the day, we did a great job staying in moment, believing in our group. And we came out on top.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Boston Bruins' Parker Wotherspoon, left, battles Toronto Maple Leafs' Pontus Holmberg during the first period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman (1) blocks a shot by Toronto Maple Leafs' William Nylander (88) as Morgan Geekie (39) defends during the second period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Toronto Maple Leafs fans react after catching a puck that went over the glass during the third period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Toronto Maple Leafs' Tyler Bertuzzi (59) leaves the ice between John Tavares (91) and Morgan Rielly (44) after the team lost to the Boston Bruins in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery cheers after a goal by center Trent Frederic (11) during the first period of Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series agains the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Toronto Maple Leafs' Matthew Knies (23) collides with Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman (1) during the second period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Bruins' Hampus Lindholm (27) celebrates his goal with Justin Brazeau (55) and Trent Frederic (11) behind Toronto Maple Leafs' David Kampf (64) during the third period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman (1) and Linus Ullmark (35) celebrate after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak (88) sets up to score on Toronto Maple Leafs' Ilya Samsonov (35) in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with Morgan Geekie (39), Charlie McAvoy (73) and Brandon Carlo (25) in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
