Stick tap to Alberni Valley Bulldogs broadcaster Evan Hammond for posting this. Deadspin has profiled Howie Rose’s call of the Game 7 OT winner that propelled the New York Rangers into the Cup Final, and ultimately to a Stanley Cup over the Vancouver Canucks.
Howie Rose was never one to use a canned line, but this called for something special, something that would convey the size of the moment. On May 27, 1994, as the Rangers clung to a 1-0 lead over the Devils late in the third period of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, words began to form in the radio play-by-play announcer’s head.
“That’s how I was going to end the game,” he says now. He had it all planned out, too. He would deliver the line, then immediately defer to the crowd’s roar, “to punctuate the euphoria that was evident coming through the radio.”
Less than a minute before the final horn, Rose braced himself. Then, with 7.7 seconds to go, Devils forward Valeri Zelepukin managed to jam a shot under Rangers goaltender Mike Richter’s left pad. Agonizingly, the puck slid into the net. Rose felt like swearing, but instead simply stated the obvious: “They score on the rebound! Richter is furious!”
He didn’t know it right away, but for Rose, the goal was a blessing. It forced him back onto his instincts, back where broadcasters’ careers are made.
To read the full article, click here.