Bob Cole ( announcer ) " Bob Cole " , ( born 1933 in St . John ' s , Newfoundland ) is a Canadian television announcer . Bob Cole was the lead play - by - play announcer for " Hockey Night in Canada " ' HNIC ' on CBC , usually for Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senator games , from 1980 ( when he took over from Bill Hewitt ) until 2008 ( when Jim Hughson took over ) . Aside from Leafs games , he is also a staple for the CBC during the Stanley Cup playoffs . He had broadcast every Stanley Cup Finals since 1989 - 2008 , when he was replaced by Jim Hughson . He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 as the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for broadcasting excellence . Cole received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St . John ' s in 2002 . Broadcasting . Cole began broadcasting hockey on CBC Radio in 1969 and moved to television in 1973 when " HNIC " expanded its coverage . Catch phrases . Some of his more famous phrases include " Oh baby ! " and " Scores ! " / " Holy cow " He is known particularly for ' Colisms ' ( such as " Heavens to Betsy ! " , " Oh Nelly ! " , and the trademark " What a dandy ! " used to describe a great game ) as well as for slowly emphasizing each word when an exciting play has happened ( " Can he do it again ? Scores ! Pec – a – does – it – a – gain ! " ) . Other common phrases made by Cole are : " He ' s a goalie , yes sir , and a good one at that ! " after a great save and " He was nailed " after a great hit . Some notable stylistic traits of Cole ' s calls include both a trademark cadence that trots and gallops independent of the pace of play , as well as a general ambiguity towards puck location and its possessors : " They . are . doing it folks . they . are . doing it now ! " " He . tried to . GO IN THERE ! " " There ' s a drive . ANOTHER ONE ! " Bob also has a proclivity for referring to the game itself as " this baby . " " Pittsburgh better get a quick one here . or this baby ' s gonna be Over ! " or " Scores ! And this baby is tied . " Olympics . Cole ' s work during CBC ' s broadcasts of the Olympic games have also become memorable among legions of Canadians . His call on the final shot of the shootout in the semi - final game of the 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano between Canada and the Czech Republic represented Canada ' s failure at the games and haunted fans for years . With Canada scoreless in the shootout and Brendan Shanahan representing their last chance , Cole said in a panicked voice as Shanahan skated in towards Czech goalie Dominik Hasek , " He ' s gotta score , that ' s all ! " But Shanahan was stopped by Hasek , prompting Cole to dejectedly say " No , he can ' t do it . " At the gold medal game of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City between Canada and the United States , Cole ' s animated call of Joe Sakic ' s second goal of the game is also one of his more memorable moments . Also , on the fourth Canada goal of the game , with four minutes remaining in the third period , Cole was so excited when the goal was scored he yelled out " GORE ! " ( a hybrid of " goal " and " score " ) , and then proceeded to call out " Goal , Canada ! Goal ! Wow ! [ . . . ] The place goes crazy here in Salt Lake City , and I guess coast to coast in Canada , and all around the world ! " When Sakic scored Canada ' s fifth goal with one minute and twenty seconds remaining , Cole yelled out " SCORES ! JOE - SAKIC - SCORES ! And that makes it 5 - 2 Canada ! Surely , that ' s gotta be it ! " As the final seconds of the game ticked away , Cole said " Now after 50 years , it ' s time for Canada to stand up and cheer . Stand up and cheer everybody ! The Olympics Salt Lake City , 2002 , men ' s ice hockey , gold medal : Canada ! " Colour commentators . Cole ' s long time colour commentator on " HNIC " was Harry Neale . They were first teamed up in the season . From 1987 to 2007 Stanley Cup Finals , they broadcast 20 Stanley Cup Finals together . In 2007 Cole captured his first Gemini Award in the area of Sports Play - by Play