Lange's colorful calls brought Penguins hockey to life

Lange is the voice of record for five Stanley Cup championships -- 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, 2017.

But there wasn't much to celebrate in the first two decades after the Penguins were founded in 1967. That changed May 25, 1991, when they won 8-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Minnesota North Stars.

The next year, Pittsburgh won again, a four-game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Lange wanted the Cup. And he wanted a little something to go with it:

"Oh, Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley! Bring me the brandy!"

It took a little while to get back. Crosby, now part of a storied trio with fellow center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang, helped the Penguins to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, but lost to the vaunted Detroit Red Wings.

In 2009, it was a rematch. Detroit again won the first two games. Pittsburgh responded with the next two before the Red Wings took Game 5, 5-0. Down 3-2 in the best-of-7 series, the young Penguins had to rally.

They did. As the horn sounded for a 2-1 win in Game 6 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Lange shouted, "And I'll meet you in the schoolyard, baby, for all the marbles!"

The Penguins then won 2-1 in Game 7, Marc-Andre Fleury making a last-second diving save on Nicklas Lidstrom. Lange said, "Lord Stanley, scratch their names on your fabled Cup!"

At the victory parade a few days later, Lange gave a speech.

"There wasn't a chill left off the spine of this group coming up the Boulevard of the Allies, I can guarantee you," Lange said then. "The roar and the sound was overwhelming. Not quite as much as it was, though, after Game 6 of this series against Detroit, where, if you remember, I said at the end, after we won the game, I said, ‘We will see you in the schoolyard, baby, and we'll play for all the marbles on Friday night.'"

Lange then held up a sack.

"I got the marbles!"

At PPG Paints Arena, the Penguins' home since 2010, there's a media level on the seventh floor. Leaving one of the two elevators, you're greeted by a mural of Lange, dotted with some of these everlasting sayings.

It's been the Mike Lange Media Level since 2019.

To start each night game, he'd declare, "It's a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh!"

That line lives. Just before puck drop, the Penguins have it read. Sometimes it's a lucky fan. It's been United States military veterans. Other Pittsburgh athletes have joined, including a recent visit from former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.

No matter how many times it's repeated, it's Lange's call all the same.

Then, when the Penguins won, Lange would announce, "Elvis has just left the building!"

A recording of that one still echoes through the arena after home wins.

In Pittsburgh, there is no replacement. Nobody could have said what Lange said as authentically as Lange.