Phil Bourque Biography

Phillipe Richard Bourque (The Ol' Two-Niner) was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts on June 8, 1962. He is a distant relative of Hall of Fame defenseman Raymond Bourque and a former National League hockey left-winger. Bourque was not picked in the NHL Entry Draft, but he signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1982. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins' AHL club, the Baltimore SkipJacks. On October 4, 1983, Bourque made his NHL debut for the Penguins against the St. Louis Blues. He did not become a more important member of the squad until the 1988-1989 season when he appeared in all 80 games. Prior to that, he alternated between the Penguins and their affiliate Skipjacks, as well as the Muskegon Lumberjacks. In the 1987-1988 season, Bourque earned the Governor's Trophy as the top defenseman in the IHL with the Lumberjacks. Phil's first and only hat trick came against the New York Rangers on December 3, 1990, in a 9-4 victory for the club. On December 16, 1990, Bourque had another memorable game against the Detroit Red Wings. Bourque carried the puck into the zone with his stick twisted after being let loose on a breakaway. He carried the puck with the tip of his blade but missed the goal. In the 1990-1991 and 1991-1992 seasons, he was a member of both Penguins Stanley Cup teams. “What do you say we take this thing down to the river and party all summer?” he famously said during the team's first Cup win celebration. Following the Penguins' second Stanley Cup triumph in 1992, Phil Bourque went on to play for the New York Rangers and the Ottawa Senators. He died in a terrible fall from a 40-foot ledge near Lake Powell, Arizona, in 1994. In the event, he sustained three broken vertebrae in his neck, a fractured skull, a shattered sinus cavity, a broken cheekbone, and a broken nose. After the 1995-1996 season, he retired from the NHL. After that, he spent one season with the IHL's Chicago Wolves and three seasons in Germany until retiring after the 1999–2000 season. He appeared in 344 games for the Penguins, scoring 75 goals, 89 assists, and 164 points. During his three seasons in the Playoffs, he appeared in 56 games, scoring 13 goals, 12 assists, and totaling 25 points. Phil Bourque is now the color analyst for Pens Radio Broadcasts alongside Mike Lange.

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