Miracle on Ice - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

game during the 1980 Winter Olympics

1980 Winter Olympics

The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...

at Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

, on Friday, February 22. The United States team, made up of amateur

Amateur

An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....

and collegiate players and led by coach Herb Brooks

Herb Brooks

Herbert Paul Brooks, Jr. was an American ice hockey player and coach. He notably coached the United States' men's hockey team to a 4-3 upset of the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York on February 22, 1980...

, defeated the Soviet team, who were considered to be the best ice hockey team in the world at the time.

Team USA went on to win the gold medal

Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics

Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics was held at the Olympic Arena and the Olympic Fieldhouse in Lake Placid, New York. Twelve teams competed in the tournament, which was held from February 12 to February 24...

by winning its last match over Finland. The Soviet Union took the silver medal by beating Sweden in its final game.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

named the "Miracle on Ice" the Top Sports Moment of the 20th Century. As part of its 100th anniversary celebrations in 2008, the International Ice Hockey Federation

International Ice Hockey Federation

The International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 70 members...

(IIHF) chose the "Miracle on Ice" as the century's number-one international ice hockey story.

The Soviet and American teams

The Soviet Union entered the Olympic tournament as heavy favorites, having won the ice hockey gold medal in 1956

Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics

At the 1956 Winter Olympics held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. For World Championships Pool B matches were also played between GDR, Norway and Belgium in Berlin...

and every year since 1964

Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics

At the 1964 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at the Olympiahalle Innsbruck....

. In the four Olympics after the Soviet squad was upset by Team USA

Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics

At the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California, United States, one ice hockey event was held: men's Ice Hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at Blyth Arena.Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and...

at Squaw Valley in 1960

1960 Winter Olympics

The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...

, Soviet teams had gone 27–1–1 (W-L-T) and outscored the opposition 175–44. In head-to-head match-ups against the United States, the cumulative score over that period was 28-7. The Soviet players were amateurs (some were active-duty military) who played in a well-developed league with world class training facilities. They were led by legendary players in world ice hockey, such as Boris Mikhailov

Boris Mikhailov (ice hockey)

Boris Petrovich Mikhailov is a former Soviet ice hockey player. He played for Kristall Saratov from 1962–65, Lokomotiv Moscow from 1965–67, and CSKA Moscow from 1967-1981...

(a top line right winger

Winger (ice hockey)

Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...

and team captain), Vladislav Tretiak

Vladislav Tretiak

Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM is a former goaltender for the Soviet Union's national ice hockey team. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team in a...

(considered by many to be the best ice hockey goaltender in the world at the time), the speedy and skilled Valeri Kharlamov, as well as talented, young, and dynamic players such as defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov

Viacheslav Fetisov

Viacheslav "Slava" Alexandrovich Fetisov is a retired professional ice hockey defenseman...

and forwards Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov born June 1, 1960) is a former Soviet hockey forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov, he was part of the famed KLM Line...

and Sergei Makarov

Sergei Makarov

Sergei Mikhailovich Makarov is a Russian former ice hockey right wing and two-time Olympic gold medalist, regarded as one of the greatest players to play the sport...

. From that team, Tretiak, Kharlamov, and Fetisov would eventually be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame

Hockey Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

.

U.S. head coach Herb Brooks conducted tryouts in Colorado Springs in the summer of 1979. Of the 20 players who eventually made the final Olympic roster, Buzz Schneider

Buzz Schneider

William "Buzz" Schneider is a retired American ice hockey player best remembered for his role on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid...

was the only one returning from the 1976

Ice hockey at the 1976 Winter Olympics

At the 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria, the USSR team won the Gold Medal in ice hockey. Star forward, Valeri Kharlamov scored the game-winning goal in the final game. Games were held at the Olympiahalle Innsbruck.-Highlights:...

Olympic team. Nine players had played under Brooks at the University of Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey...

, while four more were from Boston University. Assistant coach Craig Patrick

Craig Patrick

Craig Patrick is a former American hockey player, coach and general manager, the son of Lynn Patrick and the grandson of Lester Patrick...

had played with Brooks on the 1967 U.S. national team.

The Soviet and American teams were natural rivals due to the decades-old Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. In addition, President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

was at the time considering a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, to be held in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, in protest of the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. On February 9, the same day that the American and Soviet teams met in an exhibition game in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, U.S. Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

Cyrus Vance

Cyrus Roberts Vance was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980...

denounced the impending Moscow games

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

(IOC). President Carter eventually decided in favor of the boycott.

Exhibitions

In exhibitions that year, Soviet club teams went 5–3–1 against National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

(NHL) teams, and a year earlier the Soviet national team had routed the NHL All-Stars 6–0 to win the Challenge Cup

1979 Challenge Cup

The 1979 Challenge Cup was an international ice hockey series of games between the Soviet national ice hockey team and a team of all-stars from the National Hockey League, held in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the 1978–79 NHL season.The Challenge Cup, unlike its...

. In 1979–80, virtually all the top North American players were Canadians, although the number of U.S.-born professional players had been on the rise throughout the 1970s. The 1980 U.S. Olympic team featured several young players who were regarded as highly promising, and some had signed contracts to play in the NHL immediately after the tournament.

In September the American team started exhibition play, playing 61 games in five months against teams from Europe and America. The last exhibition game was against the Soviets in Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

on February 9, 1980. The Soviets crushed the Americans 10–3. Soviet head coach Viktor Tikhonov

Viktor Tikhonov

Viktor Vasilyevich Tikhonov is a Russian former ice hockey player and coach. He was the coach of the Soviet team when it was the most dominant team in the world...

later said that this victory "turned out to be a very big problem" by causing the Soviets to underestimate the American team.

Olympic group play

In Olympic group play, the Americans surprised many observers with their physical, cohesive play. In its first game against favored Sweden, Team USA earned a dramatic 2–2 draw by scoring with 27 seconds left after pulling goalie Jim Craig for an extra attacker. Then came a stunning 7–3 victory over Czechoslovakia, considered by many to be the second-best team after the Soviet Union and a favorite for the silver medal. With its two toughest games in the group phase out of the way, the U.S. team reeled off three more wins, beating Norway 5–1, Romania 7–2, and West Germany 4–2 to go 4–0–1 and advance to the medal round from its group, along with the Swedes.

In the other group, the Soviets stormed through their opposition undefeated, often by grossly lopsided scores. They knocked off Japan 16–0, the Netherlands 17–4, Poland 8–1, Finland 4–2, and Canada 6–4 to easily qualify for the next round, although both the Finns and the Canadians gave the Soviets tough games for two periods. In the end, the Soviet Union and Finland (who overcame a disastrous start after sensationally losing to Poland in their opening game of the tournament, but then rallied to upset Canada) advanced from their group.

Preparing for the medal round

The U.S. and Soviet teams prepared for the medal round in different ways. Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov

Viktor Tikhonov

Viktor Vasilyevich Tikhonov is a Russian former ice hockey player and coach. He was the coach of the Soviet team when it was the most dominant team in the world...

rested most of his best players, preferring to let them study plays rather than actually skate. U.S. coach Herb Brooks

Herb Brooks

, however, continued with his tough, confrontational style, skating hard practices and berating his players for perceived weaknesses.

The day before the match, columnist Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson (sportswriter)

Dave Anderson is an American sportswriter based in New York City. After graduating in 1947 from Xavier High School - an elite Jesuit preparatory school in New York City - Anderson attended the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, graduating in 1951.Anderson has written for a number of New...

wrote in the New York Times, "Unless the ice melts, or unless the United States team or another team performs a miracle

Miracle

A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

, as did the American squad in 1960

Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics

, the Russians are expected to easily win the Olympic gold medal for the sixth time in the last seven tournaments."

"Do you believe in miracles?"

The Field House (capacity 8,500) was packed. The home crowd waved U.S. flags

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

and sang patriotic songs such as "God Bless America

God Bless America

"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song ....

." The game was aired live on CTV

CTV television network

CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...

in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, but not ABC

Olympics on ABC

The Olympics on ABC was the branding for Olympic Games coverage which aired in the United States on the broadcast network ABC. ABC first televised the Winter Olympic Games in 1964. ABC first televised the Summer Olympic Games in 1968...

in the United States. Thus, American viewers who resided in Canadian border regions and received the CTV signal could watch the game live, but the rest of country had to wait.

After the Soviets declined a request to move the game from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for U.S. television (this would have meant a 4 a.m. start in Moscow for Soviet viewers), ABC decided to broadcast the late-afternoon game on tape delay in prime time. Before the game, Brooks read his players a statement he had written out on a piece of paper, telling them that "You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours."

First period

As in several previous games, the U.S. team fell behind early. Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov born June 1, 1960) is a former Soviet hockey forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov, he was part of the famed KLM Line...

deflected a slap shot by Aleksei Kasatonov past U.S. goaltender Jim Craig to give the Soviets a 1–0 lead, and after Buzz Schneider

Buzz Schneider

William "Buzz" Schneider is a retired American ice hockey player best remembered for his role on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid...

scored for the United States to tie the game, the Soviets struck again with a Sergei Makarov

Sergei Makarov

Sergei Mikhailovich Makarov is a Russian former ice hockey right wing and two-time Olympic gold medalist, regarded as one of the greatest players to play the sport...

goal. With his team down 2–1, Craig improved his play, turning away many Soviet shots before the U.S. team had another shot on goal (the Soviet team had 39 shots on goal in the game, the Americans 16).

In the waning seconds of the first period, Dave Christian

Dave Christian

David William Christian is a retired American professional ice hockey forward, who comes from a family of hockey players. His father Bill and uncle Roger were members of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team that won the gold medal. Another uncle, Gordon, was a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Hockey...

fired a slap shot on Tretiak from 100 feet away. The Soviet goalie saved the shot but misplayed the rebound

Rebound (sports)

Rebound is a term used in sports to describe the ball becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful...

, which bounced out some 20 feet in front of him. Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson (hockey player)

Mark "Magic" Johnson is a current ice hockey coach and former United States ice hockey player who appeared in 669 NHL regular season games between 1980 and 1990 after playing for the Gold medal winning 1980 US Olympic Hockey team...

sliced between the two defenders, found the loose puck, and fired it past a diving Tretiak to tie the score with one second left in the period. The first period ended with the game tied 2–2.

Second period

Tikhonov replaced Tretiak with backup goaltender Vladimir Myshkin

Vladimir Myshkin

Vladimir Semenovich Myshkin is a former ice hockey goaltender. He was a goaltender for HC Dynamo Moscow and the Soviet Union national ice hockey team in the 1970s and 1980s....

immediately after Johnson's tying goal, a move which shocked players on both teams. Tikhonov later identified this as the "turning point of the game" and called it "the biggest mistake of my career." Myshkin allowed no goals in the second period. The Soviets dominated play in the second period, outshooting the Americans 12–2, but scored only once, on a power play

Power play (sport)

"Power play" is a sporting term used in various games.*In ice hockey, a team is said to be on a power play when at least one opposing player is serving a penalty, and the team has a numerical advantage on the ice...

goal by Aleksandr Maltsev

Aleksandr Maltsev

Aleksandr Nikolayevich Maltsev is a retired Soviet ice hockey right winger.Maltsev played for Dynamo Moscow in the Soviet League for 530 games from 1967 to 1984...

. After two periods the Soviet Union led 3–2.

Third period

Vladimir Krutov was sent to the penalty box

Penalty (ice hockey)

A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...

at the 6:47 mark of the third period for slashing. The Americans, who had managed only two shots on Myshkin in 27 minutes, had a power play and a rare offensive opportunity. Myshkin stopped a Mike Ramsey

Mike Ramsey

Michael Allen Ramsey is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman who played 1070 regular season games in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings between 1980 and 1997, after helping the 1980 U.S...

shot, then U.S. team captain Mike Eruzione fired a shot wide. Late in the power play, Dave Silk

Dave Silk

David Mark "Silky" Silk is a retired professional American ice hockey forward who played 249 NHL regular season games for the Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers between 1980 and 1985.-Amateur career:Silk attended Thayer Academy in Braintree, where he scored 85...

was advancing into the Soviet zone when Valeri Vasiliev

Valeri Vasiliev

Valeri Ivanovich Vasiliev was a Russian ice hockey defenceman, who competed for the USSR. An eight-time Soviet all-star, Vasiliev was captain of the national team, for which he played 13 years. He trained at Dynamo in Moscow.Vasiliev played on nine Soviet gold medal teams at the IIHF World...

knocked him to the ice. The puck slid to Mark Johnson. Johnson fired off a shot that went under Myshkin and into the net at the 8:39 mark, as the power play was ending, tying the game at 3. Only a couple of shifts later, Mark Pavelich

Mark Pavelich

Mark Thomas Pavelich is a retired US professional ice hockey forward who played 355 regular season games in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks between 1981 and 1992 and was a member of the 1980 U.S...

passed to Eruzione, who was left undefended in the high slot

Slot (ice hockey)

In hockey, the slot is the area on the hockey rink directly ahead of the goaltender between the faceoff circles on each side. Those inexperienced with hockey terminology sometimes incorrectly refer to it as the "scoring area"....

. Eruzione, who had just come into the game, fired a shot past Myshkin, who was screened

Screen (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, a screen is when a player is obstructing the goaltender's view of the puck. The word can also be used as a verb, commonly "don't screen the goaltender", or "the goalie was screened". Screens can be both planned, as when an attacking forward positions himself in front of the net, or...

by Vasili Pervukhin

Vasili Pervukhin

Vasili Alekseevich Pervukhin was a Russian ice hockey player, who competed for the Soviet Union. At the national level he played for Dizelist Penza between 1974 and 1976, and for HC Dynamo Moscow between 1976 and 1989.At the Olympics, Pervuhkin earned a Silver Medal in 1980 and a Gold in...

. This goal gave Team USA a 4–3 lead, its first of the game, with exactly 10 minutes left.

The Soviets attacked furiously. Moments after Eruzione's goal, Maltsev fired a shot which ricocheted off the right goal post. As the minutes wound down, Brooks kept repeating to his players, "Play your game. Play your game." Instead of going into a defensive crouch, the United States continued to play offense, even getting off a few more shots on goal. The Soviets began to shoot wildly, and Sergei Starikov

Sergei Starikov

Sergei Viktorovich Starikov is a Russian ice hockey coach, who competed as defenseman for the Soviet national team....

admitted that "we were panicking." As the clock ticked down below a minute the Soviets got the puck back into the American zone, and Mikhailov passed to Vladimir Petrov

Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov

Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov is a Soviet ice hockey player, two times Olympic Champion , who is currently retired....

, who shot wide. The Soviets never pulled Myshkin for an extra attacker

Extra attacker

An extra attacker in ice hockey is a forward or, less commonly, a defenceman who has been substituted in place of the goaltender. The purpose of this substitution is to gain an offensive advantage to score a goal...

, much to the Americans' disbelief. Starikov later explained that "We never did six-on-five", not even in practice, because "Tikhonov just didn't believe in it." Craig kicked away a Petrov slap shot with 33 seconds left. Kharlamov fired the puck back in as the clock ticked below 20 seconds. A wild scramble for the puck ensued, ending when Johnson found it and passed it to Ken Morrow. As the U.S. team tried to clear the zone (move the puck over the blue line, which they did with seven seconds remaining), the crowd began to count down the seconds left. Sportscaster Al Michaels

Al Michaels

Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...

, who was calling the game on ABC

Olympics on ABC

along with former Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...

goalie Ken Dryden

Ken Dryden

Kenneth Wayne Dryden, PC, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former NHL goaltender. Dryden is married with two children and four grandchildren and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame...

, picked up on the countdown in his broadcast, and delivered his famous call:
As his team ran all over the ice in celebration, Herb Brooks sprinted back to the locker room and cried. In the locker room afterwards, players spontaneously broke into a chorus of "God Bless America".

During the broadcast wrap-up after the game, ABC Olympic sports anchor Jim McKay compared the American victory over the Soviets to a group of Canadian college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

players defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

(the recent Super Bowl

Super Bowl XIV

Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...

champions).

For its March 3, 1980 issue, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

ran a cover with just a photograph by Heinz Kluetmeier

Heinz Kluetmeier

Heinz Kluetmeier is a German-born American sports photographer for Sports Illustrated. He has covered every Olympic Games for the magazine since the 1972 Munich games except one, and has over 100 Sports Illustrated cover photographs to his credits...

, without any accompanying captions or headlines. Kluetmeier said, "It didn't need (any cover language). Everyone in America knew what happened."

American aftermath

The United States did not win the gold medal upon defeating the USSR. In 1980 the medal round was a round-robin, not a single elimination format as it is today. Under Olympic rules at the time, the group game with Sweden was counted along with the medal round games versus the Soviet Union and Finland so it was mathematically possible for the United States to finish anywhere from first to fourth.

Needing to win to secure the gold medal, Team USA came back from a 2–1 third period deficit to defeat Finland 4–2. According to Mike Eruzione, coming into the dressing room in the second intermission, Brooks turned to his players, looked at them and said, "If you lose this game, you'll take it to your graves." He then paused, took a few steps, turned again, said, "Your fucking graves," and walked out.

At the time, the players ascended a podium to receive their medals and then lined up on the ice for the playing of the national anthem

The Star-Spangled Banner

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...

, as the podium was only meant to accommodate one person. Only the team captains remained on the podium for the duration. After the completion of the anthem, Eruzione motioned for his teammates to join him on the podium. Today, podiums are not used for ice hockey; the teams line up on their respective bluelines after the final game.

At the 1982 World Championship in Finland

1982 World Ice Hockey Championships

The 1982 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Finland from the 15 April to the 29 April. The games were played in Helsinki and Tampere. Eight teams took part, and each played each other once. The four best teams then played each other once more. This was the 48th World Championships, and...

, the Americans finished eighth and last in the round-robin tournament and were relegated into the B-Pool for 1983. They lost six straight games and only managed to tie West Germany 5-5 in their last outing. Returnees from the 1980 Olympic victory included Mike Ramsey, Mark Johnson, Buzz Schneider

Buzz Schneider

William "Buzz" Schneider is a retired American ice hockey player best remembered for his role on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid...

, and John Harrington.

Later careers

Of the 20 players on Team USA, 13 eventually played in the NHL. Five of them went on to play over 500 NHL games, and three would play over 1,000 NHL games.

Neal Broten
Neal Broten
Neal LaMoy Broten is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played on the gold medal-winning "Miracle on Ice" hockey team in 1980, and in 1,099 NHL regular season games from 1981 – 1997 with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings...

played one more season for the Golden Gophers
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey...

before moving on to the NHL, and appeared in 1,099 NHL games over 17 seasons, with 992 of them being with the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...

/Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...

franchise. He captained the Stars before being traded midway through the 1994-95 season to the New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

. A two-time All-Star, he tallied 923 career points (289 goals, 634 assists), became the first American player to record 100 points in a season, and won a Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

as a member of the Devils in 1995. Broten had already won the NCAA championship
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division I and Division III. The semi-finals and finals of the Division I Championship are branded as the Frozen Four, a passing nod to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - known...

in 1979 at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

; this, combined with the Olympic gold medal in 1980 and the 1995 Cup win (Broten scored the Cup-winning goal in Game 4 as Viacheslav Fetisov
Viacheslav Fetisov
Viacheslav "Slava" Alexandrovich Fetisov is a retired professional ice hockey defenseman...

, playing for the Red Wings, fell down), made him the only player in the history of the sport to win a championship at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels. The Dallas Stars have since retired number 7 for Broten.

Ken Morrow
Ken Morrow
Kenneth Arlington Morrow is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman and currently serves as the New York Islanders' director of pro scouting...

won a Stanley Cup in 1980
1980 Stanley Cup Finals
-See also:* List of Stanley Cup champions* 1979–80 NHL season* 1980 NBA Finals* 1980 World Series* Super Bowl XV-Notes:...

as a member of the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

, becoming the first hockey player to win an Olympic gold medal and the Cup in the same year. He went on to play 550 NHL games and win three more Cups, all with the Islanders.

Mike Ramsey played in 1,070 games over 18 years. Fourteen of those years were spent with the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...

, with whom he played 911 games and was a five-time All-Star, captaining the team from 1990–92. In 1995, he played in the Stanley Cup Finals
1995 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1995 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings. This was the first of nine consecutive finals with American franchises exclusively. New Jersey was making the franchise's first-ever appearance in the Final, while Detroit returned...

while with the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

, but got swept by Neal Broten and the New Jersey Devils. In 2000 Ramsey became an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

.

Dave Christian
Dave Christian
David William Christian is a retired American professional ice hockey forward, who comes from a family of hockey players. His father Bill and uncle Roger were members of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team that won the gold medal. Another uncle, Gordon, was a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Hockey...

spent 14 years in the NHL, the bulk of them for the original Winnipeg Jets (for whom he served as team captain) and Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...

. In 1990, Christian played in the Stanley Cup Finals
1990 Stanley Cup Finals
In the 1990 Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins four games to one. For the Oilers, it was their fifth Cup win in seven years, and the only one without Wayne Gretzky...

while in the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

, but lost in five games by the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

. He ended his career with 783 points (340 goals, 443 assists) in 1,009 games and made the All-Star team in 1991.

Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson (hockey player)
Mark "Magic" Johnson is a current ice hockey coach and former United States ice hockey player who appeared in 669 NHL regular season games between 1980 and 1990 after playing for the Gold medal winning 1980 US Olympic Hockey team...

played for several teams in the NHL before finding a home in New Jersey, tallying 508 career points (203 goals, 305 assists) in 669 games over 11 seasons. Like Christian, Ramsey, and Broten, he became an NHL All-Star (in 1984) and served as team captain with the Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...

. In 2002 Johnson became the coach of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

Women's Hockey team, leading the team to National Championships
NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship
The annual NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship tournaments determine the top women's ice hockey teams in NCAA Division I and Division III. Women's ice hockey does not have a Division II classification. Under NCAA rules, Division II schools are allowed to compete as Division I members in sports...

in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011. Johnson also served as head coach of the women's ice hockey team that won the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

.

Jim Craig appeared in 30 NHL games from 1980 through 1984.

Team captain Mike Eruzione did not play any high-level ice hockey after the 1980 Olympics, as he felt that he had accomplished all of his hockey goals with the gold medal win. He did work as a hockey television analyst in the 1980s and 90s.

Craig Patrick
Craig Patrick
Craig Patrick is a former American hockey player, coach and general manager, the son of Lynn Patrick and the grandson of Lester Patrick...

, one of Brooks' assistant coaches, went on to become a successful general manager of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

and is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

.

Herb Brooks
Herb Brooks
Herbert Paul Brooks, Jr. was an American ice hockey player and coach. He notably coached the United States' men's hockey team to a 4-3 upset of the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York on February 22, 1980...

, the team coach, was "generally credited with being the best hockey coach of all time." Brooks himself coached several NHL teams following the Olympics, with mixed results. He returned to the Olympics as coach of the French team in 1998
Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics was played at The Big Hat and Aqua Wing Arena in Nagano, Japan.-Men's tournament:The 1998 Olympic men's ice hockey tournament was the first in which professional players from the National Hockey League were allowed to participate, allowing national teams to...

, the first Olympics in which NHL professionals competed. Brooks then led Team USA to the silver medal in 2002
Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics were held at the E Center in West Valley City and Peaks Ice Arena in Provo, Utah. Both the men's and women's tournaments were won by Canada, defeating the host USA in both games.-Men:...

, which included a 3-2 victory over Russia (a large part of the former Soviet Union) in the semi-finals, the match coming 22 years to the day after their famous "Miracle on Ice" game. Brooks died in a car crash near Forest Lake
Forest Lake, Minnesota
Forest Lake is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 18,375 at the 2010 census. It is located on Minnesota's 94th largest lake .Interstate 35 and U.S...

, Minnesota on August 11, 2003 at the age of 66. In 2005, the Olympic Center ice arena in Lake Placid where the Miracle on Ice took place was renamed in his honor
Herb Brooks Arena
The Herb Brooks Arena, known as the Olympic Center until 2005, is a 7,700-seat multi-purpose arena in Lake Placid, New York. This arena was built for the 1932 Winter Olympics, the first indoor arena used for the Winter Olympics. For the 1932 Games, it hosted the figure skating and six of the twelve...

.

Al Michaels
Al Michaels
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...

got the job as play-by-play man for ice hockey at Lake Placid because the single ice hockey broadcast of his career to that date, the 1972 Winter Olympics
1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...

gold medal game, was the only game anyone in the ABC Olympics crew had ever done. Michaels was named "Sportscaster of the Year" in 1980 for his coverage of the event, and the team received Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

magazine's "Sportsmen of the Year
Sportsman of the Year
Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...

" award, as well as being named as Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press
Associated Press Athlete of the Year
The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press in 1931. At a time when women in sports were never given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete...

and ABC's
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

Wide World of Sports
Wide World of Sports (US TV series)
ABC's Wide World of Sports is a sports anthology series on American television that ran from 1961 to 1998 and was originally hosted by Jim McKay. The title continued to be used for general sports programs until 2006...

. In 2004, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

, as part of their 25th anniversary
ESPN25
ESPN25 is a special event conducted to mark the 25th anniversary of ESPN.During the run-up to the anniversary date of January 1, 2004, the network counted down the top sports moments of the last 25 years . The list featured concentrated almost exclusively on moments involving Americans...

, declared the Miracle on Ice to be the top sports headline moment, and game of the period 1979–2004. The victory was voted the greatest sports moment of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

.

Soviet aftermath

In the Soviet locker room Tikhonov singled out first-line players Tretiak, Kharlamov, Petrov, and Mikhailov, and told each of them, "This is your loss!" Two days after the Miracle on Ice, the Soviet team crushed Sweden 9–2, winning the silver medal. The Soviet players were so upset at their loss that they did not turn in their silver medals to get their names inscribed on them, as is custom.

The result stunned the Soviet Union and its news media. The day after the loss, the TASS

Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union

The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union , was the central agency for collection and distribution of internal and international news for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations...

news offices at Lake Placid's International Broadcast Center were closed, with a handwritten note taped to the door of the office stating "Today Closed We Are." Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....

did not mention the game, either in its next daily issue or in its Lake Placid wrap-up.

Despite the loss, the USSR remained the pre-eminent power in Olympic hockey until its 1991 break-up

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...

. The Soviet team did not lose a World Championship game until 1985 and did not lose to the United States again until 1991. Throughout the 1980s, NHL teams continued to draft Soviet players in hopes of enticing them to eventually play professionally in North America, but it was not until the 1988-89 season that the NHL saw its first Soviet player, when veteran Sergei Pryakhin

Sergei Pryakhin

Sergei Vasilievich Pryakhin is a retired Russian ice hockey forward.Sergei was the first Soviet member of their national hockey team that the Soviet government allowed to play in the National Hockey League. Other players had either defected or had not been member of the national team before him...

joined the Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...

.

In the 1989-90 season, several 1980 Soviet Olympians joined the NHL, including Helmuts Balderis

Helmuts Balderis

Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis is a retired Latvian ice hockey player. He played right wing.-Playing career:...

, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov

Alexei Kasatonov

Alexei Viktorovich Kasatonov is a retired ice hockey defenceman, a long-time member of the Soviet Union national team.On the international stage, Kasatonov won two golds and one silver in the Olympics, and five golds in the World Championships...

, Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov born June 1, 1960) is a former Soviet hockey forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov, he was part of the famed KLM Line...

, and Sergei Makarov

Sergei Makarov

Sergei Mikhailovich Makarov is a Russian former ice hockey right wing and two-time Olympic gold medalist, regarded as one of the greatest players to play the sport...

. Fetisov was a teammate of Mike Ramsey on the 1995 Detroit Red Wings team

1994–95 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1994–95 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 72nd season. The Red Wings started the 1994–95 season strong, and finished it strong, going 33–11–4 for 70 points in 48 games. Having the league's best regular-season record, they were awarded the Presidents' Trophy...

that lost the Stanley Cup Final. Fetisov completed his career by winning Cups with the Red Wings in 1997

1996–97 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1996–97 Detroit Red Wings season was the 71st National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The highlight of the Red Wings season was winning the Stanley Cup, their first since 1955....

and 1998

1997–98 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings season was the 72nd National Hockey League season in Detroit, Michigan. The highlight of the Red Wings season was winning the Stanley Cup.-NHL Draft:-Sergei Fedorov's Holdout:...

; the first Cup win also made Fetisov a member of the Triple Gold Club

Triple Gold Club

The Triple Gold Club is a term used to describe ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League...

, consisting of individuals who have won a Stanley Cup plus gold medals at the Olympics and World Championships

Ice Hockey World Championships

The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...

. Makarov won the Calder Memorial Trophy

Calder Memorial Trophy

The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." The Rookie of the Year trophy has been awarded 79 times since its creation for the 1936–37 NHL season...

as NHL Rookie of the Year in 1989-90, becoming the oldest player to win that award. That same season, younger Soviet stars Alexander Mogilny

Alexander Mogilny

Alexander Gennadevitch Mogilny is a former Russian professional ice hockey player, currently the team consultant of the KHL team Amur Khabarovsk. Mogilny was best known for his lightning quick speed and lethal wrist shot in his early years, which led to his career year of 76 goals in the 1992–93...

and Sergei Fedorov

Sergei Fedorov

Sergei Viktorovich Fedorov is a Russian professional ice hockey forward and occasional defenceman...

defected to play for the Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...

and Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

, respectively. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a flood of ex-Soviet stars joined the NHL, including Igor Larionov

Igor Larionov

Igor Nikolayevich Larionov is a Russian retired professional ice hockey player, known as The Professor. Along with Viacheslav Fetisov, he was instrumental in breaking the barrier that stopped Soviet players from joining the National Hockey League . He primarily played the centre position, and is...

and Vladimir Konstantinov

Vladimir Konstantinov

Vladimir Nikolaevich Konstantinov is a Russian retired professional ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings. Previously, he had played for Soviet club CSKA Moscow...

. Since then, many of the NHL's top players have come from the former Soviet republics.

Film and television adaptations

A movie, Miracle on Ice
Miracle on Ice (1981 film)
Miracle on Ice is a 1981 American television biographical sports film for ABC about the United States men's hockey team, led by head coach Herb Brooks , that won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics...

, starring Karl Malden

Karl Malden

Karl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...

as Brooks and Steve Guttenberg

Steve Guttenberg

Steven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.-Early life:Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the...

as Craig, aired on television in 1981. It incorporates actual game footage and original commentary from the 1980 Winter Games.

A second movie called Miracle
Miracle (film)
Miracle is a 2004 American biographical sports film about the United States men's hockey team, led by head coach Herb Brooks, that won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The USA team's victory over the heavily favored Soviet team in the medal round was dubbed the Miracle on Ice...

, starring Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell

Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...

as Brooks, was released in 2004. Al Michaels

Al Michaels

recreated his commentary for most of the games. The final ten seconds, however, and his "Do you believe in miracles? YES!" call, were from the original broadcast and used in the film since the filmmakers felt that they could not ask him to recreate the emotion he felt at that moment. The film was dedicated to Herb Brooks, who died shortly after principal photography began. The movie was released by Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

, by that point a sister company to ABC.

The documentary film Do You Believe in Miracles?, narrated by Liev Schreiber

Liev Schreiber

Isaac Liev Schreiber , commonly known as Liev Schreiber, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the Scream trilogy of...

, appeared on HBO in 2001.

Team rosters

{| border=0
|-
| valign="top" |

United States

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" border="0" style="background:#dcdcdc; font-size:85%"
|-
! align="center" | No.
! align="center" | Pos.
! align="left" valign="middle" | Name
! align="center" | Age
! align="left" | Hometown
! align="left" | College
|- bgcolor="#ffffff"
| align="center" | 30
| align="center" | G
|*Jim Craig
| align="center" |21
|North Easton, MA

Easton, Massachusetts

Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 23,112 at the 2010 census.Easton is governed by an elected committee of selectmen and a town administrator.- History :...

Ken Morrow

Kenneth Arlington Morrow is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman and currently serves as the New York Islanders' director of pro scouting...

| align="center" |22
|Flint, MI

Flint, Michigan

Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...

|Bowling Green

Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey

The Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey team is the ice hockey team that represents Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school's team competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Falcons last played in the NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament in 1990...

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

|Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...

Rob McClanahan

Robert Bruce McClanahan is a former American professional ice hockey player who played 224 games in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Hartford Whalers and New York Rangers between 1980 and 1983. However, he is best known for being a member of the U.S. hockey team in the 1980 Winter Olympics...

| align="center" |22
|Saint Paul, MN

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Dave Silk

| align="center" |21
|Scituate, MA

Scituate, Massachusetts

Scituate is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 18,133 at the 2010 census....

Grand Rapids, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,764 people, 3,446 households, and 1,943 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,057.8 people per square mile . There were 3,621 housing units at an average density of 493.3 per square mile...

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Neal Broten

Neal LaMoy Broten is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played on the gold medal-winning "Miracle on Ice" hockey team in 1980, and in 1,099 NHL regular season games from 1981 – 1997 with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings...

| align="center" |20
|Roseau, MN

Roseau, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,756 people, 1,157 households, and 713 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,153.6 people per square mile . There were 1,229 housing units at an average density of 514.4 per square mile...

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Dave Christian

| align="center" |20
|Warroad, MN

Warroad, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,722 people, 657 households, and 419 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 766 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.65% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 7.38% Native American,...

Steve Christoff

Steven Mark Christoff is a retired American professional ice hockey forward who played 248 regular season games in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars, Calgary Flames, and Los Angeles Kings in 1980–84....

| align="center" |21
|Richfield, MN

Richfield, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,439 people, 15,073 households, and 8,727 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,993.9 people per square mile . There were 15,357 housing units at an average density of 2,226.9 per square mile...

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Captain (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, each team can designate an official captain for each game. The player serving as captain during the game wears a "C" on his or her jersey...

| align="center" |25
|Winthrop, MA

Winthrop, Massachusetts

The Town of Winthrop is a municipality in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Winthrop was 17,497 at the 2010 U.S. Census. It is an oceanside suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor and is very close to Logan International...

Virginia, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,157 people, 4,333 households, and 2,270 families residing in the city. The population density was 486.1 people per square mile . There were 4,692 housing units at an average density of 249.1 per square mile...

Steve Janaszak

Steven James Janaszak is a retired American ice hockey goaltender who played three games in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars and Colorado Rockies between 1980 and 1982.-Amateur career:...

| align="center" |22
|Saint Paul, MN

Saint Paul, Minnesota

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Jack O'Callahan

John J. "Jack" O'Callahan is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 390 NHL regular season games between 1982 and 1989 for the Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils...

Mark Pavelich

| align="center" |21
|Eveleth, MN

Eveleth, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,865 people, 1,717 households, and 971 families residing in the city. The population density was 611.0 people per square mile . There were 1,965 housing units at an average density of 310.6 per square mile...

Buzz Schneider

William "Buzz" Schneider is a retired American ice hockey player best remembered for his role on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid...

| align="center" |25
|Babbitt, MN

Babbitt, Minnesota

Babbitt is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 1,475.County Highway 21 serves as a main arterial route in the community.-Geography:...

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Eric Strobel

Eric Martin Strobel is a retired American ice hockey forward who was a member of the Miracle on Ice 1980 gold medal winning U.S. Olympic hockey team.-Amateur career:...

| align="center" |21
|Rochester, MN

Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Bob Suter

Robert Allen Suter is a retired American ice hockey defenseman and member of the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal team...

| align="center" |22
|Madison, WI

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

|Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers

Phil Verchota

Phillip John Verchota is a retired American ice hockey forward. He is best known for being a member of the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal...

| align="center" |22
|Duluth, MN

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

|Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

Mark Wells

Mark Ronald Wells is a retired American ice hockey forward. He is best known for being a member of the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S...

| align="center" | 21
|St. Clair Shores, MI

St. Clair Shores, Michigan

St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located approximately northeast of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,715. The current mayor is...

|Bowling Green

Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey

|}
||
||
||
| valign="top" |

Soviet Union

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" border="0" style="background:#dcdcdc; font-size:85%"
|-
! align="center" | No.
! align="center" | Pos.
! align="left" valign="middle" | Name
! align="center" | Age
! align="left" | Hometown
|- bgcolor="#ffffff"
| align="center" | 20
| align="center" | G
|*Vladislav Tretiak

Vladislav Tretiak

| align="center" | 27
|Orudyevo, Moscow Oblast, Russia

Moscow Oblast

Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...

Viacheslav Fetisov

Viacheslav "Slava" Alexandrovich Fetisov is a retired professional ice hockey defenseman...

| align="center" |21
|Moscow

Moscow

Alexei Kasatonov

| align="center" | 20
|Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov

Vladimir Vladimirovich Petrov is a Soviet ice hockey player, two times Olympic Champion , who is currently retired....

| align="center" | 32
|Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia

Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast

Krasnogorsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnogorsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, adjacent to the northwestern boundary of Moscow, on the Moskva River...

Moscow

Boris Mikhailov (ice hockey)

Boris Petrovich Mikhailov is a former Soviet ice hockey player. He played for Kristall Saratov from 1962–65, Lokomotiv Moscow from 1965–67, and CSKA Moscow from 1967-1981...

(K)

Captain (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, each team can designate an official captain for each game. The player serving as captain during the game wears a "C" on his or her jersey...

| align="center" | 35
|Moscow

Moscow

Helmuts Balderis

Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis is a retired Latvian ice hockey player. He played right wing.-Playing career:...

| align="center" | 27
|Riga, Latvia

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

Zinetula Bilyaletdinov

Zinetula "Bill" Khaidarovich Bilyaletdinov is a former Russian ice hockey player of Tatar roots, who competed for the USSR. In 1973-1988 he competed for HC Dynamo Moscow...

| align="center" | 24
|Moscow

Moscow

Aleksandr Golikov

Aleksandr Nikolayevich Golikov was a Russian ice hockey player, who competed for the USSR. Brother to Vladimir Golikov. He was the top Soviet goal scorer in the 1980 olympic games, scoring a hat trick in the first game against Japan.-External links:*...

| align="center" | 27
|Penza, Russia

Penza

-Honors:A minor planet, 3189 Penza, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after the city.-Notable residents:...

Vladimir Golikov

Vladimir Nikolayevich Golikov is a retired ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC Dynamo Moscow...

| align="center" | 25
|Penza, Russia

Penza

-Honors:A minor planet, 3189 Penza, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after the city.-Notable residents:...

Vladimir Krutov

Vladimir Yevgenyevich Krutov born June 1, 1960) is a former Soviet hockey forward. Together with Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov, he was part of the famed KLM Line...

| align="center" | 19
|Moscow

Moscow

Yuri Lebedev

Yuri Vasilievich Lebedev was a Russian hockey player, who competed for the Soviet Union. He scored a hat trick against the Netherlands during the 1980 Winter Olympic games.-External links:...

| align="center" | 28
|Moscow

Moscow

Sergei Makarov

Sergei Mikhailovich Makarov is a Russian former ice hockey right wing and two-time Olympic gold medalist, regarded as one of the greatest players to play the sport...

| align="center" |21
|Chelyabinsk, Russia

Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...

Aleksandr Maltsev

Aleksandr Nikolayevich Maltsev is a retired Soviet ice hockey right winger.Maltsev played for Dynamo Moscow in the Soviet League for 530 games from 1967 to 1984...

| align="center" | 30
|Kirovo-Chepetsk, Russia

Kirovo-Chepetsk

Kirovo-Chepetsk is a town in Kirov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Cheptsa and the Vyatka Rivers, east of Kirov. Population: It was founded in the mid-15th century as the village of Ust-Cheptsa...

Vladimir Myshkin

Vladimir Semenovich Myshkin is a former ice hockey goaltender. He was a goaltender for HC Dynamo Moscow and the Soviet Union national ice hockey team in the 1970s and 1980s....

| align="center" | 24
|Kirovo-Chepetsk, Russia

Kirovo-Chepetsk

Vasili Pervukhin

| align="center" | 24
|Penza, Russia

Penza

-Honors:A minor planet, 3189 Penza, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after the city.-Notable residents:...

Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...

Sergei Starikov

Sergei Viktorovich Starikov is a Russian ice hockey coach, who competed as defenseman for the Soviet national team....

| align="center" | 21
|Chelyabinsk, Russia

Chelyabinsk

Valeri Vasiliev

| align="center" | 30
|Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...

Viktor Zhluktov

Viktor Vasilievich Zhluktov is a retired Russian ice hockey player, who competed for the Soviet Union....

| align="center" | 26
|Inta, Russia

Inta

Inta is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia. During the Soviet era a "corrective labor camp" was located here. Population: It is served by Inta Airport....

* Starting line up

Box score

{| border=0
|-
| valign="top" |

USA — USSR 4:3 (2:2, 0:1, 2:0)
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding=3
!Score
!Team
!Goal
!colspan=2|Assists
!Time
|- align=center
|0:1||USSR||Krutov (9)||Kasatonov (7)|| ||9:12
|- align=center
|1:1||USA||Schneider (25)||Pavelich (16)|| ||14:03
|- align=center
|1:2||USSR||Makarov (24)||A. Golikov (25)|| ||17:34
|- align=center
|2:2||USA||Johnson (10)||Christian (23)||Silk (8)||19:59
|- align=center
|2:3||USSR||Maltsev (10)||Krutov (9)|| ||22:18 (PP)
|- align=center
|3:3||USA||Johnson (10)||Silk (8)|| ||48:39 (PP)
|- align=center
|4:3||USA||Eruzione (21)||Pavelich (16)||Harrington (28) ||50:00
|}
| valign="top" |

Penalty time
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding=3
!Time
!Team
!Player
!Min
!Offense
|- align=center
|03:25||USSR||Mikhailov (13)||2:00||Hooking
|- align=center
|20:58||USA||Harrington (28)||2:00||Holding
|- align=center
|29:50||USA||Craig (30)||2:00||Delay of game (served by Strobel)
|- align=center
|37:08||USSR||Lebedev (11)||2:00||Unsportsmanlike conduct
|- align=center
|37:08||USA||Morrow (3)||2:00||Cross-check

|- align=center
|46:47||USSR||Krutov (9)||2:00||High-stick

|}

Shots on goal: USA — USSR 16:39 (8:18, 2:12, 6:9)
Penalty minutes: USA — USSR 6:6 (0:2, 6:2, 0:2)
Power play goals/attempts: USA: 1-of-2, USSR: 1-of-2
Goalies: USA: Craig......60:00, 36 saves, 3 GA
Goalies: USSR: Tretiak...19:59, 6 saves, 2 GA
Goalies: USSR: Myshkin...40:01, 6 saves, 2 GA
Note: 19:59 USSR goalie change: Myshkin replaces Tretiak

Officials: Karl-Gustav Kaisla

Karl-Gustav Kaisla

Karl-Gustav Kaisla is a former Finnish ice hockey referee. He officiated in three World Championships and in one Olympic Tournament....

(referee), Nico Toemen (

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

) (linesman), François Larochelle (linesman)

External links

"Born to Be Players, Born to the Moment", Dave Kindred, Washington Post, February 23, 1980
"U.S. Shocks Soviets in Ice Hockey, 4–3", Leonard Shapiro, Washington Post, February 23, 1980
"U.S. Defeats Soviet Squad In Olympic Hockey by 4–3", Gerald Eskenazi, New York Times, February 23, 1980
Audio interview with Miracle on Ice team member Mark Johnson from Wisconsin Public Television
"Do you believe in miracles?" 25 years later This is a PDF file containing the official results for the entire 1980 Winter Olympics. The section on the hockey medal round begins on page 105 and the box score for the 22 February 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game is on page 111
"Gold: A Celebration of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team" http://www.legacyeditions.com/1980gold.html

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.