Miracle on Ice

The Miracle on Ice is the popular nickname for the ice hockey game in the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, in which a team of amateur and collegiate players from the United States beat the Soviet Union against near-impossible odds on February 22, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York. The United States went on to win the gold medal. USSR received the silver medal, Sweden received the bronze.http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/results/search_r_uk.asp?SPO_S_CODE=IH&OLG_I_YEAR=1980&OLGT_I_ID=2&RESULT=TRUE&DIS_S_CODE=IH&SEARCH_TYPE=3&GET_C_ID=W,M,X&MED_I_ID=1,2,3

Aftermath

Eruzione accepted the Gold Medal for the United States, inviting all of his teammates onto the podium with him to do so in a minor breach of Olympic etiquette.

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The match versus the Soviets popularized the "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chant, which has been used by U.S. supporters at many international sports competitions since 1980. Some historians and political commentators actually consider the 1980 hockey game as a major turning point in the political races that were taking place in 1980.

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Of the 20 players on the US team, 13 eventually played in the NHL. Five of them would go on to play over 500 NHL games.

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• Neal Broten had arguably the most successful pro career, appearing in 1099 NHL games over 17 seasons, mostly with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars. A two-time All-Star, he tallied 923 career points (289 goals, 634 assists) and won a Stanley Cup as a member of the New Jersey Devils in 1994-95.
• Ken Morrow won a Stanley Cup in 1980 as a member of the New York Islanders, 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 had the longest NHL career, playing in 1070 games over 18 years. Fourteen of those years were spent with the Buffalo Sabres, for whom he was a five-time All-Star and served as team captain from 1990-93.
• Dave Christian spent 14 years in the NHL, the bulk of them for the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals. He ended his career with 773 points (340 goals, 443 assists) in 1009 games and made the All-Star team in 1991.
• Mark Johnson bounced around the NHL for several years before finding a home in New Jersey, but he was a scoring threat wherever he went, tallying 508 career points (203 goals, 305 assists) in 669 games over 11 seasons.

Jack O'Callahan, Steve Christoff, Rob McClanahan, Mark Pavelich, and Dave Silk also went on to have modestly successful pro careers.

Related Topics:
Jack O'Callahan - Steve Christoff - Rob McClanahan - Mark Pavelich - Dave Silk

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One of Brooks's assistant coaches, Craig Patrick, went on to become a successful general manager in the NHL and is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Brooks himself would coach several NHL teams following the Olympics, with mixed results.

Related Topics:
Craig Patrick - Hockey Hall of Fame

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Long NHL careers were not in the cards for every member of the team, however. Most notably, team captain Mike Eruzione played his last high-level hockey game in the 1980 Olympics, as he felt that he had accomplished his hockey goals with the gold medal win.

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Despite the loss, Soviet ice hockey was still recognized for superior play and talent, and Soviet players began to appear in the NHL with more regularity – although initially many had to defect in order to do so because of the Cold War. Today, many of the NHL's top players, such as Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Gonchar, and Pavel Bure, come from the former Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
Defect - Sergei Fedorov - Igor Larionov - Ilya Kovalchuk - Sergei Gonchar - Pavel Bure

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Michaels was named "Sportscaster of the Year" in 1980 for his coverage of the event, and the team received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsmen of the Year" award.

Related Topics:
Sports Illustrated - Sportsmen of the Year

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In 2002, the members of the team jointly lit the Olympic Flame at the climax of the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Related Topics:
Olympic Flame - 2002 Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City, Utah

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In 2004, ESPN, as part of their 25th anniversary, declared the Miracle on Ice game vs. the Soviets the top sports headline, moment, and game of the period 1979–2004.

Related Topics:
ESPN - 25th anniversary - 1979 - 2004

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The term Miracle on Ice was also applied to another surprising Olympic ice hockey victory: The Belarusian defeat of heavily-favored Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Related Topics:
Belarusian - Sweden - 2002 Winter Olympic Games

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Films about the event

A movie of the same name, starring Karl Malden as Brooks and Steve Guttenberg as Craig, aired on television in 1981, and was released in theaters in 1989. A movie about the hockey victory called Miracle was released in 2004.

Related Topics:
Karl Malden - Steve Guttenberg - 1981 - 1989 - Miracle - 2004

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Members of the team

• Jim Craig
• Steve Janaszak
• Bill Baker
• Dave Christian
• Ken Morrow
• Jack O'Callahan
• Mike Ramsey
• Bob Suter
• Neal Broten
• Steve Christoff
• Mike Eruzione
• John Harrington
• Mark Johnson
• Rob McClanahan
• Mark Pavelich
• Buzz Schneider
• Dave Silk
• Eric Strobel
• Phil Verchota
• Mark Wells