Midway through a frenetic third period, American Mark Pavelich passed the hockey puck to teammate Mike Eruzione, who buried a shot into the Soviet net. With only 10 minutes remaining, Eruzione’s goal gave Team USA an unthinkable 4-3 lead, its first of the game. Ten minutes, though, a lifetime for goalie Jim Craig to hold off a Russian leviathan.
This beloved “Miracle on Ice” hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, pitting the underdog United States against the unbeatable Soviet Union, transcended sport. For 60 minutes on February 22, 1980, these two teams were locked in a classic, high stakes Cold War showdown. And for a nation seemingly lost in the wilderness of the 1970s, that medal round upset rose to legendary. Ask any baby boomer or Gen X where they were when Kennedy was shot, Armstrong walked on the moon, or we beat the Russians in hockey.
So, “do you believe in miracles?” I’m Joel Rhodes “Telling History.”
The 1980 Soviet hockey team was, let’s face it, invincible. With a roster of seasoned professional players, the heavily favored Russians had won the gold medal in five of the last six Winter Olympics. They had not even lost an Olympic game since 1968 and hadn’t lost to the US since 1960. Over those 20 years they outscored us 117-26, including a 10-3 humiliation just one week before Lake Placid.
Yet, American coach Herb Brooks believed and trained Team USA to break the Soviets down to mere mortals. Hockey’s version of General George Patton, Brooks selected hungry, amateur college players, the youngest team in that Olympics. And since the summer of 1979 he forged them into a European-style unit: tight-knit, relentless, fearless, fast, physical, with tremendous stamina; a complete team.
Eruzione, Pavelich, Craig, Buzz Schneider, Ken Morrow, Rob McClanahan, Mike Ramsey, Phil Verchota, Dave Silk, Jack O’Callahan.
Given the miracle’s magnitude, Americans tend to misremember them as a ragtag bunch coming out of nowhere, as clearly the Soviets did. In truth, they were overachievers, yes, but really good and extremely confident.
In Olympic group play, the surprising Americans tied the favored Swedes, scoring with only 27 seconds left. They pounded Czechoslovakia, considered the silver medal favorite, then beat Norway, Romania, and West Germany to advance to the medal round, trailing in all but one game.
Now, finally, those Soviets awaited. ABC decided not to broadcast the game live in the U.S., given the inevitable outcome, and tape delayed it three hours. Still a record 36 million households tuned in.
The US fell behind early 1-0. Then Schneider tied it. The Soviets answered minutes later going up 2-1. The first period ended tied 2-2. With the Soviets leading 3-2 after two periods, the U.S. scored two goals in the third to take their first lead. Craig did in fact hold out for that 10-minute eternity and the game ended 4-3. Sportscaster Al Michaels counted down the final, magical, seconds.
Two days later, the US won the gold medal by defeating Finland, again coming from behind.
With American hostages in Iran, Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and after a decade of Vietnam, Watergate, and stagflation, this Miracle on Ice figuratively turned the page on the tumultuous 1970s and its malaise, maybe the real morning again in America.
