1980 USA VS. USSR

‘MIRACLE ON ICE’

Iis the best college hockey shcioaxavcyehejaurisnst. cTAahmpeteu1ri9ec8da0.thHWeiisirntMherirnOdnleNysmCoAtpaAicscGhoaalpdmperpnoioaGnchosh,pwihpeitrinhs T’S 1979. HERB BROOKS

cHthooeaccUkhe.Syt.hhAeosmsstoiencnig’asthinoeantGioanfmatelhsteeinaUmLnaiitkneedtPimSlatecaitdfeo,srNht.Yhir.eeTs1h9eB7Ar9omoWaktoserutldor tChheaOmlpyimonpsichsipq.uHade. begins a cerebral process for building

foHreartblekansetwa ywehaor,walel twhaenctoeldle,gbecpalauyserhse. had been scouting

CRAIG PATRICK: (Team USA assistant coach and assistant GM)

There’s always that sayingH, e“Irbwwasans’treloaollkyinqguiftoerbtrhiellibaenstt.

JIM CRAIG: (Team USA goalie)

atnhchdisairthpacalatdeyrearilnso.tmItwoinadsowlowhoiokthihnhegowfwoarnhtteheewd,raaisgthbytrpopeulaogyfheptreusr.p”s.HoHneeahlhiatadyd, eauvbneoiqnuutceathpaebambillietaynotdfoibmsreiaenggtinatlihenengmt. intosiadelepveol tphlea,tstehe yanwaetrteitnu’tde

Herb’s major was

PATRICK:

oconme omfithteem, aindtohtehteaglkueyds ehveery wantctheedd. I, ajunsdt Isawtatshaemreaazned at mhoiwndhseinmmadeetginugys.change their

I knew a little bit

MIKE ERUZIONE: (Team USA captain

anmboyot juvutenrHiyoergrobsoebadassmoenodmaotenBnsotosm.toInen

and left winger)

University,owfeMpinlanyesdothaein the Ffiorsutr.rFoiuvnedmoifntuhte sNiCnAtoAtFhreozen game, we had a bench-clearing abnradwwl.eWeendweedreupthleosNinog. 1thseed, aganmd eth. eWre’aslnwoaydsoubblatminedmHyerb, mind after playing under Herb athpaltaintnweadsahtitsacinkt. eHnetriobnB. rIot owkass BanUd, dJaidcnk’tPatarlkkefro, trhyeecaorsa.ch at

He said, “The guys wteea’mrehgaoviengbetoenhacvoemopnetihnigs for

PATRICK:

nyeaatirosn, anl cdhtahmeypijounstshdiopns’tfolirke eI akcnhowotheorw. Stootmheakoenltyhewmaya them to really disltiekaemmies.”for

We fast-forward, and now we’re on the Olympic

ERUZIONE:

HtHeearmwb,ahasanaddlaohtpelaiwkssaeisoJ ancgktorPecaotrakcceohra. ch. Itaintvedaltltoperae, cobhpu.lteHheheewwasassadaegmrloeatantlidmkienog-

. ybdouaudt r,sbodemacdea.tuYismoeuehsleoyvmoeuaykhoeaustreydoyaoudud,ro things you don’t want to do. He ddthiiddernne’towctarresesnpiefevwceterhloiimknec.de ahitmim, beuwte HMeinwnaesomtaucghuytos.uWgheeursoend thoesay

MIKE RAMSEY: (Team USA defenseman)

twhheipMpininngebs otyas.gYuoyus’rweehraerhdiesr koindys.oIunrcoowllnegkei,dIsrtehmanemotbheerr Herb throwing a case of pop oacf rtohsesgtuhyesrionotmhe, ahnedadit. hNiot tone gpeutrpouosrealtyt.eIntthiionnk. it was just to

hisBtrrooookpss fgoertsthteoWwinotrekr tGraaimniensg, tahnadt itthqiusictkelaymbewcoilml epslaayppdaiffreenr-t ently than any American squad before it.

way ahead oOf fhfeisntsiimveel.y,Whheawt as

ERUZIONE:

Hwee gswreeaerbnebodewdoitinnhgat3th9EeuyNreHoapLrseiasangwoh. at Hanerdbjufeslttethmabte, odnsdteydleitoifnpulasy. the big sheet of ice, you can’t WplaeywtahnetNedorttohtAakmeetrhiacat nEugraom- e. pean style, the crisscrossing, bfOlaynceiknotfohtethhezeot‘hnDien’ agnsdthtrahetrgoHrwoeurinpbginigt. preached to us all year was, w“Deonnt’toduut mwipththsehoprutcpkaint.sT.”hat (Tlhaautg’hs so)n. eHoefthiosuBgrhoto, ykosuisms worked so hard, so why would tyouthgeimve?the puck right back He’s one of those rare coaches

KEN MORROW: (Team USA defenseman)

that was playing the game back then the way the NHL eventually got to 20 years later, tmraoirneinthgawne2w0 eyreeardsoliantgerw. Tashe ipnlynomvaettivriec.sWaendwoevrerdsopienegd ntreavinerinhgeoanrdthoef. ice, stuff I’d

I’m not sure the opnlaeyeorfsthkonsoewdtrhilils, wbuetdeivdeorny

PATRICK:

ice for the whole seven months wshaisftb. Yaoseudwoennat a4l5l--osuetcofonrd45 sweacso,nadnsd, wthheaytedvidenr ’thkendorwill the ctilmocikn.gYboeuchauadsetoHgeorb1h0a0d percent of those 45 seconds, whatever the drill was. I was pcoreatcthy)aJmacakzBedlaatht ehrowic(kfiatnedss IHcobenerdlbiiehtviaoednwethdeawtteeaarlmlectoohn-eoerbaderistntha- ttehda.t just watchiynegart.hIewma(slainugshas)p.e

The next phase in Team USA’s preparation: a 61-game schedule leading up to the Winter Olympics. It includes exhibition games against NHL teams, trips to Europe and games against Central League teams.

There was no accident to what Herb did. It

MORROW: wouas taolltphlaatn, tnheedyotuhtr.ePwreavtie- am tboegfoetrheetrhea Ocolyumplpeiocsf wanedekthsen went in, played a couple games and went into the tournament. gleaftmwiengsera)cTtuhaelClyecnotruanltLeedaignutehe BUZZ SCHNEIDER: (Team USA tshtaonsdeignugyssfowretrheopsleatyeinamg fso, rso sthooeumlpgehtdhwuiensegak, alonftd.hTtohcakatetrywe. Taslhlyeare twhearteleaalgouteo.f good players in

We travelled quite atdribaffviete.rlWelinetgwcciteiirecesu,asdl.miWffoesrtwelneiktretoaiwn ns,

ERUZIONE:

pwlasyianlgodt ioffebroendt itnegambesc, athuesree we were on the road so much.

Around Christmastime, the Americans play and win a preOlympic tournament against various nations’ B-teams in Lake Placid. More than the event, the players remember the fun they had off the ice.

party and a WloteohfaldauagChhsraisntdmas

ERUZIONE:

gthigagt.leTsh, agta’gs pgirfotsbabnldytwhhinegnstlhikee Oinlyomurpmicsinrdesa,llbyesctaaurstedthtoisgweat s aDwreecaoeymn, albynedar,cwaoenudwpltehreoefOinmlyLomankptheicsPslacid for the first time as a team.

Davey Christian awsofualrdabseaagtutyhewthoopkoefptthevleisrtybody

MORROW: laughing and loose.

He was actually sort vtoheferqyjuodikerety,rD.aJnaovdhenayHsweararisro,iunbsgutjtohkneewrw.aass

RAMSEY:

oBnutaDllatvheypwr ansktsh.e ringleader

THEY RAN IT UP AGAINST US. THEY ARE METHODICAL. IF YOU HAVE A BAD NIGHT, YOU CAN GET BEAT 15-1

– Buzz Schneider, Team USA D-man

Rob McClanahCahnrisatnmdaMs atrekeJoinhnthseoinr hroaodma,

ERUZIONE:

raonodmsoamndebsotodlye bthroektereine taontdhe MthirrerworitLoakuet.in the middle of

It wasn’t me. I think stithajeyucwsuthlrpoerciitetnwatcaltysu..Ia’lmlynaodtmgiottnendato

MORROW:

have been betIwtehei nkDiat vmeiyght

SCHNEIDER:

CBthhoerbitbsaytiilaSenuntaden.rdHweBaodsbiidnbvyteoSllluvmeteder.itnhat.

I had nothing to do aIwwsiteohcnrt’ehttes.atyrewehboeint gwsatso.lTenh.aAt’ns d

RAMSEY:

And it’s been 39 yfoerawrsaradndyento. Ibtohdiyn’ks Dcoamveey

ERUZIONE:

mChyrsitsetriaynotfotohke i’t8.0ItO’slythmepoicne wteearme.pAinssdeMd,abrekcanudseRtohbebyy odrencoamraetendtsthanedtrse-e--,.they bought

On Feb. 9, 1980, days before the Olympics begin, Team USA plays an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden against the Soviet Union, considered the heavy gold-medal favorite and the world’s best hockey team. They crush the Americans 10-3.

They wanted to see what this Big Red Machine was.

PATRICK:

wSoefloitretrhaellyfirjuststhsatlof odf tahnedgame, fwroaztcehneidn. tIitmwea.s like they were

We were young. At the time we didn’t know it, but

MORROW:

TwI tVehrpienlakgyuwyaesgawinesrhetatidhnewaNwaHtec.LhTeahdlel-osen tashtnaedr’s7soi2nmSteuhmosfmethisteSrgeiuerysiesisnw. tehre ’i7n0s, was unbelieVvablelrei. KAhnadrtlhameroev

ERUZIONE:

wmeir eKtrhuetoyvo, uSnerggkeidMs,aVklardoiv-. I remember playing against Helmuts Balderis at the World Championship. I thought hMeikwhasilofvf, tyhoeuckhnaerwts.wBhoorihs e twhaesS. oAvniyebtoUdnyiownhkonfeowllowheod their big guns were. Vladimir FPetirsoovvwaassaagyroeuant gpl2a1y-eyr.eSalra-va boledcadmefe.nseman. Look what he

Makarov was a pro. oTnheyogu,yhweoduidldodnoeaofspthinosmeofover MORROW: haven’t seen before.

They ran it up against us. They play so

SCHNEIDER:

mniegthhto, ydoicuacl.aInf ygoeut bheaavte1a5b-1a.d fTinhiesyhs. tart the same way they

Halfway through the game when we were down

PATRICK:

7th-0em, waensdtasrttaerdtetdodsokiantge wthiitnhgs dlikoeinwg,eawnderiet wsuapsp3o-s3etdhteorbeset of the game. Some of that could have been the Russians saying, dw“Oeehasl,,kwaeteewgdoewtreitthuhipsthg7ea-m0m, ,ena.”onBbduitgthat was certainly a usable thing for Herb when he needed to talk Rtoutshseiatnesamagaibno.ut playing the

I think Herb was cwraszynulitksetao fpolxa.yPtehoaptlgeasmaiedahe MORROW: week before the Olympics, and aevftenr cthraezoieurtctompleahyethloaot kgeadme. But it turned out to be a bigger Ifat cgtotrathloatnomf oustr pneorvpeles roeuatl.ize.