Miracle on Ice: How a Stunning Upset United a Country
going to advance through the Olympics The team also needed the gutsy goalie Jim Craig Filled with confidence Craig was known for his quick glove hand and his constant chatter during a game Teammates tried to ignore a lot of what he said especially if he was criticizing their play Craig had allowed an average of only 2 37 goals per game in the 48 games he played for Team USA before the Olympics Craig played well in Team USA’s first game of the 1980 Olympics on February 12 giving up only two goals against Sweden His teammates though struggled offensively and with only a minute to play the Americans were in danger of losing the game 2-1 To add extra offense Coach Brooks pulled Craig from the net and added a sixth attacker As the clock wound down Buzz Schneider the only player returning from the 1976 Olympic team passed to defenseman Bill Baker and his slap shot from just inside Sweden’s blue line found the net Since the teams did not play overtime in the round-robin games Team USA earned a tie and a point in the standings
Buzz Schneider celebrated after scoring a goal against Czechoslovakia one of the world’s best teams After that close call the Americans went on a roll First they beat a well-regarded team from Czechoslovakia 7-3 Ken Morrow called it the best game we played in the tournament It gave the players confidence that they could compete with the world’s best teams Team USA then defeated Norway and Romania Their fifth game was against West Germany which had knocked the Americans out of the medal round in 1976 After falling behind the Germans 2-0 the Americans scored four straight goals including two by left winger Rob McClanahan one of the players from the University of Minnesota With that win Team USA reached the medal round Their next opponent the mighty Red Army team of the Soviet Union Tension had filled the Lake Placid Olympic Arena since the opening face-off Fans sat
or stood tightly together because the crowd was several thousand people larger than what the arena was built to hold Now in a tie game against the sport’s greatest team Mike Eruzione took the puck in a play set up by Harrington and Pavelich Eruzione launched a shot at Soviet goalie Vladimir Myshkin At almost the same time a Soviet defenseman dropped to his knees on the ice to try to block the shot The puck shot past him and flew toward Myshkin who had trouble seeing it In an instant the puck was in the net and Eruzione was celebrating the goal that gave the Americans their first lead of the game It was also the first time a U S team had held a lead over any Soviet team in the Olympics since 1960 Now the Americans and their fans wondered Could they keep that lead THE 1960 OLYMPICS Team USA and the Soviet team had squared off in another important game 20 years before their match in Lake Placid In the 1960 Olympic Games the two teams played to see who would compete for the gold The Soviet team was on its way to becoming a powerhouse team having won the gold medal at the previous games The Americans had never beaten them in hockey competition The Americans had won the silver medal in the 1956 Games but they were not expected to do well in 1960 even though they were playing before a home crowd in Squaw Valley California But Team USA made it to the medal round and a game against the Soviets The hero of the game was Bill Christian who scored twice with his brother Roger assisting on each play The final score was 3-2 and the Americans then went on to beat Czechoslovakia to win the gold medal The 1980 U S team had some connections to the 1960 team Before the Squaw Valley Games future coach Herb Brooks was the last player cut from the roster And Dave Christian who played defense for Brooks in 1980 was the son of Bill Christian
Roger and Bill Christian from left teamed up for two goals during the 1960 win against the Soviets For the next 10 minutes the Soviets pressed hard on offense trying to get a tying goal Craig played well turning away shots but luck helped him when Aleksandr Maltsev hit a goal post with one shot and missed a partly open net with another The American defensemen tried to block as many shots as they could and Craig tried not to freeze the puck He didn’t want a face-off near his net He wanted the clock to keep running down and stop the Soviets from setting up a play As the action went on Herb Brooks called out from
