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SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

1980 Olympic ‘Miracle on Ice’ revisited

By Phillip Brents

The legacy wrought by the gold medal-winning 1980 United States men’s Olympic ice hockey team has been brought to the big screen — in glorious shades of red, white and blue — in Disney’s current release, "Miracle."

The story behind the young underdog Americans’ triumph against a vastly superior Soviet team that had ruled the world for more than a decade serves as a fitting eulogy for head coach Herb Brooks, who died in an automobile accident while principal photography was being conducted on the film.

Kurt Russell, an avid hockey fan, plays Brooks in the film.

If you’re a hockey fan, and specifically, if you lived through that exhilarating moment 24 years ago when we were all looking for heroes, the film will satisfy, particularly in uncovering a wealth of little-known background material.

Even if you are not a hockey fan, the build-up to the Olympic Games and scenes of frenzied flag-waving fans choreographed to the adrenaline-pumping on-ice action scenes will make the film worthwhile viewing.

In attempting to capture the aura of real-life sports legends, the dedication and sacrifice that went into producing what many consider to be sport’s greatest moment, "Miracle" does a decent, if somewhat sanitized job.

The players who lived through those seven months of preparation under Brooks — a hard-line authoritarian — have given the film a consensus "thumbs up," even though they admit that certain dramatic elements have been added to the storyline.

Yes, we do believe in miracles after the docudrama of David versus Goliath on skates finally closes.

Twenty-four years later, it remains truly amazing how the magic of that team continues to touch — and touch close to home.

Mike Duffey and Joe Noris, members of the three-time defending NARCh Winternationals champion Sprung Hosers, each have their own Herb Brooks stories.

Noris, who played professionally for Pittsburgh in the NHL and for the WHA San Diego Mariners in the 1970s, played alongside Brooks as a member of the U.S. National team before attending college. Noris was then 18 and Brooks was in his early 30s and in his last days as an active player.

"What I remember more than anything was that Herb would go out of his way to take me to hotels , take me to the airport. He would always pick my brain. He was very inquisitive about what I thought about hockey, what I liked and didn’t like about coaches. It led me to believe he was trying to figure out the new generation of hockey players. We were that new generation. We came into hockey with long hair and not to respect the establishment. To me, he was a master psychologist," Noris said.

Noris also played alongside Craig Patrick, Brooks’ assistant coach on Team USA, on the U.S. Canada Cup team in 1976. When Patrick was later hired as the general manager for the NHL New York Rangers, Patrick brought Brooks on board as the Rangers head coach — a position he held for parts of four years from 1981-1985. He won 42 games with the Rangers in 1983-84. He coached in the NHL for the Minnesota North Stars (1987-88), New Jersey Devils (1992-93) and Pittsburgh Penguins (1999-2000). He won 40 games with the Devils.

Brooks was a member of two U.S. Olympic teams (1960 and 1968) and four U.S. National teams from 1959-1971. Part of his motivation to beat the Soviets in 1980 may have been buried in the glory of that 1960 team that also won the Olympic gold medal. Brooks was cut a week before the start of those 1960 Winter Games.

He was coaching the University of Minnesota (1970-79) when he was tabbed by the U.S. Olympic committee to lead Team USA.

Duffey remembers Brooks as a guest speaker at his North Dakota State University club national championship banquet. "We sort of roasted him. He told people they could realize their goals if they believed in themselves, that miracles could happen. He did that," said Duffey, who watched the climactic USA-USSR game on television while a student at Bismarck High School.

Duffey later played alongside Gary Suter, the brother of Team USA’s Bob Suter, as defensive partners in the 1985 United States Hockey League All-Star Game.

ECHL San Diego Gulls coach Steve Martinson was 22 and playing for St. Cloud University in his native Minnesota. Had he had the attributes Brooks was seeking, Martinson could easily have been on that team. Martinson later played alongside two of the Team USA heroes — Bill Baker and Rob McClanahan — in the minor leagues with Tulsa in the old Central Hockey League. Martinson also fondly remembers a stick fight with Team USA goaltender Jim Craig after Craig had been demoted to Salt Lake in the CHL.

Poise and posture are what Martinson said he remembers most about the players who did fit into Brooks’ mold.

"They were humble about it. They were all good character guys — that’s what Herb Brooks was looking for," Martinson said.

Martinson had the opportunity to attend a Rangers’ training camp under Brooks. Martinson called it "probably the hardest practice I’ve ever been to."

"He wanted guys who could skate and compete against the Soviets. He had a phrase: ‘The legs feed the wolves.’ That meant wolves were successful in running down their prey with superior speed," the Gulls coach said.

The 1980 U.S. team, which averaged an astounding 20 years of age, was comprised mainly of college players from Minnesota and Boston — and presented a "Cold War" in itself. Brooks’ reputation for discipline and madhouse conditioning proved perfect to break the ice and bond former combatants into one harmonious family.

Mike Eruzione, who scored the game-winning goal to beat the Soviets, was chosen specifically for his leadership ability rather than talent (he was toiling at the AA pro level when he tried out for the Olympic team).

It was these unique qualities that each player brought to the ice that made the 1980 U.S. team so successful — not its individual talent, which Brooks himself labeled inferior to the Soviets.

As the film documents, Brooks clearly knew what he was doing —- even if his attempts to completely remake the American team ("to attack the Soviets at their own game") did not particularly endear himself with his superiors.

In a pre-Olympics tune-up game at Madison Square Garden, the Soviets pummeled the young Americans by an embarrassing 10-3 margin.

The young U.S. team found itself once the Winter Games started, coming from behind to tie Sweden, 2-2, in its opener and then shocking the Czechs, ranked second in the world, by a 7-3 score. More come-from-behind victories followed: 5-1 against Norway, 7-2 against Romania and 4-2 against West Germany.

Team USA tied powerhouse Sweden with a 4-0-1 preliminary round for the Blue Division lead. The two countries advanced to the medal round along with the Soviets and Finns from the Red Division. The USSR (5-0-0) outscored its five preliminary round foes 51-11.

The Americans drew the Soviets in the medal-round opener while Sweden played Finland. (Previous games against one another in the preliminary round counted in the final medal standings.)

The dramatic 4-3 win against the Soviets, followed by a 4-2 victory against Finland (super-charged by a three-goal third-period barrage), handed the gold medal to the unheralded Americans. The Soviets pummeled Sweden, 9-2, to capture the silver medal.

History intervened to make the 1980 Olympic team’s accomplishment a part of history. During preparation for the Winter Games, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and American embassy personnel were taken hostage by militant Iranian students.

There was nothing like a little nationalism to rev up the Olympic spirit — and, as Brooks’ boys kept piling up both improbable and impressive wins, the patriotic fervor grew until it reached the pinnacle game against the USSR.

Martinson, who attended University of Minnesota Golden Gopher games while in high school, vividly remembers the climactic matchup against the USSR while preparing to play in a college game.

"We were listening to the game (on radio) before our game in the locker room. You were proud for the guys from Minnesota. It was a team that no one gave a chance of winning. It was a bunch of young college guys. I was a U.S. college player. You were real proud," he said. "In my mind, it goes down as the biggest game in hockey history."

Some of the new-found American heroes found success in the NHL — others, realizing their lack of pro potential, retired immediately.

Craig, who fought off personal tragedy to star in the 1980 Winter Games, made his professional debut a week later for the then Atlanta Flames, who defeated the Colorado Rockies, 4-1, in front of 15,156 fans in Georgia.

"I just didn’t want the first shot to go in. And it didn’t," Craig remarked to the press at the time.

Craig’s NHL career spanned four games with Atlanta, 23 contests the following season with Boston and three with Minnesota after two seasons in the minors.

Neal Broten, Phil Housley and Mike Ramsey may have enjoyed the best of their fame.

Broten, the winner of the 1989-81 Hobie Baker award while at the University of Minnesota, played in the NHL from 1980-97, including 12 seasons with the North Stars. His NHL totals included 1,099 games, 289 goals and 923 points.

Housley played in 1,495 NHL games while racking up 1,232 points. Ramsey appeared in 1,070 NHL games (including 14 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres) and tallied 1,012 points.

Ken Morrow went on to play with the New York Islanders for 10 seasons, winning four Stanley Cup championships.

Dave Christian played in 1,009 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, while Mark Johnson, who scored two goals in the game against the Soviets, had 669 NHL games to his credit, including five seasons with New Jersey. Fans of the Los Angeles Ice Dogs may remember Christian, who ended his playing career with two seasons (1994-96) with the IHL Minnesota Moose.

Steve Christoff, who played in 248 NHL games, including 58 in an L.A. Kings jersey in 1983-84, earned Coach of the Year honors with the Madison Monsters of the Colonial Hockey League in 1995-96.

Mark Pavelich (355 NHL games) spent time with the San Jose Sharks while Jack O’Callahan (389 NHL games) spent five seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks. Dave Silk, who had two assists in the game against Team USSR, played in 249 NHL games, including four seasons with the Rangers (two under Brooks).

Rob McClanahan (224 NHL games) played three seasons with the Rangers under his former Olympic mentor.

John Harrington and Ralph Cox never made it to the "Big Show."

Joining Eruzione in retirement was Bill "Buzz" Schneider, whose son Billy plays him in the film.

Hockey’s version of wrestling’s "Vision Quest," "Miracle’s" patriotism seems appropriate for these times. Funny how history has a tendency to repeat itself.

The film has a running time of 134 minutes and is rated PG for language and some mild sports action.