Do You Believe in Miracles?
Come experience one of the most iconic sporting events in American history
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Click on different parts of your ticket to learn more about the game before you head inside the Olympic Center.
Enter Arena
You're about to head inside the Olympic Center Ice Rink in Lake Placid, New York. The official capacity of the arena is 8,500, but it's estimated that there were 10,000+ fans in attendance to watch the United States play the Soviet Union. Outside the arena, tickets originally costing $67.20 were being sold for triple the price.
This the medal count breakdown by country in the Olympic Games that both the United States and the Soviet Union participated in before the 1980 Olympics (Note: the Soviet Union did not start participating in the Olympics until 1952).
You had to be in Lake Placid to see the game live. Puck drop for the game was at 5 p.m. EST, but ABC wanted to move the start time to 8 p.m. EST so it could be broadcasted live in the U.S. during primetime. The Soviet Union objected to the game starting at 4 a.m. local time in Moscow, so the game was instead broadcasted on tape delay (not live) in the U.S. during primetime.
Cold War tensions had recently escalated between the United States and the Soviet Union leading up to this game after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. The U.S. eventually boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow just months after the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
In 1980, the Olympic ice hockey tournament was played in a round-robin format instead of single-elimination format like it is today. The U.S. won the gold medal two days after the "Miracle on Ice" game by defeating Finland, 4-2. The Soviet Union would still win the silver medal because of the round-robin format of the tournament.
U.S.S.R.
- Consisted of full-time professional players, with six players having been on the team since 1972
- Ice hockey gold medalists in the 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976 Winter Olympics
- 27-1-1 (wins-losses-ties) in Olympic play since 1964, hadn't lost a game in the Olympics since 1968
- Defeated the NHL All-Star team twice in 1979 (the 1979 All-Star team had twenty future Hall of Famers)
U.S.A.
- Consisted of amateur hockey players, most from collegiate teams
- Only one returning player from the 1976 Olympic team
- Formed nine months before the start of the Olympics after tryouts were held in 1979
- At the time, it was the youngest hockey team the U.S. had sent to the Olympics (average age: 21)
These two teams played each other three days before the start of the Olympics at Madison Square Garden. The Soviets won, 10-3.
Continue to Game
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Goal scored by:
Vladimir Krutov
Assisted by:
Alexei Kasatonov
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Goal scored by:
Buzz Schneider
Assisted by:
Mark Pavelich
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Goal scored by:
Sergei Makarov
Assisted by:
Aleksandr Golikov
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Goal scored by:
Mark Johnson
Assisted by:
Dave Christian,
Dave Silk
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Goal scored by:
Aleksandr Maltsev
Assisted by:
Vladimir Krutov
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Goal scored by:
Mark Johnson
Assisted by:
Dave Silk
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Goal scored by:
Mike Eruzione
Assisted by:
Mark Pavelich,
John Harrington
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Do You Believe in Miracles?
The "Miracle on Ice" is still remembered today as providing a major boost in patriotic confidence during the Cold War and being one of the biggest upsets in sports. Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated have ranked the game as the greatest sporting event of the 20th century.
Sources
Sources
- https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/beijing-2022/results/ice-hockey
- https://1980ushockeyteam.weebly.com/united-states-team-roster.html
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Soviet-invasion-of-Afghanistan
- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-hockey-team-makes-miracle-on-ice#:~:text=U.S.%20hockey%20team%20beats%20the,in%20Lake%20Placid%2C%20New%20York
- https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28701139/inside-miracle-ice-how-team-usa-defied-numbers-beat-soviet-union-1980-olympics
- https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/1980-soviet-union-squad-historys-greatest-international-hockey/story?id=42117760
- https://www.quanthockey.com/summit-series/en/team-rosters/team-soviet-union-1972-summit-series-roster.html
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/766754-the-five-greatest-moments-in-sports-history
- https://www.newyorkupstate.com/sports/2016/03/sports_illustrated_greatest_moment_in_sports_history_happened_in_upstate_ny.html
- Coffey, Wayne R., et al. The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Broadway Books, 2020.