40 years ago there was a hockey game played in North Elba, New York
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Bruinaura
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crimsonace
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Last year, I had a chance to interview Dave Christian, who assisted on the goal that caused Tikhonov to pull Tretiak. He mentioned that move as a real turning point.
(link to the interview if you're interested ... and I did sneak in a question about the 1990 Bruins and his big Game 5 goal in Hartford that sparked the first-round comeback: Dave Christian interview)
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crimsonace
Registered User
The Olympics were a round-robin tournament at the time, final standings in games played between the medal-round participants (which in 1980, meant one group game against an advancing team carried over and there were two medal-round games) determined the winner.
The standings were
G: USA: 2-0-1, 5 pts (beat USSR, FIN, tied SWE)
S: USSR: 2-1-0, 4 pts (beat FIN/SWE, lost to USA)
B: Sweden: 0-1-2, 2 pts (lost to USSR, tied FIN/USA)
Finland: 0-2-1, 1 pt (lost to USA/USSR, tied SWE)
Had Finland beaten the U.S., it would've been USSR gold (4 pts), USA silver (3 pts), Finland bronze (3 pts, would've had silver if it had beaten the U.S. by 3), Sweden 4th (2 pts)
Had the U.S. and Finland tied - no OT in Olympic hockey until 1992 - it would've been a mess. USSR and USA would've tied with four points, but USSR would likely have won gold on goal differential. Sweden & Finland would've had two points each, but Finland would've won bronze on goal differential.
In 1988, the medal round was expanded to six teams (the USSR actually lost its last game to Finland but had already clinched gold), and in 1992, the bracketed format was introduced.
- Sep 22, 2011
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That article got one thing wrong (and people get it wrong all the time). Jim Craig draped in the flag mouthing "Where's my father" was not vs. the USSR. It was the gold medal game vs. Finland. You can tell, because he was wearing the away blues, not home whites.
Bruinaura
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The part in the movie where he sees his dad and the dad is so happy turns on the waterworks for me every time.
- Sep 22, 2011
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Hell, I'm usually blubbering from "You were born to be hockey players - every one of you." on.
RoccoF14
Registered User
Um, no. Lets not get carried away here. It was a hockey game.
I'll give you greatest moment in history of American SPORTS.
But greatest moment in ALL of American history? Nope.
I said “ONE OF.” Not “THE.” Please re-read my post more carefully.
Of course it’s not THE greatest moment in American history. You have the Declaration of Independence; winning the Revolution; the victory at Gettysburg; winning WWII; the Lunar Landing; and many others as all being greater.
However, that was very much more than “just a hockey game.” And I would venture to say that there are quite a few historians that would agree with that.
On that sheet of ice in New York one of the most significant battles of the Cold War was fought. If you don’t think so, that’s your right. We are going to have to agree to disagree, then.
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RoccoF14
Registered User
I read your post very carefully....You called it ONE of the greatest events in American history, and then listed a bunch of events "and many others as well" that were greater. So I don't know what your point is or what we are disagreeing on.....
I don't want to hijack this beautiful thread, so lets give it a rest and move on.....
I don't want to hijack this beautiful thread, so lets give it a rest and move on.....
I’m just saying that it was much more than just a hockey game and a very significant moment in American history given the era and the opponent.
Definitely more than just a hockey game.
That’s really all I have to say.
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I remember my dad coming home from work that night and rolling the TV into the living room doorway so we could watch during dinner.
He had heard the score but didn’t say anything.
Hard to believe that I wouldn’t have caught wind of the result in the couple of hours between school ending and the airing of the game, but that just shows how different the world was before social media.
Here is what Jim McKay said right after the broadcast aired
This game ranked with Man on the Moon and John Glenn as a moment when the country was unified in happiness.
99% of Americans watching the game had no clue the magnitude of the upset - only puckheads fully grasped it.
The Bruins never beat a Russian team, the greatest game in the history of the Montreal Forum was the Habs fighting for a draw.
@BMC In retrospect, I believe Brooks softened the Russians up. He knew the only way the US could play Russia at Lake Placid was in the medal round.
Brooks also used the 1980 Beanpot as a motivation tool as just before the Olympics started Northeastern won its first-ever Beanpot which the team saw in Lake Placid on the then-fledgling ESPN - Chris Berman actually did the play by play.
The first Olympics game was the day after NU had pulled the upset
What I do know is the full impact of 1980 would be seen 16 years later in Montreal when the USA shocked Canada in the first World Cup.
Thanks to @dafoomie the video is on YT
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@BMC - After losing Game 1 in Philadelphia that USA team used a secret weapon for Game 2 in Montreal - His name was Rene Rancourt 
For Game 3 they used the HARTFORD anthem singer.
For Game 3 they used the HARTFORD anthem singer.
crimsonace
Registered User
That 1996 World Cup was hard to find as it was on Fox Sports cable networks, which didn't have universal access yet. Watched Game 3 at a sports bar in Indiana, where *nobody* except a couple of us hockey diehards were paying attention to the game in the first period. By the third, when the U.S. turned the tables and took the lead, the entire place was going nuts.
I was four when the Miracle on Ice happened, so I don't remember that team, but the 1996 World Cup is one of my favorite moments as a hockey fan.
I was four when the Miracle on Ice happened, so I don't remember that team, but the 1996 World Cup is one of my favorite moments as a hockey fan.
Gator Mike
Registered User
US was robbed in Game 1, as well. The play leading up to Yzerman's OT goal was offside by at least five feet.@BMC - After losing Game 1 in Philadelphia that USA team used a secret weapon for Game 2 in Montreal - His name was Rene Rancourt
Bruinaura
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Great watch.
A few observations:
Some forgotten names but very good players there, especially.
Smolinski
Damphousse
Young
Was Bourque hurt?
Sad reminder that Deadmarsh had what would have been a solid career cut early due to concussions. Probably the first pro athlete I remember quitting because of concussions.
There were about 212 infractions in that 10 minute cut that would have been called today.
I was reminded that Hull chose to play for USA as he had dual citizenship.
When Carlo was a rookie I suggested that he could have an Adam Foote like career and someone thought I was selling him short. I stand by that today and it’s no knock in him. Foote was a horse who anchored a second pairing and first PK duo on a cup winner and played big minutes internationally.
Seeing Chelios for team USA sucks. I hate ever having to root for him.
Terry Gregson officiating that game would be like Peel or Joannette doing game 7 of the finals today. He was brutal.
A Reporter Remembers the Miracle on Ice 40 Years Later
It was February 1980, and I had been writing about the young U.S. hockey team. The coach, a get-inside-your-head Machiavellian named Herb Brooks, told me he was creating an “American style” of hockey, which he believed could end the dynasty of the Soviet Union, which had won the last four Olympics. The Soviets were the best hockey team in the world.
The Americans were young, in fact the youngest U.S. Olympic squad ever, with an average age of 22. The Soviets were full-time, paid players, putatively soldiers. In an exhibition game just a few weeks before the Olympics, they routed the Americans, 10-3, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The dynasty seemed safe that night.
But I had a feeling. Brooks had abandoned the traditional North American hockey style of “playing the body,” and of staying put in your lane. Instead, his skaters, spectacularly swift, crisscrossed over the ice. The young Americans were not afraid to leave their traditional positions. They hit just enough to show who they were. Brooks believed that combination — more open play, with enough body checking — was the only way to meet the Olympic challenges.
Then I got a phone call from the Sports department. There was a money crunch, and we were cutting back. I wasn’t going to Lake Placid.
I arranged to see A.M. (Abe) Rosenthal, the fearsome executive editor of The Times. I told him I believed the young Americans were capable of making noise, that they could surprise the sports world. I convinced him. Without hesitating, Rosenthal told me I was going.
It was February 1980, and I had been writing about the young U.S. hockey team. The coach, a get-inside-your-head Machiavellian named Herb Brooks, told me he was creating an “American style” of hockey, which he believed could end the dynasty of the Soviet Union, which had won the last four Olympics. The Soviets were the best hockey team in the world.
The Americans were young, in fact the youngest U.S. Olympic squad ever, with an average age of 22. The Soviets were full-time, paid players, putatively soldiers. In an exhibition game just a few weeks before the Olympics, they routed the Americans, 10-3, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The dynasty seemed safe that night.
But I had a feeling. Brooks had abandoned the traditional North American hockey style of “playing the body,” and of staying put in your lane. Instead, his skaters, spectacularly swift, crisscrossed over the ice. The young Americans were not afraid to leave their traditional positions. They hit just enough to show who they were. Brooks believed that combination — more open play, with enough body checking — was the only way to meet the Olympic challenges.
Then I got a phone call from the Sports department. There was a money crunch, and we were cutting back. I wasn’t going to Lake Placid.
I arranged to see A.M. (Abe) Rosenthal, the fearsome executive editor of The Times. I told him I believed the young Americans were capable of making noise, that they could surprise the sports world. I convinced him. Without hesitating, Rosenthal told me I was going.
The legacy of the 1980 team is how the sport grew in the United States after the win. The World Cup win in 1996 in Montreal had its genesis because of what happened in Lake Placid.
The only thing that still eludes USA Hockey is a gold medal in an Olympics where everybody plays.
But that 1980 team would wind up playing a huge role in the Bruins 2011 Cup win. The Bruins decided to have the team spend the off days between Games 3 and 4 in Montreal in Lake Placid for the team to bond.
For Bruins, road to playoffs leads through Lake Placid
Apr 21, 2011 — Coming off a key win in their playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, the Boston Bruins stopped in Lake Placid to regroup on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Bruins are down two games to one in the series, after bouncing back Monday night with a key 4-2 victory over the Habs.
As Chris Morris reports, the Bruins took advantage of Montreal’s proximity to Lake Placid, where players found some peace and quiet before tonight's Game 4.
Pucks were flying here in the USA Rink Wednesday morning, while hordes of young fans crowded the athletes’ entrance, eager to catch a glimpse of their NHL heroes.
Countless hockey players have taken to the ice here at the Olympic Center over the years, but the Boston Bruins are the first professional team to practice in Lake Placid while chasing Lord Stanley’s Cup.
The only thing that still eludes USA Hockey is a gold medal in an Olympics where everybody plays.
But that 1980 team would wind up playing a huge role in the Bruins 2011 Cup win. The Bruins decided to have the team spend the off days between Games 3 and 4 in Montreal in Lake Placid for the team to bond.
For Bruins, road to playoffs leads through Lake Placid
Apr 21, 2011 — Coming off a key win in their playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, the Boston Bruins stopped in Lake Placid to regroup on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Bruins are down two games to one in the series, after bouncing back Monday night with a key 4-2 victory over the Habs.
As Chris Morris reports, the Bruins took advantage of Montreal’s proximity to Lake Placid, where players found some peace and quiet before tonight's Game 4.
Pucks were flying here in the USA Rink Wednesday morning, while hordes of young fans crowded the athletes’ entrance, eager to catch a glimpse of their NHL heroes.
Countless hockey players have taken to the ice here at the Olympic Center over the years, but the Boston Bruins are the first professional team to practice in Lake Placid while chasing Lord Stanley’s Cup.
If they allowed pros to play from 1960 on the USA
wouldn't have any Golds at all in Mens Hockey.
In fact I would easily give up the 1972 Cup win
if forced to choose between '80 Gold and
'72 Cup.
I wouldn't trade that 1980 Gold for any best on best
Gold Medal. That will go down as the greatest
US sports story for at least 150 years.
The only modern day near equivalent that could take place
is one of the service academies winning the NCAA
Basketball Tourney or BCS in football.
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