USA Miracle On Ice – 1980 Olympics

The Miracle On Ice is USA’s most memorable moment from the Olympics. On February 22, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, USA took on the Soviet Union, also known as the Red Machine, in men’s hockey. Many people think that this was the gold medal game, but it wasn’t. This was the game to get to the gold medal round. USA was a team that consisted of young college players. The Soviet Union was the best hockey team in the world at the time. USA’s young players trained for over a year together to compete in the 1980 Olympics. The USA and Soviet Union teams met in an exhibition game before the real games counted and the Soviet Union won by a score of 10-3. The Soviet Union was favored to win the game that counted. The game was tied at the end of the first period with a late goal scored by the USA. The Soviet Union took a 3-2 lead going into the third period. USA scored two goals in the final period to take the lead and held off the Soviet Union to win the game and go on to the gold medal game. The end of the game is when Al Michaels yelled, “Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!” Excitement rushed all across the USA. This game changed the USA’s culture by popularizing hockey in the states. After that game, USA went on to defeat Finland in the gold medal round to become the gold medal men’s hockey team in the 1980 Olympics.

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