Miracle on Ice

Miracle on Ice is a 1981 American sports docudrama about the United States men's national ice hockey team, led by head coach Herb Brooks (played by Karl Malden), that won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The USA team's victory over the heavily favored Soviet team in the medal round was dubbed the "Miracle on Ice". The film premiered on March 1, 1981, as an installment of The ABC Sunday Night Movie. Plot Hard-driving, no-nonsense coach Herb Brooks puts 68 of the best amateur hockey players through a series grueling workouts at Colorado Springs in the summer of 1979. Brooks needs to trim the list down to 20 before they can represent the United States at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Along the way, Brooks and his assistant coach Craig Patrick must deal with the players' agents and lawyers, who are only interested in the professional hockey contracts that await their clients. Among those clients is goaltender Jim Craig, who wants to pursue a pro career and worries that by joining the Olympics instead, he is placing his family in deeper financial straits. Brooks understands the players' financial difficulties and tries to find a corporate sponsor to cover the team's finances. After the team list is finally posted, the team plays some exhibition games in Europe, where they post a respectable record (winning eight and only losing two games). But just as they are feeling great about their performance, they play the Minnesota North Stars and realize that their skills could still use improvement; furthermore, they recognize that beating the powerful Soviet Union team, who won the gold medal at the past four Olympic Games, will be a tremendous challenge. For their last exhibition game before the Olympics, they play against the Soviet Union at Madison Square Garden. Brooks realizes that this particular game will prove whether his team is ready to compete for the gold medal. The Soviets annihilate them by the score of 10–3, but newly installed captain Mike Eruzione refuses to let the team's spirit slide. In their opening game against the favored Swedish team, the United States is down two goals to one with less than a minute remaining in the game. Brooks pulls his goalie and the U.S. ties the game. The next two games against Czechoslovakia and Norway both end with the U.S. victorious. The possibility of them making a run for a medal is now especially raised after they beat West Germany prior to their showdown with the Soviets.