College Kids Arrive Before Shocking the Hockey World

# The Miracle on Ice Practice Run: January 10, 1980

On January 10, 1980, something extraordinary began to take shape in Lake Placid, New York, though nobody quite realized it yet. This was the day the U.S. Olympic hockey team, a ragtag collection of college kids and amateurs that nobody gave a chance, arrived at the Olympic Village to begin their final preparations for what would become the most iconic moment in American sports history: the "Miracle on Ice."

Coach Herb Brooks had been putting these young men through absolute hell for months. His practices were legendary for their brutality—not just physically demanding, but psychologically torturous. Brooks was a complicated man with a singular vision: he believed this group of Americans could beat the seemingly invincible Soviet Union hockey team, and he was willing to make his players hate him if that's what it took to unite them.

When the team arrived at Lake Placid on this January day, the sports world was paying them virtually no attention. The Soviet Union had won every Olympic gold medal in hockey since 1964 (except 1968). They had just demolished an NHL All-Star team 6-0 in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. They were machines—perfectly conditioned, systematically trained from childhood, professional in everything but name.

Meanwhile, the Americans were kids. The average age was 21. Goaltender Jim Craig was from a small town in Massachusetts. Mike Eruzione, who would score the game-winning goal against the Soviets, was a former college player who had been working in sales. Mark Johnson was the baby-faced center who played like his skates were on fire.

As they settled into the Olympic Village that day, the geopolitical context was impossible to ignore. The Cold War was at a fever pitch. The Soviets had just invaded Afghanistan. President Carter was considering a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow. America was still reeling from the Iranian hostage crisis. The national mood was dark, defeated.

The hockey team's arrival in Lake Placid barely rated a mention in most newspapers. The focus was on figure skater Eric Heiden and the speed skating events. Hockey? Against the Soviets? That would be a massacre, everyone assumed.

But Brooks knew something others didn't. He had built a team that could skate with anyone, a team that played a hybrid style mixing North American physicality with European finesse. More importantly, he had forged them in fire, creating a bond through shared suffering.

Over the next two weeks, these young Americans would shock the world. They would tie Sweden, beat Czechoslovakia, Norway, Romania, and West Germany, then stun everyone by defeating the Soviet Union 4-3 on February 22nd, before clinching gold against Finland.

But on January 10, 1980, they were just college kids with a dream, checking into their rooms, probably nervous, definitely excited, and completely unaware that they were about to create a moment that would transcend sports—a moment that would give a dispirited nation exactly what it needed: belief in miracles.

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI