This Day in History:
U.S. Hockey Team Beats the
Soviets in the 'Miracle on Ice' February 22, 1980 The underdog U.S. hockey team defeats
the four-time defending gold-medal
Soviet team at the XIII Olympic Winter
Games in Lake Placid, New York. The U.S. win is considered
one of the most dramatic
upsets in Olympic history. The Soviet squad fell to
the youthful American
team 4-3 before a frenzied
crowd of 10,000 spectators. The American team trailed
most of the game, finally
taking the lead with ten minutes left. When the final horn sounded,
the players, coaches and team
officials poured onto the ice
in raucous celebration. To many Americans, the
"Miracle on Ice" represented
a Cold War victory.