A miracle is an event or action that apparently contradicts known science laws and a remarkable event. When I hear the word the word “miracle,” I think of Jesus turning water into wine or Jesus healing the blind. This is what most people think when they here the word miracle. What people don’t understand is that one of the greatest miracles ever only happened 34 years ago. Herb Brooks was born in the capital of Minnesota and grew up playing youth hockey. In 1980, Brooks was the Head Coach of the U. S. Hockey Olympic Team and the man responsible for one of the greatest miracles ever. Brooks guided Team U. S. to a gold medal defeating, Soviet Union.
Herb Brooks is a native to St. Paul Minnesota and grew up playing numerous sports. Brooks parents were Herb Brooks Sr. and Pauline Brooks. Herb had two siblings and was the oldest, which meant he had to be a good example. He started playing hockey at a young age and he also grew up interested in Basketball. Brooks attended Johnson High School and was a standout player for the school hockey team. In 1955, Brooks and his team won the State Championship. That same year, Brooks went to the University of Minnesota and continued to improve his hockey skill. Herb was an outstanding hockey, but he wasn’t good enough to make it to the 1960 Winter Olympic Hockey Team. Brooks and his father were at home sitting on their couch watching the hockey team he got cut from win the gold medal without him. His father said, “Looks like the coach made the right choice.” Rooks made it to the 1964 and the 1968 Winter Olympics, but failed to bring home the gold.
He retired as a player and began his coaching career for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. (The same team he played for.) He guided the Gophers to two NCAA Championship in 1974 and 1976. In 1979, Brooks led Minnesota to their third NCAA Championship. After that Brooks was hired to coach the 1980 Winter Olympic Hockey team. On the very first day of Olympic tryouts, Herb already picked his team. Hundreds tried out, but few made the roster. He passed by on some of the best college players, because Herb thinks the greatest players rely on talent only. He developed a new way of coaching, which was a hybrid of Canadian and American style and the swift European style. Brooks focused mainly on skating, passing, stick work, and team chemistry. Team U. S. began playing Pre- Olympic games in early September. Herb and his team played total of 61 Pre-Olympic games with a record of 42-16-3. The time this was happening, America was fighting with Russia in the Cold War. Russia, known as Soviet Union, was known for the greatest sports team ever. Russia won the Hockey gold medal four times before 1980 and most hockey analysts thought they would get their fifth. Soviet Union also had the greatest Goalie ever, Vladimir Myshkin. Myshkin was so skilled, that if you ever scored on him you’d keep the puck. This shows that it would take a miracle to defeat Soviet Union. Many people thought a bunch of college kids (not even the best college kids) cannot beat the legendary Soviet Union. A majority of Herb’s players were from Minnesota (where he coached) and their arch rivals, Boston University. This was a hard way for Brooks to create team chemistry. Somehow Team U. S. made it to the 1980 Winter Olympic Championship game, going against Soviet Union. Many analysts predicted a blowout win by Russia. At the beginning of the game Aleksei Kasatonovput put Russia on the scoreboard, winning 1-0. Buzz Schneider tied it up. Eventually the score was 2-2 at the end of the first period. At the start of the second period, the magnificent goalie, for Soviet Union, Vladimir Myshkin, got benched after allowing two goals to be scored. The Head Coach of Soviet Union later said, “It was the biggest mistake of my career.” Only one goal was scored in that period which was scored by Soviet Union, making the score 3-2. Mark Johnson, for team U. S. scored a game-tying goal. This meant it was anybody’s game. Mike Eruzione fired a shot into the net, creating a 4-3 U. S. lead. America stopped Russia from scoring and team U. S. went on to win the gold! After Brooks failed to make the Olympics in 1960 and have the medal elude him in 1964 and 1968, he finally got the gold. When the Olympics ended Herb surprised everyone by going to coach a team in Switzerland. He later came back and coached the New York Rangers, the Dallas North Stars, the New Jersey Devils, and the outstanding Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2002, Brooks returned to the Olympics, again coaching team U. S. and won the silver medal. Thanks to all of Brooks’ success, he was inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Hockey Hall of Fame. Less than a week after his Sixty-sixth birthday, Brooks died in a car crash in 2003. Her Brooks will always be remembered as a great coach and for “the Miracle on Ice.”
By. Matthew Gauntner
