February 21, 2015
File photo/AP
In this Feb. 22, 1980 file photo, the U.S. hockey team pounces on goalie Jim Craig after a 4-3 victory against the Soviets in the medal round of the 1980 Olympics.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Thirty-five years after the U.S. Olympic hockey team's stunning gold medal at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics, the once-fuzzy-faced heroes are being feted for their signature accomplishment.
Every surviving member of the hockey team is coming back for a "Relive the Miracle" reunion on Saturday night at Herb Brooks Arena, the hockey rink on Main Street they made famous with one of the most memorable upsets in sports history.
Missing will be Brooks, the Hall of Fame coach who was killed in a car accident in 2003, and rugged defenseman Bob Suter, who died at age 57 in September.
Festivities will include audio, video and still pictures, as well as a discussion of the game with the players. Suter's jersey also will be raised to the rafters as a tribute.
NBC also plans to anchor its "Hockey Day in America" coverage from Lake Placid on Sunday and feature the team.
The U.S. took the lead on Friday, Feb. 22, 1980, against the powerful Soviet Union team on Mike Eruzione's goal midway through the third period. The Americans finished the 4-3 upset to the sound of broadcaster Al Michaels' call of, "Do you believe in miracles?" Two days later, the U.S. beat Finland for the gold.
Eruzione, who works in alumni relations at Boston University, says the goal and the team's improbable gold medal have changed his life. He says he deals "with it so often it's hard to believe it's been 35 years" because every week he's doing something or going somewhere that's associated with 1980.
Several team members also are hosting a five-day fantasy camp beginning March 29 that so far has attracted more than 50 participants.
