Background
The Olympics came at a difficult time for Soviet–U.S. relations, as they were deep in the Cold War. Only months before the games began, the USSR had invaded Afghanistan, and there was speculation that the strong Soviet team might not show up. However, they competed in the Lake Placid games in the end, although the United States and 65 other nations later boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
The Soviets had won every Winter Olympics ice hockey tournament since 1960, were well-seasoned and the majority of the players had been playing together for many years. In contrast, the Americans were a collection of college students (most from the rival schools of University of Minnesota and Boston University) with little history of playing together. However, the US team also featured several highly promising players who would go on to have successful careers in the National Hockey League after the Olympics.
Three days before the Olympics, Coach Herb Brooks scheduled an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden in New York City against the Soviet team. The Americans lost 10–3, and Defenseman Jack O'Callahan pulled a ligament in his knee, though he returned for the medal round. Coach Brooks gave only a few interviews after the game.
Despite these setbacks, Brooks managed to unify his players, training them for a year (the core of the team had been assembled since the 1979 World Ice Hockey Championships in Moscow), and lead them to victory.
Going into the games, the teams were ranked and divided into two groups. The ranking was: Soviet Union (1), Czechoslovakia (2), Sweden (3), Canada (4), Finland (5), West Germany (6), United States (7), Poland (8), Netherlands (9), Romania (10), Norway (11), Japan (12).
Read more about this topic: Ice Hockey At The 1980 Winter Olympics
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