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The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Once upon a time, they taught us to believe. They were the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, a blue-collar bunch led by an unconventional coach, and they engineered perhaps the greatest sports moment of the twentieth century. Their “Miracle on Ice” has become a national fairy tale, but the real Cinderella story is even more remarkable. It is a legacy of hope, hard work, and homegrown triumph. It is a chronicle of everyday heroes who just wanted to play hockey happily ever after. It is still unbelievable.
The Boys of Winter is an evocative account of the improbable American adventure in Lake Placid, New York. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews, Wayne Coffey explores the untold stories of the U.S. upstarts, their Soviet opponents, and the forces that brought them together.
Plagued by the Iran hostage crisis, persistent economic woes, and the ongoing Cold War, the United States battled a pervasive sense of gloom in 1980. And then came the Olympics. Traditionally a playground for the Russian hockey juggernaut and its ever-growing collection of gold medals, an Olympic ice rink seemed an unlikely setting for a Cold War upset. The Russians were experienced professional champions, state-reared and state-supported. The Americans were mostly college kids who had their majors and their stipends and their dreams, a squad that coach Herb Brooks had molded into a team in six months. It was men vs. boys, champions vs. amateurs, communism vs. capitalism.
Coffey casts a fresh eye on this seminal sports event in The Boys of Winter , crafting an intimate look at the team and giving readers an ice-level view of the boys who captivated a country. He details the unusual chemistry of the Americans—formulated by a fiercely determined Brooks—and he seamlessly weaves portraits of the players with the fluid, fast-paced action of the 1980 game itself. Coffey also traces the paths of the players and coaches since that time, examining how the events in Lake Placid affected and directed their lives and investigating what happens after one conquers the world.
But Coffey not only reveals the anatomy of an underdog, he probes the shocked disbelief of the unlikely losers and how it felt to be taken down by such an overlooked opponent. After all, the greatest American sports moment of the century was a Russian calamity, perhaps even more unimaginable in Moscow than in Minnesota or Massachusetts. Coffey deftly balances the joyous American saga with the perspective of the astonished silver medalists.
Told with warmth and an uncanny eye for detail, The Boys of Winter is an intimate, perceptive portrayal of one Friday night in Lake Placid and the enduring power of the extraordinary.
The Boys of Winter is an evocative account of the improbable American adventure in Lake Placid, New York. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews, Wayne Coffey explores the untold stories of the U.S. upstarts, their Soviet opponents, and the forces that brought them together.
Plagued by the Iran hostage crisis, persistent economic woes, and the ongoing Cold War, the United States battled a pervasive sense of gloom in 1980. And then came the Olympics. Traditionally a playground for the Russian hockey juggernaut and its ever-growing collection of gold medals, an Olympic ice rink seemed an unlikely setting for a Cold War upset. The Russians were experienced professional champions, state-reared and state-supported. The Americans were mostly college kids who had their majors and their stipends and their dreams, a squad that coach Herb Brooks had molded into a team in six months. It was men vs. boys, champions vs. amateurs, communism vs. capitalism.
Coffey casts a fresh eye on this seminal sports event in The Boys of Winter , crafting an intimate look at the team and giving readers an ice-level view of the boys who captivated a country. He details the unusual chemistry of the Americans—formulated by a fiercely determined Brooks—and he seamlessly weaves portraits of the players with the fluid, fast-paced action of the 1980 game itself. Coffey also traces the paths of the players and coaches since that time, examining how the events in Lake Placid affected and directed their lives and investigating what happens after one conquers the world.
But Coffey not only reveals the anatomy of an underdog, he probes the shocked disbelief of the unlikely losers and how it felt to be taken down by such an overlooked opponent. After all, the greatest American sports moment of the century was a Russian calamity, perhaps even more unimaginable in Moscow than in Minnesota or Massachusetts. Coffey deftly balances the joyous American saga with the perspective of the astonished silver medalists.
Told with warmth and an uncanny eye for detail, The Boys of Winter is an intimate, perceptive portrayal of one Friday night in Lake Placid and the enduring power of the extraordinary.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 11, 2005
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About the author
Wayne Coffey
31 books18 followersWayne Coffey is an award-winning sportswriter for the New York Daily News and the author of Winning Sounds Like This, among other books. He lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
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October 3, 2019
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!!!” Growing up watching any sporting event, Al Michaels’ call of the United States-Soviet Union hockey game from the 1980 Olympics takes its place front and center as one of the greatest underdog sports stories of the 20th century. I have no recollection of February 22, 1980 because the events of the Lake Placid Olympics took place when I was a mere four months old. Yet, being the sports fan that I am, it is impossible not to know about the original miracle on ice. Hockey is by far not my favorite team sport. As a kid, the Chicago Blackhawks were blacked out in local markets by the team’s ownership, so basketball easily became my winter sport of choice. Between watching the Bulls during their glory years and Michigan’s fab five team, hockey was an afterthought. My knowledge of the miracle on ice has been limited to the sound bite on sports broadcasts, and I had long thought to rectify that. With my baseball team eliminated from the post season this year, I decided to expand my hockey knowledge base.
Today, the Olympics is a star studded festival featuring the best athletes in the world. The original purpose of the modern Olympiad was to bring together athletes from around the world in a display of peace regardless of the world’s political climate, with winning and losing being secondary to the international unity shown at the events. Starting with the Berlin Olympics and the showdowns between American and German athletes, the goals of the Olympics began to change. Yes, new friendships could still be made in the Olympic village, but sports bringing glory to nations still ravaged by war took precedence to peaceful demonstrations of sports. Following World War II, eastern bloc nations culled the best athletes from the time they were children and had these athletes train in their given sport year round. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the Soviet Union, and athletes were amateurs in name only. The gulf between Olympic athletes from communist countries and their western counterparts widened with each passing Olympiad.
The year 1980 marked a low point in the United States. The country was still in the throes of the Iran hostage crisis, and the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan. The Cold War threat remained a real danger in the eyes of the American public. Yet, the games would go on, and the 1980 Winter Olympics were set to be played in the quaint village of Lake Placid, New York. The Soviet Union with their professional amateurs had won every Olympic hockey tournament since 1960 and sought another victory on their political rival’s soil. The United States tabbed Herb Brooks to coach a team comprised of wide eyed twenty somethings, mainly college students, all amateurs. The days of dream teams and commercialization were still in the future. Brooks formulated his team of players from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New England. His team were not necessarily the best players in the United States, but they could skate fast, were gritty, and were built to withstand whatever the Soviets plotted for their head to head match up.
Wayne Coffey divides this book into three periods with two intermissions. The story jumps back and forth between the game and background stories of each of the twenty players on the team and their coaches. Mike Eruzione, the captain who shot the game winning goal, was nearly cut during training camp. Coach Brooks tabbed Eruzione as captain because he was the team’s elder statesman at age twenty five and displayed the grit of an Italian immigrant’s kid from Boston’s projects. Twenty five years after the game, the miracle on ice is still Eruzione’s shining moment. The other players all have their own compelling stories, parents who declined overtime at work to watch their sons play hockey, winter outdoor hockey at -50 degrees in Minnesota’s iron range, and mothers who shuttled their eight kids around to compete in youth hockey and other sporting tournaments. Each story was more compelling than the next, and nearly forty years later, it is obvious why Americans rooted for a team of kids who were given almost no chance to win.
Coffey claims that the miracle on ice is the 20th century’s biggest sports story. Seven of the players went on to have careers in professional hockey, yet, for many of the team’s players, the Miracle on Ice game was their crowning hockey achievement. They opened the door for Americans to be viewed as hockey stars, and today there are a number of United States born stars in the National Hockey League. At the time, the Olympics were a simpler affair. Players played for pride without the glitz and glory surrounding dream teams and professionals competing in most of the events. Even if the miracle of February 22, 1980 is not the single biggest sports story of the 20th century, Wayne Coffey’s take on the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team makes for one compelling story.
3.5 stars
Today, the Olympics is a star studded festival featuring the best athletes in the world. The original purpose of the modern Olympiad was to bring together athletes from around the world in a display of peace regardless of the world’s political climate, with winning and losing being secondary to the international unity shown at the events. Starting with the Berlin Olympics and the showdowns between American and German athletes, the goals of the Olympics began to change. Yes, new friendships could still be made in the Olympic village, but sports bringing glory to nations still ravaged by war took precedence to peaceful demonstrations of sports. Following World War II, eastern bloc nations culled the best athletes from the time they were children and had these athletes train in their given sport year round. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the Soviet Union, and athletes were amateurs in name only. The gulf between Olympic athletes from communist countries and their western counterparts widened with each passing Olympiad.
The year 1980 marked a low point in the United States. The country was still in the throes of the Iran hostage crisis, and the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan. The Cold War threat remained a real danger in the eyes of the American public. Yet, the games would go on, and the 1980 Winter Olympics were set to be played in the quaint village of Lake Placid, New York. The Soviet Union with their professional amateurs had won every Olympic hockey tournament since 1960 and sought another victory on their political rival’s soil. The United States tabbed Herb Brooks to coach a team comprised of wide eyed twenty somethings, mainly college students, all amateurs. The days of dream teams and commercialization were still in the future. Brooks formulated his team of players from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New England. His team were not necessarily the best players in the United States, but they could skate fast, were gritty, and were built to withstand whatever the Soviets plotted for their head to head match up.
Wayne Coffey divides this book into three periods with two intermissions. The story jumps back and forth between the game and background stories of each of the twenty players on the team and their coaches. Mike Eruzione, the captain who shot the game winning goal, was nearly cut during training camp. Coach Brooks tabbed Eruzione as captain because he was the team’s elder statesman at age twenty five and displayed the grit of an Italian immigrant’s kid from Boston’s projects. Twenty five years after the game, the miracle on ice is still Eruzione’s shining moment. The other players all have their own compelling stories, parents who declined overtime at work to watch their sons play hockey, winter outdoor hockey at -50 degrees in Minnesota’s iron range, and mothers who shuttled their eight kids around to compete in youth hockey and other sporting tournaments. Each story was more compelling than the next, and nearly forty years later, it is obvious why Americans rooted for a team of kids who were given almost no chance to win.
Coffey claims that the miracle on ice is the 20th century’s biggest sports story. Seven of the players went on to have careers in professional hockey, yet, for many of the team’s players, the Miracle on Ice game was their crowning hockey achievement. They opened the door for Americans to be viewed as hockey stars, and today there are a number of United States born stars in the National Hockey League. At the time, the Olympics were a simpler affair. Players played for pride without the glitz and glory surrounding dream teams and professionals competing in most of the events. Even if the miracle of February 22, 1980 is not the single biggest sports story of the 20th century, Wayne Coffey’s take on the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team makes for one compelling story.
3.5 stars
July 20, 2017
Any American sports fan will know where he or she was on February 22, 1980. It was on that date that 20 young men from the United States defeated the hockey team from the Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics. It is considered by many, including this reviewer, as the greatest sports event that has occurred and will not be repeated. The stories behind this game and the players and Coach Herb Brooks are told in this book by Wayne Coffey.
The book starts and ends with scenes from Brooks’ funeral after he was killed in an auto accident in 2003. There are short biographies of Brooks and each of the 20 players scattered throughout the description of the action on the ice during that game. The format makes for great reading for the print version and while also excellent for the audio version, the listener will have to pay close attention so that when the narration changes from player story back to the game, there is no disconnect.
The game replay is excellent with not only goals and saves described but each check, each penalty and each steal of the puck by either team relived in great detail. On occasion I will watch a video of the game and get chills, even after all these years. I had the same reaction when Heyborne was describing key events of the game, such as Mark Johnson’s goal with one second remaining in the first period, spectacular saves by goaltender Jim Craig and certainly the winning goal by Mike Eruzione.
Any reader who either wants to relive that special game or wants to learn why this team and event is still revered more than 35 years later will want to pick up this book. Even though it was originally published in 2005, the stories and events are just as thrilling to relive now as they were then.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
The book starts and ends with scenes from Brooks’ funeral after he was killed in an auto accident in 2003. There are short biographies of Brooks and each of the 20 players scattered throughout the description of the action on the ice during that game. The format makes for great reading for the print version and while also excellent for the audio version, the listener will have to pay close attention so that when the narration changes from player story back to the game, there is no disconnect.
The game replay is excellent with not only goals and saves described but each check, each penalty and each steal of the puck by either team relived in great detail. On occasion I will watch a video of the game and get chills, even after all these years. I had the same reaction when Heyborne was describing key events of the game, such as Mark Johnson’s goal with one second remaining in the first period, spectacular saves by goaltender Jim Craig and certainly the winning goal by Mike Eruzione.
Any reader who either wants to relive that special game or wants to learn why this team and event is still revered more than 35 years later will want to pick up this book. Even though it was originally published in 2005, the stories and events are just as thrilling to relive now as they were then.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
July 29, 2017
The Boys of Winter, Tantor Audiobook
By Wayne Coffee
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
5 Stars
This is a true story, taking the reader back in time to the 1980, Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY, where Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals in speed skating and the United Staes beat the USSR hockey team, the greatest team on the planet, seting the stage for the US to win the Gold Medal in hockey. Fewer people recall Heiden’s feat, eventhough the accomplishment was by degrees greater than the hockey scores. However most people do recall “the Miracle on Ice” if you were around then, or if you are a hockey fan. I was a 30 something young man at the time and remember how I thought as I sat down to watch the game, wouldn’t it be great if the US beat the “Rooskies”? (I didn’t know al the time, the TV presentation was delayed due to skiing events!)
This book reads like a fast paced mystery novel, where the author tells of heart racing accounts of play by play and sometimes second by second action. Wayne Coffee intersperces the hockey action with bios of the coach Herb Brooks, how the team was selected and how Brooks’ far fetched strategy came to fruition on a Friday night in February, 1980. Coffee also includes an intimate background of each of the players both before and after the Olympics.
He reminds the reader of how the 1980 Olympic games differ from those of today. All Olympic athletes at the time had to maintain amateur status - no professional players were allowed. But the world knew the Soviet athletes were essentially professional due to the fact that the sport was their job. They trained year round and all costs were covered by the Russian government.
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip back in time, but the behind the scenes stories made it memorable.
By Wayne Coffee
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
5 Stars
This is a true story, taking the reader back in time to the 1980, Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY, where Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals in speed skating and the United Staes beat the USSR hockey team, the greatest team on the planet, seting the stage for the US to win the Gold Medal in hockey. Fewer people recall Heiden’s feat, eventhough the accomplishment was by degrees greater than the hockey scores. However most people do recall “the Miracle on Ice” if you were around then, or if you are a hockey fan. I was a 30 something young man at the time and remember how I thought as I sat down to watch the game, wouldn’t it be great if the US beat the “Rooskies”? (I didn’t know al the time, the TV presentation was delayed due to skiing events!)
This book reads like a fast paced mystery novel, where the author tells of heart racing accounts of play by play and sometimes second by second action. Wayne Coffee intersperces the hockey action with bios of the coach Herb Brooks, how the team was selected and how Brooks’ far fetched strategy came to fruition on a Friday night in February, 1980. Coffee also includes an intimate background of each of the players both before and after the Olympics.
He reminds the reader of how the 1980 Olympic games differ from those of today. All Olympic athletes at the time had to maintain amateur status - no professional players were allowed. But the world knew the Soviet athletes were essentially professional due to the fact that the sport was their job. They trained year round and all costs were covered by the Russian government.
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip back in time, but the behind the scenes stories made it memorable.
September 19, 2025
This is a book about the “Miracle on Ice” when the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team, a group of amateur college players, beat the experienced professional team from the Soviet Union. Published in 2005, it starts at Coach Herb Brooks’s funeral, then provides minibiographies of each US team member. It runs through the selection process and Brooks’s unconventional training methods. Several minibiographies of the Russian team members are also provided. The author covers the preparations for the Lake Placid Winter Olympics, the tournament progression, and a detailed account of the US win over the Soviet Union. It recounts the gold medal match against Finland, when the US won the Gold Medal. The author then summarizes what happened to each player in the twenty-five years after the Olympic victory.
I was interested in reading this book to gain a more in-depth view of the team, the players, and their path to victory. I am not sure Herb Brooks’s methods would carry over into today’s environment, but he was certainly an effective, if not always likeable, coach. The author incorporates extensive interviews of the participants. I am not sure it is really an “untold story” since I have seen several other accounts, but this book goes into more detail and is a stellar piece of storytelling. This type of “miracle” will never be repeated due to the changes in the Olympic rules. The US teams now consist of professional athletes. It is truly a historic sports achievement, and I enjoyed reading about it.
I was interested in reading this book to gain a more in-depth view of the team, the players, and their path to victory. I am not sure Herb Brooks’s methods would carry over into today’s environment, but he was certainly an effective, if not always likeable, coach. The author incorporates extensive interviews of the participants. I am not sure it is really an “untold story” since I have seen several other accounts, but this book goes into more detail and is a stellar piece of storytelling. This type of “miracle” will never be repeated due to the changes in the Olympic rules. The US teams now consist of professional athletes. It is truly a historic sports achievement, and I enjoyed reading about it.
July 30, 2020
Oh man I had such a hard time rating this book. I had been looking forward to reading it for the better part of a month and finally it was available on loan from the library. I loved reliving the game and I loved the background stories of the key players, but the story format is disappointing. The author continuously jumps from describing the game against the Soviets to stories leading up to the game and then stories after the game has ended back to describing the game again. The flow was hard to follow and I wasn't able to get wrapped up into the story as I had hoped I would be. The content was great, the structure was awful so 3 stars from me.
December 30, 2023
(note: 12/30/23. i thought about, talked about, recommended this book WAY too much this year for it to sit at four stars, especially in a relatively disappointing reading year. bumping to 5)
I definitely didn’t cry. And I SURELY didn’t cry more than once
“He’d decided he’d had enough. He was 27 years old”
I definitely didn’t cry. And I SURELY didn’t cry more than once
“He’d decided he’d had enough. He was 27 years old”
March 19, 2025
Better than the movie!
November 16, 2024
This wasn’t a bad book by any means and getting to start it while in Lake Placid on vacation was extremely fun. However, it was basically just reading the movie Miracle with some extra background information about each of the players.
January 18, 2024
The book provides a captivating overview of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and their coach, Herb Brooks. The book delves into the lives of each player, skillfully interweaving their stories with the intense game against the Russians as the narrative unfolds.
As a Minnesotan, my familiarity with the players, locations, and the team itself added a personal touch to the reading experience. The recounting of this extraordinary accomplishment during a pivotal time in history was both engaging and insightful.
Overall, "The Boys of Winter" is a truly enjoyable read that offers a glimpse into the lives of the players who made a remarkable achievement as a team.
As a Minnesotan, my familiarity with the players, locations, and the team itself added a personal touch to the reading experience. The recounting of this extraordinary accomplishment during a pivotal time in history was both engaging and insightful.
Overall, "The Boys of Winter" is a truly enjoyable read that offers a glimpse into the lives of the players who made a remarkable achievement as a team.
February 27, 2025
Growing up in Minnesota, you know the name Herb Brooks, and you’ve probably seen the movie Miracle at least once if not multiple times. The Boys of Winter dove into not only a play by play of the momentous game against the Soviets, but was interspersed with stories and background on the players, coaches, and even the Soviet team. Since the majority of players were from Minnesota or played at the University of Minnesota it was interesting to hear about their backgrounds, where they grew up, and how they got to the Olympics.
I was not alive for the Miracle on Ice, but you feel like you are there witnessing one of if not the most incredible sports moments in history.
I was not alive for the Miracle on Ice, but you feel like you are there witnessing one of if not the most incredible sports moments in history.
August 21, 2022
Do you believe in miracles?
February 22, 1980 - if you were old enough, it’s likely that you remember the game - US vs USSR - where you were and who you watched this game with. It was David vs Goliath, a bunch of college kids versus what was then a huge dynasty, Russian hockey, a group of men who had played together for years on a state-supported team.
This was a good look at the game, the players, the coaches, and even a little of the backdrop that these Olympics were played against. The Russians had just invaded Afghanistan. There were hostages in Iran. Americans were hungry for heroes. Herb Brooks, a college hockey coach, put together a team of kids from the Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota) and the East (Massachusetts) who were on opposing sides just years or months before they were placed on the US team. This was prior to allowing professional players in the Olympics which placed some countries (like US) at a disadvantage compared to other countries that supported what amounted to a professional “amateur” team. Brooks determined that to bring them together he would give them a common foe, himself. The team was relentlessly pounded by Brooks with punishing practices and games against minor league hockey teams and European exhibition games. Only 4 days prior to the start of the Olympics this team was drubbed by the Russians in a game at Madison Square Gardens. Yet he lit a fire. It was experience vs. youth, men vs. boys, champions vs. upstarts, communism vs. capitalism, on a sheet of ice in the Adirondack Mountains.… The twenty members of the 1980 Olympic hockey team did something extraordinary once. This is the story of a Friday night in Lake Placid, New York, and the men who lived it.
The author constructed the book like the game - with 3 periods and 2 intermissions. You get the plays, but also the stories of the guys who made the plays, how they got there and what happened in their lives afterwards. Only 13 of the 20 players actually made it into the NHL. Even the captain of the US team (Eruzione) did not play in the NHL. These guys went on to set records (Ken Morrow: first man to capture Olympic and NHL titles in the same year; Neal Broten: the first American-born player to have a 100-point season in the NHL). They have become almost mythic - the youngest US Olympic hockey team ever (18 of 20 were still in college), the team that took on the Russians and won, then won one more game the next day against a strong Finnish team to take the gold. There are great stories and insights into the players and the game. The Lake Placid Olympics were special - a remote NY area that produced some of the most epic athletic performances and not just by the hockey team. This is the Olympic Games that also saw Eric Heiden sweep every individual event and win 5 gold medals in speed skating and the pair figure skaters of Gardner & Babilonia get so close to competing for gold only to be forced to withdraw due to an injury.
This was well worth reading - it captures the time and experience. It captures the innocence of these kids of working class parents putting the hearts on the line for their coach. It captures the plays and players. And finally, it captures your heart. Even non-hockey lovers are fans for a moment and if you like hockey (as I do … go Preds!!) it is a must-read.
Quotes I liked:
Herb Brooks… wasn’t coaching a Dream Team. He was coaching a team full of dreamers.
Hockey is the quirkiest and most capricious of sports, a game played at a dizzying pace, on a slippery surface, players coming on, players going off, championships decided by a bad bounce, a well-positioned blade, by whether a speeding disc hits the inside of the post or the outside.
Five of the guys on the team were on opposite sides of one of the nastiest college hockey brawls anyone could remember—the 1976 NCAA semifinal bloodbath between Minnesota and Boston University. The puck dropped, a minute later so did the gloves, and it was an hour before they played any more hockey. It was so bad that even Gopher trainer Gary Smith got into it, punching a BU player who had spit on him.
Hockey is a club that holds its members tightly, the bond forged by shared hardship and mutual passion, by every trip to the pond, where your feet hurt and your face is cold and you might get a stick in the ribs or a puck in the mouth, and you still can’t wait to get back out there because you are smitten with the sound of blades scraping against ice and pucks clacking off sticks, and with the game’s speed and ever-changing geometry. It has a way of becoming the center of your life even when you’re not on the ice.
… they made people feel better when there wasn’t much to feel good about, reaffirming that Americans do have greatness and courage and unbreakable spirit within them.
Brooks’ pregame inspiration for his team: “You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.”
[Mark] Johnson wouldn’t look at a glass and believe it was half-full; he’d believe that at any minute it would get a refill.
You change what you can and deal with everything else.
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
Goalies are different from other human beings...a special sort of self-reliance to play the goal, and a willfulness that borders on defiance: You are not getting this puck past me.
You deal with what is, strap your pads back on, and get ready for what’s next. You remember what really matters.
“Life is a marathon,” Craig said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in front in the first five meters or the first five miles. It’s where you get to. It’s how you’re doing, and where you are when you cross the finish line.
… his [Brooks] quietly held conviction that in one game on one night, his team of overmatched and underaged kids could beat the best team in the world. It was to believe again in the nation’s capacity for greatness, in the collective power of a true team, foibles and frailties notwithstanding.
Behind every player there were stories of love and sacrifice and struggle, of human beings being human… Life is hard, and Olympic gold medals provide no exemption. You push on, do your best, and if you are really brave, you dream big, doubts and fears be damned. This is the stuff that miracles are made of, and the proof was there to see, on February 22, 1980.
When your focus is not on the outcome but on putting everything you have into every moment, it changes everything.
February 22, 1980 - if you were old enough, it’s likely that you remember the game - US vs USSR - where you were and who you watched this game with. It was David vs Goliath, a bunch of college kids versus what was then a huge dynasty, Russian hockey, a group of men who had played together for years on a state-supported team.
This was a good look at the game, the players, the coaches, and even a little of the backdrop that these Olympics were played against. The Russians had just invaded Afghanistan. There were hostages in Iran. Americans were hungry for heroes. Herb Brooks, a college hockey coach, put together a team of kids from the Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota) and the East (Massachusetts) who were on opposing sides just years or months before they were placed on the US team. This was prior to allowing professional players in the Olympics which placed some countries (like US) at a disadvantage compared to other countries that supported what amounted to a professional “amateur” team. Brooks determined that to bring them together he would give them a common foe, himself. The team was relentlessly pounded by Brooks with punishing practices and games against minor league hockey teams and European exhibition games. Only 4 days prior to the start of the Olympics this team was drubbed by the Russians in a game at Madison Square Gardens. Yet he lit a fire. It was experience vs. youth, men vs. boys, champions vs. upstarts, communism vs. capitalism, on a sheet of ice in the Adirondack Mountains.… The twenty members of the 1980 Olympic hockey team did something extraordinary once. This is the story of a Friday night in Lake Placid, New York, and the men who lived it.
The author constructed the book like the game - with 3 periods and 2 intermissions. You get the plays, but also the stories of the guys who made the plays, how they got there and what happened in their lives afterwards. Only 13 of the 20 players actually made it into the NHL. Even the captain of the US team (Eruzione) did not play in the NHL. These guys went on to set records (Ken Morrow: first man to capture Olympic and NHL titles in the same year; Neal Broten: the first American-born player to have a 100-point season in the NHL). They have become almost mythic - the youngest US Olympic hockey team ever (18 of 20 were still in college), the team that took on the Russians and won, then won one more game the next day against a strong Finnish team to take the gold. There are great stories and insights into the players and the game. The Lake Placid Olympics were special - a remote NY area that produced some of the most epic athletic performances and not just by the hockey team. This is the Olympic Games that also saw Eric Heiden sweep every individual event and win 5 gold medals in speed skating and the pair figure skaters of Gardner & Babilonia get so close to competing for gold only to be forced to withdraw due to an injury.
This was well worth reading - it captures the time and experience. It captures the innocence of these kids of working class parents putting the hearts on the line for their coach. It captures the plays and players. And finally, it captures your heart. Even non-hockey lovers are fans for a moment and if you like hockey (as I do … go Preds!!) it is a must-read.
Quotes I liked:
Herb Brooks… wasn’t coaching a Dream Team. He was coaching a team full of dreamers.
Hockey is the quirkiest and most capricious of sports, a game played at a dizzying pace, on a slippery surface, players coming on, players going off, championships decided by a bad bounce, a well-positioned blade, by whether a speeding disc hits the inside of the post or the outside.
Five of the guys on the team were on opposite sides of one of the nastiest college hockey brawls anyone could remember—the 1976 NCAA semifinal bloodbath between Minnesota and Boston University. The puck dropped, a minute later so did the gloves, and it was an hour before they played any more hockey. It was so bad that even Gopher trainer Gary Smith got into it, punching a BU player who had spit on him.
Hockey is a club that holds its members tightly, the bond forged by shared hardship and mutual passion, by every trip to the pond, where your feet hurt and your face is cold and you might get a stick in the ribs or a puck in the mouth, and you still can’t wait to get back out there because you are smitten with the sound of blades scraping against ice and pucks clacking off sticks, and with the game’s speed and ever-changing geometry. It has a way of becoming the center of your life even when you’re not on the ice.
… they made people feel better when there wasn’t much to feel good about, reaffirming that Americans do have greatness and courage and unbreakable spirit within them.
Brooks’ pregame inspiration for his team: “You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.”
[Mark] Johnson wouldn’t look at a glass and believe it was half-full; he’d believe that at any minute it would get a refill.
You change what you can and deal with everything else.
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
Goalies are different from other human beings...a special sort of self-reliance to play the goal, and a willfulness that borders on defiance: You are not getting this puck past me.
You deal with what is, strap your pads back on, and get ready for what’s next. You remember what really matters.
“Life is a marathon,” Craig said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in front in the first five meters or the first five miles. It’s where you get to. It’s how you’re doing, and where you are when you cross the finish line.
… his [Brooks] quietly held conviction that in one game on one night, his team of overmatched and underaged kids could beat the best team in the world. It was to believe again in the nation’s capacity for greatness, in the collective power of a true team, foibles and frailties notwithstanding.
Behind every player there were stories of love and sacrifice and struggle, of human beings being human… Life is hard, and Olympic gold medals provide no exemption. You push on, do your best, and if you are really brave, you dream big, doubts and fears be damned. This is the stuff that miracles are made of, and the proof was there to see, on February 22, 1980.
When your focus is not on the outcome but on putting everything you have into every moment, it changes everything.
May 17, 2025
Random fun facts:
1. Buzz Schneider was played by his son Billy in the movie Miracle (2004).
2. Mike Eurizone received not one, but two proposals after the US hockey team won.
3. The entire team rushed onto the ice every time there was a goal scored in the olympics.
- Herb Brooks did not, instead after their two main wins (beating the Soviets and Finland) he went into the locker room, locked himself in a bathroom stall and cried.
5. The boys didn't really understand what their wins meant to the world until much later; they just thought they were winning hockey games.
6. They had a reunion in 2002 as a team, and then some of them went to the premiere of Miracle (2004).
7. They also had a reunion at Herb Brooks' funeral (2003) and the 1980 US team held their hockey sticks over his passing casket.
8. Mike Eurizone was almost cut from the team because he wasn't the most exceptional skater or scorer; he was kept as captain because of his leadership and heart.
9. Jim Craig (goalie) ended up coaching alongside soviet player Vladimir Lutchenko. (Lutchenko did not get to play in the olympics in 1980 and the two joke about how if he had the US wouldn't have won)
10. Most of them don't really talk about the game anymore (except for Eurizone), instead they run horse farms, coach women's and men's college hockey, and raise families.
11. Herb Brooks, four months after Lake Placid, sent each player a handwritten letter that told them that he was harsh on them, but proud of them, and that "if there was any team I ever wanted to identify with on a personal basis, this was the team."
1. Buzz Schneider was played by his son Billy in the movie Miracle (2004).
2. Mike Eurizone received not one, but two proposals after the US hockey team won.
3. The entire team rushed onto the ice every time there was a goal scored in the olympics.
- Herb Brooks did not, instead after their two main wins (beating the Soviets and Finland) he went into the locker room, locked himself in a bathroom stall and cried.
5. The boys didn't really understand what their wins meant to the world until much later; they just thought they were winning hockey games.
6. They had a reunion in 2002 as a team, and then some of them went to the premiere of Miracle (2004).
7. They also had a reunion at Herb Brooks' funeral (2003) and the 1980 US team held their hockey sticks over his passing casket.
8. Mike Eurizone was almost cut from the team because he wasn't the most exceptional skater or scorer; he was kept as captain because of his leadership and heart.
9. Jim Craig (goalie) ended up coaching alongside soviet player Vladimir Lutchenko. (Lutchenko did not get to play in the olympics in 1980 and the two joke about how if he had the US wouldn't have won)
10. Most of them don't really talk about the game anymore (except for Eurizone), instead they run horse farms, coach women's and men's college hockey, and raise families.
11. Herb Brooks, four months after Lake Placid, sent each player a handwritten letter that told them that he was harsh on them, but proud of them, and that "if there was any team I ever wanted to identify with on a personal basis, this was the team."
March 11, 2019
A must-read for those wanting a detailed look at how the United States hockey team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. Mr. Coffey mixes biographical details of Coach Herb Brooks, his staff and the 20 Olympians who became a part of sports history. Thirteen of the 20 would have NHL careers (defenseman Ken Morrow would immediately sign with the New York Islanders and win four straight Stanley Cups). Mr. Coffey's approach of doing a period-by-period narrative and "pausing" to introduce and describe each player's path to the team was well done.
As a Washington Capitals fan, I especially liked the small injection on Dave Christian - a forward converted to defenseman for the team; a player whose father played in the 1960 gold-medal winning Team USA at Squaw Valley, CA; and one who spent a good portion of his career with Capitals in the mid-80s when I initially arrived in the DC area. I also liked the portion on Warren Strelow, Brooks' goaltender coach who went on to spend a huge career coaching and developing goaltenders for the Caps.
One can go see "Miracle" the movie produced on the team, but this book gives you a better read on how Brooks selected the team, moulded the young athletes and took them through a vigorous and often rocky road to Lake Placid.
As a Washington Capitals fan, I especially liked the small injection on Dave Christian - a forward converted to defenseman for the team; a player whose father played in the 1960 gold-medal winning Team USA at Squaw Valley, CA; and one who spent a good portion of his career with Capitals in the mid-80s when I initially arrived in the DC area. I also liked the portion on Warren Strelow, Brooks' goaltender coach who went on to spend a huge career coaching and developing goaltenders for the Caps.
One can go see "Miracle" the movie produced on the team, but this book gives you a better read on how Brooks selected the team, moulded the young athletes and took them through a vigorous and often rocky road to Lake Placid.
September 29, 2015
One of my favorite books of all time. I love hockey and Miracle on ice. So this book was a must read. I could not put down this book. I liked learning about all the players and their lives. This team is a great one and I love it.
December 31, 2023
Herb brooks you magnificent psycho terrorist
March 27, 2024
I love this story and will never tire of reading about it. That being said, the writing was not the best, very erratic at times. But I enjoyed reading and learned a lot.
July 7, 2024
Do you believe in miracles?!? YES!!
February 13, 2018
"You watched them play and you were struck by the power of a simple, single thought: Hey, we really can still do it. In a profoundly pessimistic time, they brought hope...And the best part was they didn't even know they were doing it. They thought they were just trying to win hockey games."
The Boys of Winter is the story of the United States Men's Hockey team that beat the Soviets in the winter of 1980, a David and Goliath victory which became a historic national moment during the Cold War. Wayne Coffey traces each moment of the game, interspersing the hockey plays with details about each of the players and how they came to join such a momentous game.
The Boys of Winter has been on my to-read list for awhile, I think since I saw it on a booklist for the greatest sports books ever. I've become a big fan of hockey but I haven't read all that many sports stories. Because Coffey gives a lot of details on the players lives and backgrounds, the pace of the book moves from fast-paced to leisurely in waves, which may bother some readers. For me, it was fascinating to see how all these kids of various backgrounds came together against a Soviet team that had been training with each other for decades and was the better team in most ways. It's an intriguing story that doesn't hold back on the less glorious parts of the various personalities involved and doesn't sugarcoat the way that coach Herb Brooks managed to spur the team to victory. It's an intriguing, well-written story that had me looking up old footage of the game just so I could compare it to what I read in the book and still came away satisfied.
It also had the perfect quote to explain why I'm fascinated by goalies in hockey:
"Goalies are different from other human beings. By workplace location and mindset, they occupy their own distinct space. A goal cage is six feet wide and four feet high, twenty-four square feet to keep the puck from penetrating. You are quite literally the last line of defense, the ultimate determinant of who wins and who loses. You need a special sort of self-reliance to play the goal, and a willfulness that borders on defiance: You are not getting this puck past me."
If you're looking for a compelling sports story, The Boys of Winter may be up your alley. Coffey weaves together details of the game and details of the players lives and personalities with skill, though inconsistent pacing and I found myself intrigued throughout.
The Boys of Winter is the story of the United States Men's Hockey team that beat the Soviets in the winter of 1980, a David and Goliath victory which became a historic national moment during the Cold War. Wayne Coffey traces each moment of the game, interspersing the hockey plays with details about each of the players and how they came to join such a momentous game.
The Boys of Winter has been on my to-read list for awhile, I think since I saw it on a booklist for the greatest sports books ever. I've become a big fan of hockey but I haven't read all that many sports stories. Because Coffey gives a lot of details on the players lives and backgrounds, the pace of the book moves from fast-paced to leisurely in waves, which may bother some readers. For me, it was fascinating to see how all these kids of various backgrounds came together against a Soviet team that had been training with each other for decades and was the better team in most ways. It's an intriguing story that doesn't hold back on the less glorious parts of the various personalities involved and doesn't sugarcoat the way that coach Herb Brooks managed to spur the team to victory. It's an intriguing, well-written story that had me looking up old footage of the game just so I could compare it to what I read in the book and still came away satisfied.
It also had the perfect quote to explain why I'm fascinated by goalies in hockey:
"Goalies are different from other human beings. By workplace location and mindset, they occupy their own distinct space. A goal cage is six feet wide and four feet high, twenty-four square feet to keep the puck from penetrating. You are quite literally the last line of defense, the ultimate determinant of who wins and who loses. You need a special sort of self-reliance to play the goal, and a willfulness that borders on defiance: You are not getting this puck past me."
If you're looking for a compelling sports story, The Boys of Winter may be up your alley. Coffey weaves together details of the game and details of the players lives and personalities with skill, though inconsistent pacing and I found myself intrigued throughout.
March 21, 2020
To paraphrase my friend Jeana the first (and only) time I made her watch miracle, “Herb Brooks is a dick.” Listen, I know his methods worked but that doesn’t mean I have to like or agree with him.
I read this book because I saw Erica reading it first, and her thoughts on the book are very similar to my own: that the author does a great job on expanding on the players’ personalities and their lives after the game, as well as focusing in on the underdog story, but also spends too much time describing cabins in woods and the weird rivalries between Iron Range villages. It’s kind of boring. Then again, hockey players themselves can be kind of boring so an argument can be made that the author is staying true to his subject.
Personally I would have liked to read more about the games leading up to The Big One but we cannot always get what we want.
It was nice to read about hockey since sports have been cancelled.
I read this book because I saw Erica reading it first, and her thoughts on the book are very similar to my own: that the author does a great job on expanding on the players’ personalities and their lives after the game, as well as focusing in on the underdog story, but also spends too much time describing cabins in woods and the weird rivalries between Iron Range villages. It’s kind of boring. Then again, hockey players themselves can be kind of boring so an argument can be made that the author is staying true to his subject.
Personally I would have liked to read more about the games leading up to The Big One but we cannot always get what we want.
It was nice to read about hockey since sports have been cancelled.
July 2, 2024
The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, A Dream, and The 1880 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team brings back many pleasant memories of my mom and I watching the game. We were winter Olympic junkies back then. MIKE ERUZIONE, the captain of the team was my favorite. I had a huge crush on him.
July 11, 2022
Hockey is my favorite sport (3.5)
March 30, 2023
Kind of a fun book. I like the way the author intersperses his retelling of the game with the stories of the individuals on the team. Not sure how much you will enjoy the book if you're not into sports. I think that the 1980 Olympic hockey game between US and USSR was a part of the national morale changing, just in time for Reagan. Anyway, I enjoyed it!
February 17, 2022
I do not normally write reviews. This book is well written and a fitting tribute to one of the greatest athletic events of our day. Nothing more need be said. USA! USA!
October 24, 2021
The Boys of Winter tells a classic David and Goliath story, framed around the 1980 Olympic game between the U.S. Hockey team and the greatest hockey team every assembled - the Soviet Union. Since the 1960s, Russia had completely dominated world hockey (27–1–1 in Olympics since 1964 outscoring their opponents 175–44; Soviets also won all 12 matchups with the U.S between the 1960 and 1980 Olympics, outscoring the Americans 117-26). The idea of competing with the Soviets was absurd on paper. But the victory becomes even more miraculous when you see how badly the U.S. was out-chanced and out-possessed that day by the older, more experienced Soviets. The Soviets set the standards for how to play for decades: what kind of shots to take (they took wrist shots, because why risk breaking your stick with a slap shot?), how to skate, when to pass, when to change lines. But coach Herb Brooks had a plan to change everything.
Herb Brooks plan was an intricate one, detailed thoroughly with sayings Brooks was famous for coining. (My favorite was: "You look like you have a five-pound fart on your head") Coffey reverently describes the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse Brooks inflicted upon his players, toughening them up to win a battle that everyone expected them to lose. Brooks made himself the common enemy so they could spend more time hating him than hating each other.
If you're a hockey nerd, you'll love the talk about key-in-game changes that needed to be deployed to beat the Soviets. Here's one. Their transition game was fantastic, basically like a fast break-in basketball. They thrived on odd-man break situations. But the US basically cut that off by defending with numbers. There always seemed to be three or four players back, which was a credit to the U.S. speed and discipline. Despite the possession being so tilted, the US defensive strategy was incredibly disruptive to the way the Soviets were used to playing. But, getting the puck out of the zone was always going to be a concern against the Soviets. Soviets used a 2-1-2 forecheck, sending two wingers in hard on the US defensemen with one man operating almost as a rover in the middle of the zone. To avoid pressure, the US blueliners were instructed to ring the puck hard around the boards to a winger when they retrieved it. But, Soviet defensemen were waiting for those breakout passes and would crash down to try to force a turnover. Controlled zone exits were nearly impossible for the U.S. in the early part of the game. The US coaching staff abandoned the up-the-boards technique, instead of instructing defenders to put the puck into an area behind the net or into the corner for the other defenseman or center to gather while the wings skated up ice. This forced the Soviet defensemen to follow those streaking wingers instead of pinching and being aggressive. It was the key ingredient in changing the complexion of the game. You could almost go player by player and find contributions. Defending with numbers doesn't work unless everyone is doing their job.
At its core, this book is an intricate depiction of the course of sixty history-changing minutes of hockey for a country that needed something to believe in at the time (in the midst of the Cold War, economics and the future looked bleak). Coffey maneuvers back and forth between the game and the personal histories of the players (including excerpts from a few of the Soviets), some whose lives before and after the Olympics were troubled, spectacular, or just plain simple and straightforward. I've discussed it a bit above, but I really enjoyed the more technical aspects of the book and how Brooks changed hockey moving towards systems a lot of NHL teams have started to incorporate 40 years later - "Brooks wanted to abandon the traditional, linear, dump-and-chase style of hockey that had held sway in North America forever. He wanted to attack the vaunted Russians with their own game, skating with them and weaving with them, stride for high-flying stride. He wanted to play physical, un-yielding hockey to be sure, but he also wanted fast, skilled players who would flourish on the Olympic ice sheet (which is 15 feet wider than NHL rinks) and be able to move and keep possession of the puck and be in such phenomenal condition that they would be the fresher team at the end.” Mission accomplished.
Herb Brooks plan was an intricate one, detailed thoroughly with sayings Brooks was famous for coining. (My favorite was: "You look like you have a five-pound fart on your head") Coffey reverently describes the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse Brooks inflicted upon his players, toughening them up to win a battle that everyone expected them to lose. Brooks made himself the common enemy so they could spend more time hating him than hating each other.
If you're a hockey nerd, you'll love the talk about key-in-game changes that needed to be deployed to beat the Soviets. Here's one. Their transition game was fantastic, basically like a fast break-in basketball. They thrived on odd-man break situations. But the US basically cut that off by defending with numbers. There always seemed to be three or four players back, which was a credit to the U.S. speed and discipline. Despite the possession being so tilted, the US defensive strategy was incredibly disruptive to the way the Soviets were used to playing. But, getting the puck out of the zone was always going to be a concern against the Soviets. Soviets used a 2-1-2 forecheck, sending two wingers in hard on the US defensemen with one man operating almost as a rover in the middle of the zone. To avoid pressure, the US blueliners were instructed to ring the puck hard around the boards to a winger when they retrieved it. But, Soviet defensemen were waiting for those breakout passes and would crash down to try to force a turnover. Controlled zone exits were nearly impossible for the U.S. in the early part of the game. The US coaching staff abandoned the up-the-boards technique, instead of instructing defenders to put the puck into an area behind the net or into the corner for the other defenseman or center to gather while the wings skated up ice. This forced the Soviet defensemen to follow those streaking wingers instead of pinching and being aggressive. It was the key ingredient in changing the complexion of the game. You could almost go player by player and find contributions. Defending with numbers doesn't work unless everyone is doing their job.
At its core, this book is an intricate depiction of the course of sixty history-changing minutes of hockey for a country that needed something to believe in at the time (in the midst of the Cold War, economics and the future looked bleak). Coffey maneuvers back and forth between the game and the personal histories of the players (including excerpts from a few of the Soviets), some whose lives before and after the Olympics were troubled, spectacular, or just plain simple and straightforward. I've discussed it a bit above, but I really enjoyed the more technical aspects of the book and how Brooks changed hockey moving towards systems a lot of NHL teams have started to incorporate 40 years later - "Brooks wanted to abandon the traditional, linear, dump-and-chase style of hockey that had held sway in North America forever. He wanted to attack the vaunted Russians with their own game, skating with them and weaving with them, stride for high-flying stride. He wanted to play physical, un-yielding hockey to be sure, but he also wanted fast, skilled players who would flourish on the Olympic ice sheet (which is 15 feet wider than NHL rinks) and be able to move and keep possession of the puck and be in such phenomenal condition that they would be the fresher team at the end.” Mission accomplished.
March 17, 2023
This book was very fast paced, physical, as well as one of the greatest sports events to have ever occurred. In this book, 20 young men from the United States defeated the hockey team from the Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics. The Boys of Winter tells a classic hockey story, framed around the 1980 Olympic semi-finals between the U.S. Hockey team and the internationally renowned Russians. Since the 1960s, Russia has completely dominated the hockey world. They set the standards for how to play, and what kind of shots to take which were mostly wrist shots because a slap shot can break your stick. But the coach of the USA hockey team, Herb Brooks, plans to change all of the soviet union’s plans. Coffey describes the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse Brooks inflicted upon his players, toughening them up to win a battle that everyone expected them to lose. Now, a detailed account of exactly what happened when the Americans took on the undefeated Russians in the Olympic Semi-Final. It is a living memory about the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team beating the Soviet Union team in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. It also talks about players, and how their lives were before the Games, and how the Games have affected their lives today. One player that this book mentions is Jack O'Callahan. The coach of this team was Herb Brooks. In the beginning of the book, specifically in the prologue, it talks about how Herb Brooks died after the Games. The team is at the funeral, and they say a couple of words. The prologue also talks about Brook's life before and during the Olympic Games. This book was written by Wayne Coffey. This book was also named the miracle on ice because of what team USA had done that day. Coffey paints a vivid description of how and why Johnson broke through the Russian defenseman and how that led to this all important goal. For Coffey this was the goal that changed the entire direction and therefore outcome of the game. Coffey states that by the end of the first period the United States “had been outplayed, but the score was tied, the charge of Johnson’s goal flowing through them like a current.” While for the Russians Johnson’s goal led Russian coach Viktor Tikhonov to panic and as he directed his anger at Vladislav Tretiak, who was probably the most famous and decorated goaltender of the time, he made what he himself later called “the biggest mistake” of his career in replacing Tretiak with backup goaltender Vladimir Myshkin. The Americans were stunned by this decision, but more importantly so were the Soviets and the entire dynamic of the game changed with this one goal. In the end, team USA ended up winning 4-3.
December 22, 2017
After hearing about Miracle on Ice - the ULTIMATE achievement and upset in all of sports in the 20th century - my entire life, from numerous viewings of Disney’s “Miracle” and readings concerning iconic coach Herb Brooks to my upbringing on the East Side of Saint Paul, Minnesota, I wasn’t so sure that any book could tell me something new about the 1980 Olympics, let alone blow my mind. Well, be surprised when I tell you that author Wayne Coffey accomplished both of these things with the incredible literary masterpiece that is “The Boys of Winter”!
From detailing the lives of each and every one of the twenty players that wore “USA” on the front of their jerseys in 1980 - as well as some commentary on the coaching and training staff - to a thorough re-telling of most of the Olympic games, especially the semi-final versus the Soviet Union, Coffey provides a fresh, in-depth look on an event that nearly every American knows at least a little about. Bookended by the sudden death of Herbie Brooks in 2003, this book succeeds in revisiting Miracle on Ice at the proper time and with the appropriate research and literary ingenuity. My only qualms with any telling of the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team - from the New York Times editorials of February 1980 to the 2004 movie “Miracle” and 2005 book “Boys of Winter”, is the inadequate coverage of the 7-3 upset of #2 team in the world, Czechoslovakia. I firmly believe that this game has never been given its fair share of appreciation for the unfathomable victory it truly was. As famed defensemen Ken Morrow said it best, “It was the best game we played in the tournament."
All in all, I couldn’t set this book down, as my thirst for more knowledge and surprises concerning my fellow East Sider Herb Brooks along with the greatest triumph in sports history really took control of my mind and feelings to thoroughly enjoy and finish this book as fast as possible. A GREAT story deserves a GREAT storyteller, and this book is proof that miracles do indeed happen.
From detailing the lives of each and every one of the twenty players that wore “USA” on the front of their jerseys in 1980 - as well as some commentary on the coaching and training staff - to a thorough re-telling of most of the Olympic games, especially the semi-final versus the Soviet Union, Coffey provides a fresh, in-depth look on an event that nearly every American knows at least a little about. Bookended by the sudden death of Herbie Brooks in 2003, this book succeeds in revisiting Miracle on Ice at the proper time and with the appropriate research and literary ingenuity. My only qualms with any telling of the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team - from the New York Times editorials of February 1980 to the 2004 movie “Miracle” and 2005 book “Boys of Winter”, is the inadequate coverage of the 7-3 upset of #2 team in the world, Czechoslovakia. I firmly believe that this game has never been given its fair share of appreciation for the unfathomable victory it truly was. As famed defensemen Ken Morrow said it best, “It was the best game we played in the tournament."
All in all, I couldn’t set this book down, as my thirst for more knowledge and surprises concerning my fellow East Sider Herb Brooks along with the greatest triumph in sports history really took control of my mind and feelings to thoroughly enjoy and finish this book as fast as possible. A GREAT story deserves a GREAT storyteller, and this book is proof that miracles do indeed happen.
September 7, 2024
Hockey is a club that holds its members tightly, the bond forged by shared hardship and mutual passion, by every trip to the pond, where your feet hurt and your face is cold and you might get a stick in the ribs or a puck in the mouth, and you still can't wait to get back out there because you are smitten with the sound of blades scraping against ice and pucks clacking off sticks, and with the game's speed and ever-changing geometry. It has a way of becoming the center of your life even when you're not on the ice.
I was so damn excited to borrow this book from the library and the hype was deserved!!! The play-by-play coverage of the game and everything leading up to it was excellent, but more than that, Coffey was truly a fantastic storyteller of the players' lives and dreams. So many lines got me tearing up on public transit, some small part of me trembling and dying and coming back to life all at once ("Then the two Olympic goaltenders, the Olympic poster boy and the answer to a trivia question, embraced." "He keeps reaching for the phone to call Herbie, keeps thinking it might be Herbie on the line when someone calls him. Mostly the house has been quiet." "He decided he'd had enough. He was 27 years old." "The players kept looking for teammates they hadn't embraced yet, the configurations of ecstasy shifting over and over."). The writing was so very good and I'm really glad I got to read it.
July 8, 2024
For much of my life, I’ve never been a fan of sports. Could’ve cared less about baseball, football was repulsive, basketball was too repetitive, and hockey too violent. Then—for reasons unbeknownst to me—it finally clicked. I in the past 3 years found myself gravitating to watching hockey. First there was the unpredictable nature of when a fight would erupt on the ice, but then it became an appreciation for the game itself. With all that said, it should come as no surprise that I was unaware of the 1980 miracle on ice until recently.
If I were to be asked to give a recommendation on how to best appreciate the game for what it was, I’d have to go with this book. While an important aspect of the game was the tensions politically at the time, this book draws on the fact that this was all about the game of hockey and nothing more. These players accomplished something wonderful on February 22, 1980; however, there’s much more to their lives than that single game. This book also dives into that and sheds light on their lives warts and all.
Granted, if you’re not a fan of tangents that do nothing other than add minute context—this book will be a tedious read. But if you’re willing to trust that it’ll build a bigger and better picture, it’ll be worth it in the end. Very glad to have read this book; and I now have a better appreciation for the world of hockey now that I’m more-informed on the 1980 miracle on ice.
If I were to be asked to give a recommendation on how to best appreciate the game for what it was, I’d have to go with this book. While an important aspect of the game was the tensions politically at the time, this book draws on the fact that this was all about the game of hockey and nothing more. These players accomplished something wonderful on February 22, 1980; however, there’s much more to their lives than that single game. This book also dives into that and sheds light on their lives warts and all.
Granted, if you’re not a fan of tangents that do nothing other than add minute context—this book will be a tedious read. But if you’re willing to trust that it’ll build a bigger and better picture, it’ll be worth it in the end. Very glad to have read this book; and I now have a better appreciation for the world of hockey now that I’m more-informed on the 1980 miracle on ice.
May 17, 2024
You know the question “if you could go back and relive any day in history…”? Well February 22, 1980 would probably be my answer.
As an avid hockey fan, and a lover of Disney’s “Miracle”, I was very excited when I found this book at a B&N some months ago. And man it did not disappoint. Coffey does a masterful job of weaving the boys’ stories into the hockey play by play—utilizing their individual contributions to the game as a segue into their lives. Just beautifully done.
And while the book discusses the political realities and backdrop to this game (as is necessary in some capacity), the focus is entirely on these young men, all amateur hockey players, up against the world’s best hockey team at the time. A true Cinderella story, and Coffey did a splendid job recounting it.
I highly recommend, even if you don’t know or love hockey, I think this is a story that should be read by all!
As an avid hockey fan, and a lover of Disney’s “Miracle”, I was very excited when I found this book at a B&N some months ago. And man it did not disappoint. Coffey does a masterful job of weaving the boys’ stories into the hockey play by play—utilizing their individual contributions to the game as a segue into their lives. Just beautifully done.
And while the book discusses the political realities and backdrop to this game (as is necessary in some capacity), the focus is entirely on these young men, all amateur hockey players, up against the world’s best hockey team at the time. A true Cinderella story, and Coffey did a splendid job recounting it.
I highly recommend, even if you don’t know or love hockey, I think this is a story that should be read by all!
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