The Soviet Union Ice Hockey team in the Olympics was a dominant team of amateur international hockey, with four straight gold medals from 1964 to 1976. The team nearly beat a team of Canada's top professional players in 1972, and beat several National Hockey League teams in 1970s exhibition games. The team contained several members of the Red Army, and even though these military men had little military responsibilities, they posed as a major threat and source of intimidation merely because they were apart of the Soviet army. On the other hand, the United States had a team that consisted almost entirely of college players, seeming incredibly inferior to the Soviet powerhouse. The United States coach, Herb Brooks, was also cut from the 1960 American team that won gold; this was a seeming disadvantage that the team was coached by an amateur who could not even participate on a team that had won gold. The Soviet Union had dominated in 1979 world championship, and veterans from this win returned for the Olympic Games: Boris Mikhail, Valeri Kharlamov, Alexander Maltese, and Vladimir Petrov. Despite this potential advantage for the USSR, Brooks held tryouts for the USA team.
"You're looking for players whose name on the front is more important than the one on the back. I look for these players to play hard, to play smart, and to represent their country" -Herb Brooks
Herb Brooks, in order to recruit the perfect team, held numerous tryout camps that tested and emphasized speed, conditioning, and discipline. Brooks also included psychological testing. He worked to unite the team, even if he was uniting them against himself. He challenged each player not only physically, but verbally by constantly questioning them whether they were good enough, tough enough, or even worthy of the task. He was especially known for his complicated and edgy personality and his overenthusiastic preparation. He suggested that merely a bronze medal was within reach, dangling victory as a bone in front of his players, yet avoiding lifting their hopes too high by dangling a gold victory. His tactics not only built the team physically, but also morally._ _
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"They were really mentally tough and goal-oriented...they came from all different walks of life, many having competed against one another, but they came together and grew to be a real close team" |
"He[herb brooks] messed with our minds at every opportunity" |
Before the Olympic game between the Soviet Union and the United States, the Soviet Union had defeated the US 10-3 in an exhibition game. The USA went into the Olympic medal round with four wins and one tie, while the Soviet Union went into the medal round with five solid wins. The US had a strong defensive line: Dave Christian, Ken Morrow, Mike Ramsey, Neal Broten, and Bill Baker, and the line of Schneider, Pavelich, and Harrington led team's four lines in scoring 17 goals and 20 assists in the seven Olympic Games. Both teams deemed a potential Olympic Gold medal team, yet the Soviet Union appeared somewhat more threatening; however, the underestimated USA, with the help of Coaches Herb Brooks and Craig Patrick, would prove themselves by utilizing their strenuous moral and physical training. _