It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's ice hockey tournament.

Although the Soviet Union was a four-time defending gold medalist and heavily favored, the United States achieved an upset victory, winning 4–3.

The Soviet Union had won the gold medal in five of the six previous Winter Olympic Games, and they were the favorites to win once more in Lake Placid.

In the group stage, both the Soviet and American teams were undefeated; the U.S. achieved several surprising results, including a 2–2 draw against Sweden,[2] and a 7–3 upset victory over second-place favorite Czechoslovakia.

Equally well-known was the television call of the final seconds of the game by Al Michaels for ABC, in which he declared: "Do you believe in miracles?

[13] The Soviets were led by legendary players in world ice hockey, such as Boris Mikhailov (a top line right winger and team captain), Vladislav Tretiak (the consensus best goaltender in the world at the time), the speedy and skilled Valeri Kharlamov, and talented, dynamic players such as defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov and forwards Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov.

[15] Western nations protested the Soviet Union's use of full-time athletes, as they were forced to use amateur (mainly college) players due to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) amateur-only policy.

Brooks continued the organization by campaigning for the players' selection of Eruzione as the captain, and Craig had been the goalie for him in the 1979 World Championship tournament.

In addition, President Jimmy Carter was at the time considering a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, to be held in Moscow, Russia in protest of the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

The 1980 U.S. Olympic team featured several young players who were regarded as highly promising, and some had signed contracts to play in the NHL immediately after the tournament.

Near the end of the exhibition season, Brooks, because of subpar play, threatened to cut Eruzione (the captain) from the team and replace Craig with Steve Janaszak as the starting goaltender, although he had supported them throughout.

In their first game, on February 12 against favored Sweden, Team USA earned a dramatic 2–2 draw by scoring with 27 seconds left after pulling goalie Jim Craig for an extra attacker.

They defeated Japan 16–0, the Netherlands 17–4, Poland 8–1, Finland 4–2, and Canada 6–4 to easily qualify for the next round, although both the Finns and the Canadians gave the Soviets tough games for two periods.

He instructed team physician George Nagobads to track ice time for the players, who later joked that he never saw the game since he was focused on his stopwatch.

Vladimir Krutov deflected a slap shot by Alexei Kasatonov past U.S. goaltender Jim Craig at the 9:12 mark to give the Soviets a 1–0 lead.

Mark Johnson sliced between the two defenders, found the loose puck, and fired it past a diving Tretiak to tie the score with one second left in the period.

Referee Karl-Gustav Kaisla ruled that one second would be put back on the clock and the usual center ice faceoff would take place before the first intermission could begin.

[46] Tikhonov replaced Tretiak with backup goaltender Vladimir Myshkin immediately after Johnson's goal,[47] a move that shocked players on both teams.

As the clock ticked down below a minute, the Soviets got the puck back into the American zone, and Mikhailov passed to Vladimir Petrov, who shot wide.

[46][61] Needing to defeat Finland to secure the gold medal, Team USA faced a 2–1 deficit at the end of the second period.

According to Mike Eruzione, coming into the dressing room for the second intermission, Brooks turned to his players, looked at them, and said, "If you lose this game, you'll take it to your fucking graves."

After the gold medal-securing victory over Finland, the players received a congratulatory phone call from President Jimmy Carter.

At the 1982 World Championship in Finland, with Mike Ramsey, Mark Johnson, Buzz Schneider, and John Harrington, the Americans again met the Soviets, but once again the U.S. lost, 8–4.

In the Soviet locker room, Tikhonov singled out first-line players Tretiak, Kharlamov, Petrov, and Mikhailov, and told each of them, "This is your loss!

Makarov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year in 1989–90, becoming the oldest player to win that award.

[84] Fetisov was a teammate of Mike Ramsey on the 1995 Detroit Red Wings team that lost the Stanley Cup Finals to Neal Broten and the New Jersey Devils.

While some stars had left the Soviet Union to play in the NHL, the Unified Team still boasted many veterans from their domestic professional league, while the Americans were represented primarily by college players.

A made-for-TV movie Miracle on Ice, starring Karl Malden as Brooks, Steve Guttenberg as Craig, and Andrew Stevens as Eruzione aired on ABC television in 1981.

[88] The documentary film Do You Believe in Miracles?, narrated by Liev Schreiber, premiered on HBO in 2001 and was subsequently released on home video.

[89] In 2004, Walt Disney Pictures released the film Miracle, directed by Gavin O'Connor and starring Kurt Russell as Brooks.