Two decades before the "Miracle on Ice" captivated America, an undersized yet youthful group of college players and amateurs went to Squaw Valley, California with one thing on their mind: to win gold. Of course, nothing great comes easy and on February 27, 1960, the U.S. Hockey Team beat the USSR 3-2 in the semifinals of the Squaw Valley Olympics.
Led by the indomitable West Point coach Jack Riley, Team USA wasn't even expected to get past the first couple of rounds. But this was a driven bunch. Having previously won silver in 1952 and 1956, Team USA was determined to get over the hump and used the entire tournament as their personal revenge tour.
Powered by five John Mayasich goals, America beat Australia 12-1 in the opening round and Czechoslovakia 7-5 in the next. The Christian brothers put on a clinic against powerful Sweden with Roger scoring thrice and his brother Billy assisting on three goals. After beating Germany 9-1, Team USA stamped its ticket to a titanic matchup with Russia.
With the Cold War starting to pick up steam, both countries knew that this wasn't just a simple hockey game. National pride mattered now more than ever.
10,000 spectators at Blyth Arena were treated to a rollicking affair. It was a back and forth game in the early going with Russia taking a 2-1 lead in the second period when Billy Christian took over.
First, he tied the game late in the second period, then he teamed up with his brother and Duluth's Tommy Williams to squeeze the puck past goalie Nikolai Puchkov early in the third for the lead. After a grueling 15 minutes, Team USA beat Russia 3-2 to earn their spot in the gold medal game. They beat Czechoslovakia 9-4 to win gold the very next day.
History would repeat itself 20 years later.
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