Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics

The IIHF ceased running a championship in Olympic years. Nations that did not participate in the Lake Placid Olympics were invited to compete in the inaugural Thayer Tutt Trophy in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.

Going into the games, the teams were ranked and divided into two groups. Teams were ranked based on performance during the 1979 World Ice Hockey Championships. Included were the eight teams in the 1979 top Championship Division (Pool "A") as well as the top four teams in the 1979, second-tier, "B" Pool tournament. While Poland finished 8th place in Pool A, the Netherlands, winners of Pool B, were ranked 8th while Poland was ranked 9th going into the Olympics. The total ranking was: Soviet Union (1), Czechoslovakia (2), Sweden (3), Canada (4), Finland (5), West Germany (6), United States (7), Netherlands (8), Poland (9), Romania (10), Norway (11), Japan (12). East Germany was originally ranked tenth but declined to participate, with Japan filling their spot.

The Soviet Union had won the gold medal in five of the six previous Winter Olympic Games, and were the favorites to win once more in Lake Placid. The team consisted primarily of professional players with significant experience in international play. By contrast, the United States' team—led by head coach Herb Brooks—consisted exclusively of amateur players, and was the youngest team in the tournament and in U.S. national team history. In the group stage, both the Soviet and U.S. teams were unbeaten; the U.S. achieved several notable results, including a 2–2 draw against Sweden, and a 7–3 upset victory over second-place favorites Czechoslovakia.

For the first game in the medal round, the United States played the Soviets. Finishing the first period tied at 2–2, and the Soviets leading 3–2 following the second, the U.S. team scored two more goals to take their first lead during the third and final period, winning the game 4–3. Following the game, the U.S. went on to clinch the gold medal by beating Finland in their last game. The Soviet Union took the silver medal by beating Sweden.

The victory became one of the most iconic moments of the Games and in U.S. sports. 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?! YES!" In 1999, Sports Illustrated named the "Miracle on Ice" the top sports moment of the 20th century.[4] As part of its centennial celebration in 2008, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) named the "Miracle on Ice" as the best international ice hockey story of the past 100 years.[5]

The third-placed teams in each division played each other to determine fifth place.

February 22, 1980 13:30

Czechoslovakia

6–1 (5–0, 0–1, 1–0)

Canada

Olympic Fieldhouse, Lake Placid

				Referee: Viktor Dombrovski
	Fryčer (Nový, Pouzar) – 01:38 1 – 0 A. Šťastný – 02:14 2 – 0 M. Šťastný (Bubla, A. Šťastný) – 07:16 3 – 0 A. Šťastný (M. Šťastný, P. Šťastný) – 12:47 4 – 0 M. Šťastný (A. Šťastný, P. Šťastný) – 13:19 5 – 0 5 – 1 28:01 – Devaney (Grant, Hindmarch) M. Šťastný (P. Šťastný) – 57:18 6 – 1
	8 min	Penalties	6 min
	27	Shots	21

The top two teams from each group play the top two teams from the other group once. Points from previous games against their own group carry over, excluding teams who failed to make the medal round. First place team wins gold, second silver and third bronze.

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
United States	3	2	0	1	10	7	5
Soviet Union	3	2	1	0	16	8	4
Sweden	3	0	1	2	7	14	2
Finland	3	0	2	1	7	11	1

Head-to-head results carried forward from group matches:

• February 12: Sweden 2–2 USA
• February 18: Finland 2–4 USSR

Final round matches:

February 22, 1980 17:00

United States

4–3 (2–2, 0–1, 2–0)

Soviet Union

Olympic Fieldhouse, Lake Placid

				Referee: Karl-Gustav Kaisla
	0 – 1 09:12 – Krutov (Kasatonov) Schneider (Pavelich) – 14:03 1 – 1 1 – 2 17:34 – Makarov (A. Golikov) Johnson (Christian, Silk) – 19:59 2 – 2 2 – 3 22:18 – Maltsev (Krutov) (PP) Johnson (Silk) (PP) – 48:39 3 – 3 Eruzione (Pavelich, Harrington) – 50:00 4 – 3
	6 min	Penalties	6 min
	16	Shots	39

February 22, 1980 20:42

Finland

3–3 (1–0, 1–1, 1–2)

Sweden

Olympic Fieldhouse, Lake Placid

				Referee: Jim Neagles
	Leinonen (Porvari, Kiimalainen) – 03:00 1 – 0 Porvari (Eloranta) – 27:06 2 – 0 2 – 1 30:25 – Weinstock 2 – 2 45:24 – Jonsson (Åhlberg, Holmgren) 2 – 3 46:14 – Waltin (Norberg) Leinonen (Porvari) – 47:59 3 – 3
	6 min	Penalties	6 min
	25	Shots	30

February 24, 1980 11:00

United States

4–2 (0–1, 1–1, 3–0)

Finland

Olympic Fieldhouse, Lake Placid

				Referee: Vladimir Šubrt
	0 – 1 09:20 – Porvari (Leinonen, Litma) Christoff – 24:39 1 – 1 1 – 2 26:30 – Leinonen (Haapalainen, Kiimalainen) (PP) Verchota (Christian) – 42:25 2 – 2 McClanahan (Johnson, Christian) – 46:05 3 – 2 Johnson (Christoff) (SH) – 56:25 4 – 2
	10 min	Penalties	4 min
	29	Shots	23

February 24, 1980 14:30

Sweden

2–9 (0–4, 0–5, 2–0)

Soviet Union

Olympic Fieldhouse, Lake Placid

				Referee: Bernie Haley
	0 – 1 00:36 – Petrov (Kharlamov) 0 – 2 05:52 – Makarov (A. Golikov) 0 – 3 10:31 – Maltsev (Bilyaletdinov, Pervukhin) 0 – 4 17:38 – Mikhailov (Kharlamov, Pervukhin) 0 – 5 20:33 – Vasiliev 0 – 6 27:18 – Krutov (Pervukhin) 0 – 7 28:14 – Skvortsov (Balderis, Pervukhin) 0 – 8 34:51 – Zhluktov (Balderis, Skvortsov) 0 – 9 35:02 – Fetisov Åhlberg (Weinstock, Holmgren) – 49:17 1 – 9 Holmgren (Näslund) – 54:21 2 – 9
	8 min	Penalties	12 min
	26	Shots	28

1	United States
2	Soviet Union
3	Sweden
4	Finland
5	Czechoslovakia
6	Canada
7	Poland
8	Romania
9	Netherlands
10	West Germany
11	Norway
12	Japan

These standings are presented as the IIHF has them,[7] however the IOC maintains that Poland and Romania tied for 7th, the Netherlands and West Germany tied for 9th, and Norway and Japan tied for 11th[8]

• Official Report
• Washington Post article
• Montreal Gazette article about the Dutch team