Trump honors ‘Miracle on Ice’ hockey players who defeated Soviets in 1980

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By Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday honored members of the U.S. men’s ice hockey team who beat their Soviet rivals in what was called the “Miracle on Ice” during the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid.

Trump hosted the players in the Oval Office and signed a bill to award congressional medals in the team’s honor. All were wearing white cowboy hats, and Trump briefly donned one, too. The team wore the hats during the opening ceremony of the 1980 Winter Olympics.

“This was one of the biggest moments that I’ve ever seen in sports … These are the men that gave us one of the most storied athletic wins of all time,” Trump said.

The event, with 13 members of the gold medal-winning team, included captain Mike Eruzione, goaltender Jim Craig and forward Buzz Schneider. The son of deceased coach Herb Brooks was also in attendance.

One of the team’s members, Ken Morrow, told Trump that the “USA! USA!” chant, now common at Trump rallies, originated in Lake Placid. “That’s right! I tried to take credit for that,” Trump responded.

Captain Eruzione praised his team for not just winning against the Soviets but also in the final game versus Finland. “A lot of us take great pride in knowing that we closed the deal,” he said.

The squad of U.S. college players ended the Soviets’ reign as four-time Olympic champions with a 4-3 triumph that many consider the greatest upset in the history of sport.

The U.S. beat the Soviet team 4-3 in the semi-finals, winning the gold two days later against Finland.

The game captivated Americans during bitter Cold War tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The American players were inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Ken Ferris)