THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, January 10, 2020 Page 3 Miracle on Ice By Th e Old Sachem, Bill Stewart A lmost 40 years ago we watched the U.S. team in the Winter Olympics play in Lake Placid, N.Y., as they brought home the Gold Medal in 1980. The U.S. team was made up of exclusively amateur players against a Soviet team, who were mostly professionals. The Soviet team had won the Gold Medal in fi ve of the six previous Olympics and were heavy favorites to win this one. Czechoslovakia was the second favorite, followed by Finland and Canada. In the 1960 Olympics the Soviets captured the Bronze Medal. From 1964 on, the Soviets won 27 games suffered a single loss and a single tie. They were the heavy favorites to repeat. In the exhibition season of 1980, the Soviet team won fi ve, lost three and tied one against National League hockey clubs. A year earlier the Soviets had walloped the NHL All-Stars six to zip to win the Challenge Cup. The Soviets had a roster of Boris Mikhailov (right wing and captain) and Vladislav Tretiak (goaltender) – ranked as two of the top players in the world. Many of the players became NHL players after the Olympics. The team included Valeri Kharmalov (speedy goal scorer), Viacheslav Fetisov (an outstanding defenseman) and Sergei Makarov. Tretiak, Kharlamov, and Makarov eventually were voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The other nations protested the Soviets’ use of full-time players, while many nations, including the United States and Canada, relied on amateurs, chiefl y college players. The Canadians withdrew from the 1972 and 1976 hockey Olympics because of the inequality of the Soviet teams in relation to the other teams. The average age of the U.S. team was 21 years old – the youngest team in the competition and the youngest U.S. team to ever play in the Olympics. The team included nine players from the University of Minnesota who played for U.S. coach Herb Brooks there. They included Rob McClanahan, Mike Ramsey, Phil Verchota, Bob Baker and Neil Broten. Four players came from Boston University: Jim Craig, Dave Silk, Jack O’Callahan and the captain of the US team, Mike Eruzione, who played in the Northeastern Conference for Winthrop. The players had some hostility left over from the 1976 semifi nal between BU and Minnesota. To overcome the hostility Brooks, as part of the selection, used a psychological test to get the feel for all the athletes, as to how they would react under extreme pressure. Those who refused to take the test were released from the squad. He well knew Jim Craig, because Craig had been his goalie in the 1979 World Championships. The U.S. team played 61 exhibition games in fi ve months, taking on both European and American teams. To toughen the players up to face the Europeans, Brooks had the team skating wind sprints, consisting of end line to blue line and back, then end line to red line and back, end line to far blue line and back, and finally all the way down and back. The players called these workouts “Herbies.” When the team was tied by Norway in September of 1979, Brooks had the players skate Herbies after the game, and when the arena custodians turned off the lights, they continued in the dark. In the fi nal exhibition game in MadHOCKEY | SEE PAGE 11 D Setting priorities By Mark E. Vogler Selectmen schedule workshop for Tuesday night to target various projects and key issues for 2020 agenda “I believe working with the oes the new Board of Selectmen have a “to do” list for 2020? Members, particularly Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Corinne Riley, have been developing a checklist for projects that they would like to accomplish this year. And that workshop has been set for Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. in the fi rst fl oor conference room at Town Hall. “I put this on the agenda because in my opinion, the town has many issues to address, and many potential projects to take on, and we should set priorities to determine the most critical,” Riley said in a written statement she read at the Board of Selectmen’s fi nal meeting of the year last month. Riley said she is following through with her campaign promises of transparency in government and having a plan. She hopes to get selectmen discussing a wide range of potential priorities including these: • Reviewing the status of the Town-wide Master Plan • Reviewing current and future projects in the Capital Improvement Plan • Deciding on strategy for public outreach, like forums, surveys, website, etc. • Determining the town’s fi - nancial capacity and debt policy • Spelling out criteria for setting priorities, like public safety, education, economic development, housing, etc. • Members sharing experience on how previous boards have set goals and priorities. “The output of the meeting or meetings would be written goals and objectives for the year, where the public has a chance to provide their input,” Riley said in her statement. town manager, setting goals with our individual ideas and bring those goals together as a board, will let the people know we will work to keep them informed and that taking this to the public often, asking for public involvement is the way to get them to be a part of the process,” she said. Selectman Jeff rey Cicolini said it is important to include town employees and town residents. He also suggested that it would be important for Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree to share his priorities with the board. “He already has some established goals working with [town] department heads,” Cicolini said. “I’d be interested in hearing what Scott’s [Crabtree] plans are as well,” he added. Riley said she wants to see representatives from town employee unions, various boards and commissions and others get involved. “I think it’s a great idea,” Crabtree said, noting that past Boards of Selectmen have embarked on similar sessions over the years. “Obviously, the school project is a major project in itself,” the town manager said last month. Crabtree was not at this week’s meeting, because of the unexpected death of his father. But Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano said the town manager planned to be at the Tuesday night workshop to brief board members on various projects in the works for this year. Top Rated by CARF International. Caregiver Support Solutions Do you need help caring for a loved one at home? Learn about our MassHealth program for adults with disabilities or chronic illnesses age 18 and older. • Financial Support. • Professional Support. • Dedicated Home Team. Call for a free evaluation today. 978-281-2612 AdultFosterCareNS.com
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