Celebrating The 'Miracle On Ice'

Wednesday marks the 37th anniversary of the shot heard round the world.

In what quickly became known as "The Miracle on Ice," the underdog United States hockey team defeated the USSR at the literal last second at the Olympic rink in Lake Placid, New York.

It has become one of the most iconic moments in sports history. The U.S. was seeded seventh out of twelve, and was facing the indomitable Soviet Union in the rink. The USSR had dominated Olympic hockey, taking home gold in six of the previous seven Winter Olympics, and it was expected the team would win easily.

Compared to the experienced Soviets, the U.S. team was made up of young, amateur players. No one expected them to defeat the Soviet team.

But the Soviets and the U.S. both scored two goals in the first period. The Soviets scored again in the second period, and the U.S. tied the game in the third. In the final seconds of the game, control of the puck was passing back and forth between the Soviets and the Americans. But at the last second, Mike Eruzione scored a fourth goal, giving the game to the United States.

You can watch the final minute for yourself:

That game played in a small town in upstate New York has become one of the most iconic in sports history. In 1999, Sports Illustrated magazine named it the stop sports moment of the 20th century. And as part of its 100 year celebration in 2008, the International Ice Hockey Federation named it the greatest hockey story of the past 100 years.