Gold Hockey

This is the true inside story of the "Miracle on Ice," in which a ragtag team of collegiate and amateur athletes united in the shadow of the Cold War to defeat the seemingly invincible Soviet ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Sixty-two action photographs complement this triumphant tale.

He’s the playboy she shouldn’t want. She’s the woman he can’t live without. Brit has spent her entire professional career trying to prove that she deserves a spot with the guys. So when she meets Stefan, the Gold's captain, she is determinedly not interested in the well-known playboy. But when management pushes Brit and Stefan together to gain good press for the beleaguered team, Brit finds that her carefully calculated disinterest doesn’t mean anything. She wants him. And the more she falls, the more she risks it all.

He’s a bad boy. She’s the woman who’ll make him leave all that behind. Name a bad behavior and he’s done it—done it so well that he almost tanked his career as a starting defenseman for the NHL’s San Francisco Gold. But Mike is attempting to put his past behind him. That is, until his past quite literally reappears before his eyes. Sara Jetty is just as amazing as she was a decade before, except this Sara wants nothing to do with him. But Mike isn’t about to let her push him away. He’s going to fight for the woman he’s loved for more than ten years.

On the fortieth anniversary of the historic "Miracle on Ice," Mike Eruzione—the captain of the 1980 U.S Men’s Olympic Hockey Team, who scored the winning goal—recounts his amazing career on ice, the legendary upset against the Soviets, and winning the gold medal. It is the greatest American underdog sports story ever told: how a team of college kids and unsigned amateurs, under the tutelage of legendary coach—and legendary taskmaster—Herb Brooks, beat the elite Soviet hockey team on their way to winning the gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. No one believed the scrappy Americans had a real shot at winning. Despite being undefeated, the U.S.—the youngest team in the competition—were facing off against the four-time defending gold medalist Russians. But the Americans’ irrepressible optimism, skill, and fearless attitude helped them outplay the seasoned Soviet team and deliver their iconic win. As captain, Mike Eruzione led his team on the ice on that Friday, February 22, 1980. But beating the U.S.S.R was only one of the numerous challenges Mike has faced in his life. In this inspiring memoir, he recounts the obstacles he has overcome, from his blue-collar upbringing in Winthrop, Massachusetts, to his battle to make the Boston University squad; his challenges in the minor leagues and international tournaments to his selection to the U.S. team and their run for gold. He also talks about the aftermath of that stupendous win that inspired and united the nation at a time of crisis in its history. Eruzione has lived a hockey life full of unexpected twists and surprising turns. Al Michaels’ famous call in 1980—"do you believe in miracles? YES!"—could have been about Mike himself. Filled with vivid portraits—from his hard-working, irrepressible father to the irascible Herb Brooks to the Russian hall of famers Tretiak, Kharlamov, Makarov, and Fetisov—this lively, fascinating look back is destined to become a sports classic and is a must for hockey fans, especially those who witnessed that miraculous day.

Three-time Olympic medalist shares behind-the-scenes insight into the beloved Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team Men’s hockey in Canada may hog the limelight, but interest in women’s hockey has never been higher. The Role I Played is a memoir of Sami Jo Small’s ten years with Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team. Beginning with her experience as a rookie at the first-ever women’s Olympic hockey tournament in Nagano in 1998 and culminating with Canada’s third straight Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, the veteran goaltender gives the reader behind-the-scenes insight into one of the most successful teams in sports history. Small offers insider access, writing with unflinching honesty about the triumphs of her greatest games and the anguish of difficult times. This book honours the individuals who sacrificed so much of their lives to represent Canada on a world stage and celebrates their individual contributions to the team’s glory. While bringing the personalities of her teammates to life, Small takes the reader into the dressing rooms and onto the ice for an up-close glimpse into the ups and downs of athletes pursuing a sport’s highest achievement.

As little girls, they fell in love with a sport that many of them were told girls could not play: ice hockey. Unwilling to take no for an answer, they tied back their hair, adopted boys' nicknames, borrowed their brothers' equipment, and set out to prove otherwise. In Crashing the Net Mary Turco tells the remarkable story of the first U.S. Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team and their unforgettable journey to becoming gold medal winners at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Turco followed this dream team for many months as they trained in practice arenas and tournaments across the United States and Canada in anticipation of Nagano. In a lively narrative filled with intimate details of pregame locker room tensions, the Olympic team selection process, the drama of the battles on ice, and the personal friendships that were made along the way, Turco provides an inspirational behind-the-scenes look at how this team came to glory. We meet a wonderful cast of characters: twenty high-achieving, defiant female athletes, both seasoned players and enthusiastic rookies; their coach, a mythical figure in men's ice hockey who treated his players as world-class athletes; and the players' families and friends, who encouraged these girls to follow their dreams, challenge prejudice against contact sports for women, and risk everything in crashing the net. Looking up in the stands at Nagano during their victory ceremony, the women of Team USA could see hundreds of fans waving congratulatory banners. One of them read, "Girls Can Do Anything." Crashing the Net and this special team bring this important message to life.

The 1960 Olympic Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California, literally introduced winter sports, particularly ice hockey, to the American public through television. During the average minute the Olympics were on the air, 26.1% of homes with sets (black and white only) were tuned in. Twenty million Americans watched the nationally televised game between the U.S. and Russia on Saturday afternoon, February 27, more than the combined audience of all other programs on the air at the same time. Squaw Valley Gold tracks the struggle over control of amateur hockey in the United States from the world tournament at the 1920 Olympic Summer Games in Antwerp Belgium to America's first gold medal in Olympic ice hockey. The Squaw Valley Games were also known as the Hollywood Olympics. Walt Disney programmed the pageantry and invited his movie friends to the party. Europeans fretted and fumed over the Disneyland atmosphere, but the athletes, housed together in a private Olympic Village, and the spectators had a great time hanging out with Bing Crosby, Marlene Dietrich, Jayne Mansfield, Roy Rogers, Red Skelton and Danny Kaye.

Business lessons from one of the greatest Olympic teams of all time It's been called the greatest upset of all time, the most memorable Olympic moment ever, the "Miracle on Ice." No matter which superlative is used, no one can deny that the U.S. men's hockey team's defeat of the Soviet Union in the medal round of the Lake Placid Olympic Games was a defining moment for Cold War America. The U.S. team's goalie was a Boston University student named Jim Craig, who is now a leadership expert and keynote speaker to business audiences. Gold Medal Strategies gives you Craig's unique lessons from the "Miracle" team on team dynamics, leadership, motivation, and other important management topics. With his unparalleled perspective, Craig dissects and analyzes the elements of a successful team, how to assemble one, and what philosophies will keep the team's shared goal a reality. This book outlines the necessary skills and details the specific techniques you need to maximize your business readiness, hone competitive cooperation, gather your strategies, and attack your challengers.

The inspirational story of legendary coach Herb Brooks comes to life in this heart-warming, motivational biography, celebrating the legacy of a true American hero. As the architect of the fabled 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey "Miracle on Ice," Brooks showed the world that dreams really can come true. Brooks' unorthodox ideologies and philosophies on team-building, leadership and motivation can be applied to the real world just as easily as they can to the business world. Follow along as Brooks' amazing life is chronicled with anecdotes, quotes, funny stories and nuggets of wisdom from Brooks himself.

In Gold Medal Diary, Hayley Wickenheiser, three-time Olympic gold medal winner and captain of the Canadian Women's Olympic Hockey Team, reveals her day-to-day experiences of the 2010 Games, including the six-month lead-up of intensive training and pre-Olympic tournaments. She shares the life of an Olympian — the behind-the-scenes stories, the highs and lows, physical and emotional challenges, struggles and triumphs of an elite athlete in a hyper-intense environment, including details of the public ceremonies and private moments, friendships and rivalries, community and isolation, media presence and security. For the first time ever, readers travel inside the storied Athletes’ Village and understand what it’s like to live through the most high-pressure, high-profile sporting event in the world.