The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tournament. Though the Soviet Union was a four-time defending gold medalist and heavily favored, the United States upset them and won 4–3.
The Houston Aeros were a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL). The team played in Houston, Texas, at The Summit from 1994 until 2003 and the Toyota Center from 2003 to 2013. In the IHL, the team operated as an independent minor league team from 1994 to 2001, though the team occasionally accepted players on loan from various National Hockey League (NHL) clubs for development. Upon joining the AHL for the 2001–02 season, they became the primary affiliate of the one-year-old NHL expansion team, the Minnesota Wild, a partnership they maintained until the franchise's relocation in 2013. While the team's only formal partnership with the Dallas Stars was a partial affiliation agreement during the 2004–05 season, Dallas occasionally sent some of their prospects to the Aeros on individual loans from 1993 to 2005, until the establishment of the Iowa Stars gave Dallas its own primary farm team.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender. Known by the nickname "The Bulin Wall", he spent the majority of his playing career in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Edmonton Oilers.
David G. Tippett is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player.
Mark Einar Johnson is an American ice hockey coach for the University of Wisconsin–Madison women's ice hockey team. He is a former National Hockey League (NHL) player who appeared in 669 NHL regular season games between 1980 and 1990. He also played for the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic team.
Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a very fast-paced and free-flowing game and is considered a contact sport, but body checking is prohibited. There are five players including the goalkeeper from each team on the rink at a time, while teams normally consist of 16 players. There are professional leagues, one of which is the National Roller Hockey League (NRHL). While it is not a contact sport, there are exceptions, i.e. the NRHL involves fighting.
Tommy Mikael Salo is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current general manager of Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche, and previously served as head coach of IK Oskarshamn.
David William Christian is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Christian went on to play for five National Hockey League teams over a 15-season career, from 1980 to 1994.
William Edward Ranford is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current director of goaltending for the Los Angeles Kings. He was selected in the third round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, 52nd overall, by the Boston Bruins. Over the course of fifteen NHL seasons Ranford played with Boston, the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings, winning two Stanley Cups, a Canada Cup, and the 1994 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships while playing for Canada. He is the only goaltender in history to be awarded the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Canada Cup/World Cup, & Men's Ice Hockey World Championship.
Stefan Daniel Patryk Liv was a Polish-born Swedish professional ice hockey player who played as a goaltender. Liv played professionally in Sweden, North America and Russia. Liv played nine seasons for HV71 in the top-tier league in Sweden. He was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2000 NHL entry draft and played one season with the Red Wings organization, but never made his debut in the National Hockey League (NHL). He then returned to Europe and HV71. Upon his return, he played three seasons in Sweden before moving to Russia in 2010.
Mike Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Smith played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, and the Edmonton Oilers. Smith is the 11th goaltender in NHL history to score a goal, which he did in the 2013–14 season against the Detroit Red Wings. A two-time NHL All-Star, he was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team, winning a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Johan Erik Daniel Holmqvist is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender, he most notably played in the National Hockey League and the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
Robert Thomas Stauber is an American ice hockey coach and former professional goaltender. He played college hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1986 NHL entry draft by the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He also played for the Buffalo Sabres.
Richard St. Croix is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 131 games in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs between 1978 and 1985. After his playing career he worked as an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs. He also served as a goaltending coach for the Dallas Stars, and an assistant coach and goaltending coach for the Manitoba Moose and St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by the Flyers, and his two sons would also be drafted, though neither played in the NHL.
John William McCartan is an American retired goaltender. He played for the American national team at the 1960 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal. He later played 12 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers during the 1959–60 and 1960–61 seasons, and 42 games with the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1974. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, and into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.
Ronald Ian Grahame is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League and four in World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1981.
Gary Robert Shuchuk is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former forward who is currently an assistant coach with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1991 and 1996. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1990 to 2004, was spent in the minor leagues and later in Europe. After his playing career Shuchuk turned to coaching and spent several years at the American collegiate level.
Mark Major is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played two games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1996–97 season. He was drafted 25th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. Major acquired many penalty minutes over his career due to his playing style, which involved battling in front of the net for loose pucks, scoring garbage goals, and blocking the goaltenders view. Major only played in two NHL games, for the Detroit Red Wings. He also enjoyed a short career as a professional inline hockey player in Roller Hockey International (RHI). Taking into account all of his hockey games played at a professional level, Major played in 1,339 games and acquired 4,334 penalty minutes, giving Major an average of 3.24 penalty minutes per game during his career. After 4 seasons and 2 Championships as head coach of the Amherstview Jets Junior A team, Major is taking a year off to help coach his daughter's Kingston Ice Wolves' Peewee AA team.
Seamus Kotyk is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional goaltender. Kotyk played professionally for the Cleveland Barons, Milwaukee Admirals and Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL). He also played in the Austrian Hockey League for HK Acroni Jesenice and HC TWK Innsbruck. Kotyk is currently the goal tending development coach for the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL.
United States