He just made this statement that, ‘If I ever see a lack of discipline like that again, I will skate you till you die.’ That ended it. “I remember it ending when Mark Johnson smashed his stick against the glass and Brooks called us all to center ice. “We did keep skating (in the dark),” Miracle defenseman Dave Christian said. In Hollywood, the madness ended following the rink operator turning off the lights - Brooks continued to skate the team even then - and captain Mike Eruzione yelled out where he was from (Winthrop, Massachusetts) and, most important to Brooks and his desire to instill a feeling of patriotism throughout the roster, that he played for the United States of America. In the movie, assistant coach Craig Patrick would blow a whistle to commence another set. Go until your legs fall off, then keep going.Ī sort of torture that came to be known by some as “Herbies.”īrooks kept saying it: Again, again again. Not content with their focus or effort, he began skating them in a series of sprints, one after the other after the other.īag skates. More than anything else, Brooks was a pioneer in the areas of conditioning and psychological games, used to motivate and push players beyond their physical and emotional limits.Įxample: The Americans had tied the Norwegian national team in a pre-Olympics exhibition when Brooks made his players remain on the ice afterward. He was a miserable guy the whole time we were with him.” “Did you see how they portrayed him in the movie?” Miracle forward Mark Johnson asked. Herb Brooks coached the “Miracle on Ice” team whose 40th anniversary will be celebrated this week by the Golden Knights, a man whose intimidating temperament was clearly displayed by actor Kurt Russell on the big screen. The one consisting of college kids who knocked off the powerful Soviet Union side. It is a famous line from a formative scene in the Disney movie “Miracle,” which tells the story of the 1980 Olympic men’s hockey team from the United States.

Rangers hopping over the boards are Nick Fotiu (22), Dave Silk (16) and Rob McClanahan (9).

The win kept the Rangers from elimination in the Stanley Cup playoffs and set up a sixth game at Madison Square Garden. New York Rangers coach Herb Brooks yells at the buzzer as his team leaps off the bench with a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., April 21, 1982.

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