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| Brooks giving instruction to US Olympic team members at practice in 1979. - video grab |
In March of 1979 the schematics of what was to be of the1980 US Olympic hockey team was rolled out at three open tryouts in Bloomington, Minnesota, Oak Park, Michigan and Danvers, Massachusetts. And from there, players were selected to participate in the National Sports Festival held in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the end of July 1979. The abrasive and intense Brooks, who had become the most successful coach in American college hockey in the 1970’s, had a simple plan from the beginning, in his words, was “to throw their (the Russians) game right back at them.” Using this theme, Brooks and his staff created a six-month rugged training program with a strategy to bond the players as a team. Brooks surmised the only way that would happen in such a short schedule of time was to have his college players believe in one common enemy – Him. As the training program moved on, the players on the team became a very tight unit with idea that it was “us” versus Brooks. The players were constantly trying to prove to him that they’re good enough to play.
In early September, the team began a challenging exhibition schedule. Beginning with an initial European tour in early September, the team played a 61-game pre-Olympic schedule against foreign, college and professional teams, ultimately finishing with a 42-16-3 record. It was during this time together that the players were introduced to Brooks' new offensive game plan called the 'weave.' Brooks felt that if his club was going to compete against Europeans, they had better learn how to play like Europeans.
Team USA staff put the call out to all of the colleges across the country in an effort to round out their roster for national and ultimate gold-medal glory. Brooks, who had just finished leading the University of Minnesota's Golden Gophers to the national championship in 1979, now had the responsibility of selecting the 20 players to represent his United States Olympic team. Brooks didn't take any chances; he went with what he knew - local boys. So, while 12 of the 20 players on the final roster were native Minnesotans, nine of those 12 were players whom Brooks had coached as Gophers.
Of the numerous standout All-American players who accepted invitations to tryout, it’s almost impossible to know how many players took the initial call to the home base of the Olympic team in Bloomington, Minnesota. Research and history tells us that there were three of the higher profile players who had talented and winning pedigrees on college squad that didn’t even make it to the touring team by September of 1979.
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| Boston College Eagle Joe Mullen |
The top choice and first of the group of three never even made an appearance at the tryouts in Minnesota - Boston College Eagle sniper Joe Mullen. The future NHL Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup winner had an outstanding college career where he was selected as an All-American in both 1978 and 1979. As a junior in 1978, Mullen even led the Eagles to the NCAA championship game against rival and eventual hockey legend and US Olympic team starter in net Jim Craig’s Boston University.
Right away, Mullen became heavily recruited by Brooks to be a potential “lock” for the final roster. However, because his father was ill at the time, he opted to instead turn pro and use the new income to help out his family. Mullen already made quite a splash in his international debut with the US national team at the World Ice Hockey Championships tournament in Moscow immediately after his college career had ended in the spring of 1979. He scored seven goals in eight games for Team USA and quickly signed a free agent contract with the NHL St. Louis Blues by the end of the summer.
Two other players who had legitimate shots at surviving the first initial cuts eventually became victims of a numbers game. Brooks and Team USA had their pick of litter of the best college hockey players of the late 70’s; Colorado College’s All American defenseman Dave Feamster and Brown’s star backstopper Mark Holden didn’t make the grade.
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| Dave Feamster |
Feamster might have been a player Brooks could’ve utilized in his “quick attack” style he was intent on implementing for his 1980 Olympic team. Feamster was an offensive, rushing defenseman who played four years at Colorado College, scoring 42 points in 39 games as a sophomore and was chosen 96th overall by the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. He also played on Team USA when it finished fifth at the 1978 World Junior Championships. Feamster enjoyed his best college performance in his senior year in 1979-80 with 50 points in 37 games. He was also named to the WCHA first all-star team and the NCAA west first all-American team.
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| Brown University goaltender Mark Holdn |
For Holden, his hockey career once again collided with legend and eventual US Olympic team starter Jim Craig for a spot on the final roster. Holden and Craig will forever be linked after Holden, first choice of legendary Boston University head coach Jack Parker’for starting goaltender in 1977, passed up an offered scholarship to play at BU for assured playing time and an Ivy League education at Brown University. Boston University signed Craig in Holden’s place and the rest is history. At Bloomington, Holden was the odd man out against 1978 NCAA champion Craig, Brooks favourite and fellow 1979 NCCA champion Minnesota Golden Gopher Steve Janaszak and 1975 NCAA champion Michigan Tech Husky Bruce Horsch.
Holden went to be drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, 160th overall in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft after a solid freshman year at Brown. Holden finished his four years at Brown and was named an NCAA east first team all American in 1980.
The next six all played well enough to be invited to participate in the National Sports Festival held in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the end of July 1979. And all were a shade away from being involved in one of the greatest sporting feats Americans and world have ever seen. On defense, three stalwarts attempted to prove their mettle on the Team USA backend through Brooks’ grueling 6-month training period. A name very familiar with Brooks and who might have had an inside shot at a starting defenseman job was minor pro leaguer and former Golden Gopher standout, Les Auge. Harvard Crimson standout, Jack Hughes and the extensive international experience of US national team member Gary Ross all made the final cut down choices even more difficult for Brooks and his staff.
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| Hughes and Auge in yellow jerseys at Team USA practice |
Up front, minor pro center and former Colorado College all-time points leader, Dave Delich, and one of the best hockey players ever to come out of Massachusetts, University of New Hampshire all-time points leader, Ralph Cox, rounded out the forward line depth during Team USA pre-Olympic tune up schedule of games. No amount of international experience could save minor pro netminder and former 1975 NCAA champion Michigan Tech Husky Bruce Horsch, to assume the third alternative to Craig and Janaszak in net.
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| Les Auge |
Les Auge appeared to be a shoe-in for the 1980 Olympic team. Auge was a favourite of Brooks, possessing enough experience for the right mix of leadership and presence on a young Team USA. He was an all tourney defenseman at the 1974 Frozen Four. Auge played for Brooks at the University of Minnesota from 1972 to 75, earning a spot on the NCAA West First All-American Team in 1975. After several seasons in the minor leagues, Auge was reunited with Brooks at the 1979 IIHF World Championships in Moscow. Hoping to earn a spot on the Olympic Team, Auge stayed with the program, appearing in 29 exhibition games but was devastated when he was second-to-last cut from the final Olympic roster.
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| Gary Ross |
Gary Ross already knew what it meant to wear the Red, White and Blue for the US after representing his country in the last Olympics four years earlier in Innsbruck, Austria in 1976. His international experience made him a desirable player for the US Olympic team and was eventually named one of the last twenty-five players going into Lake Placid. But Ross was used sparingly, only suiting up for 12 of the 61 exhibition games, scoring a goal and six assists and was cut two weeks before the Olympic tourney.
Ross played for the University of North Dakota as a freshman, but switched to Bemidji State College, graduating in 1977. He also played for the 5th-placed US at the 1976 World Championships in Katowice, Poland as a defenseman .
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| Dave Delich |
Dave Delich, who remains the Colorado College’s all-time leader in career points, 285, and assists, 174, was the kind of sniper Team USA could’ve used to keep up with the powerful Russians and Scandinavians. Despite his impressive college career Delich was only used in 13of the 61 games, scoring 4 goals and 2 assists, failing to become a factor during final cutdowns before Lake Placid.
A two-time all-WCHA selection during his college career, Delich won the league scoring championship as a senior in 1978-79, when he amassed 70 points (25 goals and 45 assists) in 30 league games. He finished with 84 points (32 goals, 52 assists) overall that season, another school record which still stands. Delich’s only international experience was when he went on to skate for Team USA at the 1983 IIHF World Championships in Tokyo, helping the Americans finish first in pool B play and qualify for the 1984 Olympics with a 5-0-1 record.
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| Bruce Horsch |
Following his playing career at Michigan Tech, Horsch was selected to the National Sports Festival in 1979. But Horsch had his work cut out for him to win a job on the Lake Placid squad as head coach Brooks made Jim Craig his No. 1 goalie almost from the start of training camp. Craig had led Boston University to the NCAA Division I hockey title in 1978 and started nearly half of Team USA's 61 exhibition games leading up to the Olympics; Minnesota Gopher Steve Janaszak and Horsch split the rest with Husky star goaltender only ending up with seeing action in nine games, letting in 25 goals, posting 3-3-1 record for a 3.66 goals against average. Horsch was the last goalie cut just before the team left for Lake Placid.
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| Jack Hughes |
Of the six players who had the best shot at making their way to Lake Placid, Jack Hughes was a last-minute injury call-up away from avoiding the final cut. The minor pro leaguer and Harvard Crimson star defenseman had made it through the intense 6-month training camp and was poised to take a spot on the back line of Team USA. Fellow defenseman Jack O’Callahan had suffered ligament damage in his knee after a hard check from Russian Valeri Vasiliev in the Madison Square Garden exhibition game, an injury that put his status in doubt for the Olympics. Head coach Brooks was saddled with a dilemma. He had less than 48-hours to submit his 20-man final roster and there would be no changing it later. If O’Callahan couldn’t go, the roster spot would be wasted and would leave the team with only 5 defenseman. Brooks considered calling back Hughes but then if O’Callahan got better Brooks would be robbed of his toughness and depth of commitment. In the end, O’Callahan had a miraculous recovery and the Hughes, who played 49 games with Team USA, scoring 3 goals and 15 assists, was cut by the team just prior to Lake Placid.
Hughes was chosen 142nd overall by the Rockies in 1977 after he was named to the ECAC first all-star team and rookie of the year after a stellar freshman year at Harvard University. He returned to school for two more seasons and made the conference second all-star unit in 1978. While at Harvard, Hughes set career records (since broken) for points (79) and assists (63) by a defenseman.
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| Ralph Cox at University of New Hampshire |
University of New Hampshire star right winger Ralph Cox was another player who was days away from skating for the 1980 "Miracle" Olympic squad. An exceprt from Feburary 25th, 2000 edition of the Hartford Courant newspaper summed up Cox's experience.
- When I moved to Hartford in 1984 to cover the NHL, Mark Johnson, by then the Whalers' captain, walked across the locker room to introduce himself. He (Johnson) grabbed my hand. The first words out of my mouth were, "Thank you." He didn't ask for what. Even four years after the Miracle On Ice, he knew.
He just smiled.
We all smile again this week.
Sitting around the locker room one day, Johnson relived coach Herb Brooks' stirring pregame speech before the Russia game. His voice quivered as he recounted the words:
"You were born to be a player. This moment is yours."
Ralph Cox was born to be a player. The moment was not his.
He had been the all-time scoring leader at the University of New Hampshire, and still is among the top goal scorers in NCAA Division I history. There was a fierce rivalry between East and West in those days, and many New Englanders claim Cox should have been a lock to make the Olympics. Then again, nobody thought another Massachusetts kid would be at Lake Placid and Eruzione turned out to be a national hero.
``There was a banquet in a Minnesota hotel," Cox said. "Herb pulled me into a private room. I can still remember hearing the words, 'You're not coming.' He handled it with dignity.
``He had a difficult time deciding the final lineup. Sure, I felt I had earned a spot. But it's tough to argue when they won the gold medal. Who knows what goes through a coach's mind at that moment in time?''
Cox would have his chance to find out. Before giving it up recently, he scouted for the Pittsburgh Penguins for 10 years. Brooks, who took over as Penguins coach this season, also worked for the team.
They saw each other a number of times. They got along well, even played golf together. Walking the fairway, they never discussed what happened in that Minnesota hotel room.
"I never brought it up," Cox said. "He didn't either. I know it wasn't easy for him. He took a lot of flak over the years. A lot of people didn't say a lot of good things. He was a good coach, very knowledgeable, with a stern hand. He delivered. I was always thrilled for the guys. Some I knew since travel teams when we were kids."
“Getting cut was a tough moment,'' Cox said. ``But you learn there are a lot of tough moments in life. I figured that out. “Let me tell you. Death and taxes are a lot worse.'' -
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| Team USA skates at practice in late 1979 |
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