On March 1, 2010, Senator Al Franken spoke on the Senate floor to congratulate the 1960 “Forgotten Miracle” team and the 2010 Minnesota Olympians.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 28, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – It was tough to get up for this game, literally. Only 1,000 fans made it to their seats for the Sunday, 8am puck drop between the US and Czechoslovakia. And the Americans, still working out the kinks from a Saturday night game against the USSR, gave up a goal 8 seconds into the game and still trailed with 20 minutes to play.
But, as Bill Cleary would say years later, the Americans “were not to be denied.” Behind 4-3 after two periods, the Americans poured it on the third stanza. Taking 28 shots and scoring 6 goals to meet their destiny, an Olympic gold medal, the first for the United States.
The third period onslaught actualy began in the American locker room between periods. The US got a surprise visit from Soviet captain Nikolai Sologubov, who used pantomime to suggest the Americans take Oxygen to rejuvenate themselves in the high mountain air. Though Sologubov was a friend from years of international play, the unusual visit owed more to the Soviet’s desire for a medal which required a loss from their border rivals the Czechs.
Some players took the oxygen, but some didn’t. As fate would have it, the three Americans who found the back of the net in the third Roger Christian (3 goals), Bob Cleary (2 goals) and Bill Cleary (1 goal) didn’t take the oxygen, and they obviously didn’t need it.
It was a fitting end to the USA’s remarkable running of the tables at the 1960 Squaw Valley games. This was a deep and talented team, and even on the only night that goalie Jack McCartan wasn’t the best player on the ice, the deep American team found a timely hero in Roger Christian (4 goals total), got solid contributions from their controversial late additions the Cleary brothers (3 goals between them) and even got a lift from the unlikeliest of players when third-liner Dick Rodenheiser took one for the team int he third period, leading to a three-goal power play for the USA.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Americans and their fans hugged at center ice, they were Olympic champions. It had never happened in 40 years of Olympic play and it wouldn’t happen again for another 20 years: an American holding the gold medal at the top of the Olympic hockey podium.
Box Score
USA vs Czechoslovakia | February 28, 1960
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Scoring
| Period 1 | ||
| CZE | 0:08 | Vlach (Tikal, Golonka) |
| USA | 4:19 | Olson (Johnson, Rodenheiser) |
| USA | 9:32 | McVey (R. Cleary) |
| CZE | 11:20 | Bubnik (Gut) SH |
| USA | 13:33 | R. Christian (W. Christian, Williams) |
| CZE | 14:40 | Vanek (Gut, Cerny) |
| Period 2 | ||
| CZE | 6:58 | Vlach (Kasper) |
| Period 3 | ||
| USA | 5:59 | R. Christian (W. Christian) |
| USA | 7:40 | R. Cleary (Mayasich) |
| USA | 11:36 | R. Cleary (W. Cleary, Kirrane) PP |
| USA | 12:05 | R. Christian (Mayasich, W. Cleary) PP |
| USA | 12:43 | W. Cleary (unassisted) PP |
| USA | 17:56 | R. Christian (W. Christian) |
Goalie Saves
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| USA, McCartan | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| USA, Palmer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| CZE, Nadrchal | 14 | 9 | 22 | 45 |
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 27, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – Before a national television audience and a crowd of 10,000 spectators filling the 8,500-seat Blyth Arena, the United States shocked the favored USSR hockey team 3-2. Continuing a tradition of a different game, a different hero, US forward Bill Christian netted his only two goals of the medal round to lead the US back from a 2-1 deficit. It was the first time in 10 international games that the United States had beaten the USSR.
Early in the first period, Bill Cleary put the US ahead 1-0, bringing the crowd to its feet. But, the Soviets answered less than a minute later, and added a second goal in the first period to take a 2-1 advantage. It was in the second period that Bill Christian took a pass from his brother Roger and beat Soviet goalie Nikolai Puchkov on a one-on-one. With half of the game yet to play, both goalies kept the puck out of the net until 5 minutes remained in the game. That’s when Bill Christian found a loose puck in front of Puchkov and batted it between his legs. The goal gave the Americans a 3-2 lead with only minutes to play.
The USSR pressed hard in the last few minutes, but goalie Jack McCartan was stellar, as he had been all tournament. The raucous crowd counted down the final 10 seconds as the United States players killed the final 6 on 5 Soviet attack. The team rushed to center ice to celebrate their second improbable win in three days. The victory gave the US a 4-0 record in the medal round, with one game the following morning against Czechoslovakia to decide the gold medal.
Box Score
USA vs USSR | February 27, 1960
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Scoring
| Period 1 | ||
| USA | 4:04 | W. Cleary (R. Cleary) |
| USSR | 5:03 | Alexandrov (Sologubov) |
| USSR | 9:37 | Bychkov (Grebennikov) |
| Period 2 | ||
| USA | 11:01 | W. Christian (R. Christian) |
| Period 3 | ||
| USA | 14:59 | W. Christian (Williams, R. Christian) |
Goalie Saves
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| USA, McCartan | 14 | 8 | 5 | 27 |
| USSR, Puchkov | 9 | 9 | 13 | 31 |
John Mayasich, Jack McCartan and Bill Cleary visit with Brian Williams and the NBC Nightly News.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Free Shipping on New 1960 Forgotten Miracle Hockey T-shirts during the Winter Olympics. (The Tees come in both Red and Blue and are comfortable, high quality, distressed tees, made in the USA, just like the 1960 gold medal) 
Mayasich talks about McCartan’s outstanding performance at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA. McCartan, had 39 saves against the Canadians, was called the Olympic MVP by coach Jack Riley.
John Mayasich discusses goalie Jack McCartan from Forgotten Miracle on Vimeo.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 22, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – The USA starts medal round play with a 6-3 win over Sweden. Roger Christian nets a hat trick and goalie Jack McCartan continues his stellar play with 36 saves. Christian’s first goal came 3:26 into the game and the US added three more first period goals to take a 4-0 lead into the intermission. They would be outshot 28-19 in the final two periods, but thanks to McCartan the lead was never in jeopardy. The win puts the US at 1-0 in the championship round robin, with games yet to play against Germany, Canada, USSR and Czechoslovakia.
Box Score
USA vs Sweden | February 22, 1960
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Scoring
| Period 1 | ||
| USA | 3:26 | R. Christian (W. Christian) |
| USA | 10:19 | McVey (W. Cleary) |
| USA | 15:52 | R. Cleary (McVey, W. Cleary) |
| USA | 17:21 | Johnson (unassisted) |
| Period 2 | ||
| SWE | 0:14 | Petterson (Stoltz) |
| SWE | 2:32 | Nilsson (unassisted) |
| USA | 7:41 | R. Christian (Williams, W. Chistian) |
| Period 3 | ||
| SWE | 3:49 | Anderson (Oberg) |
| USA | 13:38 | R. Chistian (Williams, W. Chistian) |
Goalie Saves
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| USA, McCartan | 8 | 13 | 15 | 36 |
| SWE, Svensson | 12 | 10 | 9 | 31 |
The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bill Ward writes a great spread about the 9 Minnesotans on the 1960 team:
“Twenty years before the “Miracle on Ice,” nine Minnesota hockey players found similar glory, and an inextricable tie to the sport. The saga of Minnesotans on the 1960 U.S. Olympic hockey team reads like the 35-cent novels so popular in that era…..”
To read the entire article visit the startribune.com
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 9, 1960 – Los Angeles, CA – The Americans beat the Czechs 4-3 in Los Angeles in front of a packed house at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Larry Palmer was in goal for the game. Palmer and McCartan had been alternating starts, but Riley decided that Palmer would start again the following night. He explained the decision to McCartan, “Jack, you’re my starting goalie in Squaw Valley, but I’m not playing you tomorrow night against the Czechs. If they beat you, that would give them an edge when we play in the Olympics.”
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