WASHINGTON --The “Miracle Men” came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Four members of the 1980 U.S. Olympics men’s hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the "Miracle on Ice" at Lake Placid, New York on Feb. 22, 1980 and went on to win the gold medal walked the halls of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, posed for pictures with lawmakers and well-wishers with the Stanley Cup and spoke about legislation to award the team the Congressional Gold Medal as part of the annual Hockey Day on the Hill.
It was a long shift for Mike Eruzione, Buzz Schneider, Phil Verchota and Rob McClanahan that began with chants of “USA! USA! USA!” when they met with the House Republican Conference in the morning and concluded with them attending President Donald Trump’s evening address to Congress. But they didn’t mind.
“It doesn’t get old,” said Eruzione, who captained the U.S. team and scored the go-ahead goal against the Soviet Union. “When you talk sporting events, when you talk moments in sports, our story always comes to the forefront. With the movie, ‘Miracle,’ I have seven grandkids, my grandkids play hockey and the oldest is 12. I go to their hockey games and all the kids know me because of the movie ‘Miracle.’ So it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”