"Do you believe in miracles?...The Impossible Dream has come true!"
Since ABC's Al Michaels shouted those words to a national television audience eight years ago from Lake Placid, legions of American hockey-playing youths have striven to emulate their heroes, members of the goldmedal winning 1980 USA Olympic team.
Only 26 of the nation's best players will wear the red, white and blue for their country this year in Calgary, but three of those "best and fleetest" used to skate in the red and white of the Harvard Crimson. Scott Fusco '86 is making a return appearance with the Olympians, while seniors Lane MacDonald and Allen Bourbeau are taking the year off to ply their trade on a slightly higher level.
Those Harvard stars of years gone by are coming back to haunt their former (and future, in the cases of MacDonald and Bourbeau) teammates Sunday night, and if past experience is any indication, a long evening is in store for the home-towners.
Head Coach Dave Peterson's Team USA squad has just completed a seven-game sweep of the Hockey East Conference, destroying the collegians by an average score of 9-3.
Those contests served as breathers for the young Olympians, who had already taken on the likes of the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames and the NHL All-Star Canada Cup Team.
In 26 games, Team USA has posted a 14-10-2 mark, with two of those victories coming at the expense of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues.
The Olympians are loaded with future professional stars such as Boston College's Craig Janney and Brian Leetch (a 19 year old who many consider the best amateur player in the nation), Minnesota's Corey Millen (the other 1984 Olympic alum), Wisconsin's Tony Granato and Michigan State's Kevin Miller.
A co-scoring leader of this illustrious group, however, is Cambridge's favorite son Lane MacDonald, with 25 points in 22 games. Fusco is sixth on the team's scoring chart, while Bourbeau is seventh.
Other top performers whom you will hear more about in February include Boston University snipers Scott Young and Clark Donatelli, Michigan's Brad Jones and Wisconsin goalie Mike Richter.
This batch of Olympians has perhaps more international experince than any of its predecessors. Coach Peterson and General Manager Art Berglund have paired up to lead the U.S. entrants in the past three World Tournaments, and 20 of the Team USA players have skated under Peterson in the past. As Berglund says, "This is a team that won't be awed by the Soviets or the Czechs or the Canadians."
Not only are there many future pro stars on the team, but among the team's ranks are five players--including Fusco, who played for a season in Switzerland--who have already skated for pay. Reflecting the international trend towards the elimination of an "amateur" distinction, any skater may now participate in the Olympics.
Bourbeau's linemate Steve Leach has played for the Washington Capitals, Pete Laviolette is on loan from the Rangers' organization, and former Providence star netminder Chris Terrari has elected to take a year off from the New Jersey Devils. Jim Johannson played professionally in Germany.
The inclusion of non-amateurs hasn't turned the Olympics into a Wayne Gretzky festival yet, as the NHL teams are reluctant to let their stars take a year off to go frolic with the Russians. Thus some of the top young talents in North America, such as Joe Nieuwendyk and Tony Hrkac, both Canadians, missed out on the Olympics by joining pro squads last March.
The absence of a professional circuit in Communist countries means that the best players in the nation compete in the Olympics, a luxury not available to the Americans and Canadians. Thus it was truly remarkable in 1980 when a bunch of rag-tag collegians thumped the Russian National Team, which routinely beat the NHL All-Stars.
At Calgary, the U.S. will be in the red division along with the U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, West Germany, Norway and Austria. The seventh-seeded Americans will play each of those squads in the preliminary round-robin, with the top two advancing to the medal round.
Can the 1980 miracle be repeated?
The Russians have been slipping slightly in international tournaments--witness the loss to the Canadians in the Canada's Cup, and their humiliation at the hands of the Swedes in the World Championships.
And there exists precedents for Olympic upsets. In 1960 a quartet of Harvard players, led by current Crimson coach Bill Cleary, guided the U.S. to its first Olympic gold medal. And everybody knows what happened at Lake Placid.
In 1988, the Impossible Dream may not be impossible after all.
Harvard Hockey Roster Player P Cl Ht/Wt School/Hometo wn Steve Armstrong F Sr. 5-10/175 Northwood /Ithaca, N.Y. Jon Biotti D Fr. 6-4/215 Belmont Hill/Newton, Ma. Josh Caplan D Jr. 5-10/175 Belmont Hill/Wellesley, Ma. Peter Ciavaglia F Fr. 5-10/170 Nichols/S nyder, N.Y. John Devin G Sr. 5-11/190 Braintree/Bra intree, Ma. Ted Donato F Fr. 5-10/170 Catholic Mem./Dedham, Ma. Scott Farden D Jr. 6-1/200 Virginia/Virg inia, Mn. Michael Francis G Fr. 6-0/165 Archb. Williams/Braintree, Ma. Gerald Green F Sr. 5-11/175 Milton/Stella rton, Nova Scotia Tod Hartje C So. 6-0/185 Anoka/Anoka, Mn. Paul Howley F Jr. 5-11/170 Archb. Williams/Milton, Ma. Andy Janfaza F Sr. 5-10/190 Noble&Green ough/Natick, Ma. Scott McCormick D So. 6-1/185 St. Paul's/Lake Forest, II. John Murphy C So. 5-11/175 St. Michael's/Toronto, Ont. Jerry Pawloski D Sr. 5-11/185 Northville /Northville, Mi. Brian Popiel D So. 5-9/165 F.W. Collegiate/Thunder Bay, Ont. Ed Presz F Jr. 6-0/175 Minnechaug Reg./Wilbraham, Ma. Don Sweeney D Sr. 5-10/185 St. Paul's/St. Stephen, N.B. Craig Taucher F Jr. 5-8/150 U. Detroit/Troy, Mi. Michael Vukonich F Fr. 6-1/185 Denfeld/Dul uth, Mn. John Weisbrod F Fr. 6-1/185 Choate/Wood bury, N.Y. C. J. Young F So. 5-10/175 Belmont Hill/Waban, Ma.
1986-'87 Harvard Statistics Player GP GI As Pts Pen US Olympic Hockey Roster Player P Ht/Wt 1986-87 Team/Hometown John Blue G 5-10/180 Minnesota/EI Toro, Ca. Allen Bourbeau C 5-9/175 Harvard/Falmouth, Ma. Greg Brown D 6-0/190 B.C./Southboro, Ma. Tom Chorske F 6-1/200 Minnesota/Minneapoli s, Mn. Clark Donatelli F 5-10/180 B.U./Providence, R.I. Scott Fusco C 5-9/175 Olten, Switz./Burlington, Ma. Guy Gosselin D 5-11/195 Minn-Duluth/Roches ter, Mn. Tony Granato C 5-10/185 Wisconsin/Downers Grove, II. Craig Janney C 6-1/195 B.C./Enfield, Ct. Jim Johannson C 6-1/189 Landsberg, FRG/Rochester, Mn. Brad Jones F 6-1/195 Michigan/Sterling Heights, Mi. Peter Laviolette D 6-2/198 Indianapolis Checkers/Franklin, Ma. Steve Leach F 5-11/180 Wash. Capitals/Lexington, Ma. Brian Leetch D 5-11/185 B.C./Cheshire, Ct. Lane MacDonald F 5-11/187 Harvard/Mequon, Wi. Corey Millen C 5-7/165 Minnesota/Cloquet, Mn. Kevin Miller F 5-10/180 Michigan St./East Lansing, Mi. Jeff Norton D 6-3/198 Michigan/Acton, Ma. Todd Okerlund F 6-0/208 Minnesota/Burnsvill e, Mn. Paul Ranheim F 6-1/200 Wisconsin/Edina, Mn. Todd Richards D 5-10/190 Minnesota/Minneapo lis, Mn. Mike Richter G 5-10/185 Wisconsin/Flourtown , Pa. Dave Snuggerud F 6-2/188 Minnesota/Minneton ka, Mn. Jim Sprenger D 5-11/187 Minn-Duluth/Cloque t, Mn. Kevin Stevens W 6-3/215 B.C./Halifax, Ma. Chris Terreri G 5-9/155 N.J. Devils/Warwick, R.I. Eric Weinrich D 6-1/205 Maine/Gardner, Me. Scott Young F 6-1/190 B.U./Clinton, Ma. 1987 Olympic Statistics (Thru October 28, 1987) Player GP GI As Pts Pen Upcoming Schedule: Date Opponent Time Location Nov. 8 Harvard University 8:00 Cambridge, MA Nov. 10 Univ. of Minnesota 7:30 Bloomington, MN Nov. 16 Bowling Green State 7:30 Bowling Green, OH Nov. 19 Canadian Olympic Team 7:30 Hamilton, ONT Nov. 20 Michigan State 7:30 Detroit, MI Nov. 22 Michigan State 3:00 East Lansing Nov. 24 Canadian Olympic Team 7:30 Calgary, ALB Nov. 28 Canadian Olympic Team 1:05 Inglewood, CA
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