Not only a good movie, but a good book too

Rating: 10/10 (20 April 2007)

"Do you believe in miracles? YES!" declared Al Michaels on the night of February 22, 1980. A quote heard throughout North America at the end of a hockey game. A game in which a group of young, American men defeated the greatest hockey team in the world. This game not only changed the lives of these twenty men, but men and women across the nation. For many Americans, it was the first feeling of happiness, and relief, in years during a time of war.
"The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team" shows the players lives before and during the Olympics, as well as Herb Brooks' aggressive coaching style. The book revisits the hockey game played on that cold, winter night in Lake Placid, New York. The author, Wayne Coffey, puts readers into the player's lives and helps them feel the pain and glory of it all. Coaches aren't always the player's friend. The main character, coach Herb Brooks, was a perfect fit for this team. He knew what it would take to win a gold metal. He pushed his players hard, sometimes to the point where the players would become sick, but this was all part of his plan. He wanted his players to be the best conditioned team at the games. He made his players believe they could win, even though the entire world deemed it impossible. That team, to have any chance at all, needed a maniac in charge, not a nice guy, and in Brooks it found an inspired one. His genius was to see that the American team needed to engage the Russians with their own style of play -- fast, fluid and based on puck control, not muscle -- and then to brainwash the American players, most of whom were former collegians with no international experience, into believing they were better than they were (McGrath).
A hockey game couldn't have been drawn out any better. Coffey concentrated on the game against the soviets. He spreads it out over 11 chapters, while telling stories of the players in the midst of it. Some of the players were not easy to find for Coffey. A majority of them coming from Minnesota, where they had built homes in the mountains, or off of a lake. However, the players were generous enough to take interviews.
Life isn't always easy. Coffey showed this well for one particular player. Mark Wells had an unusual life. He grew up in St. Claire Shores, Michigan and played for the Detroit Junior Red Wings in 1975. He was put on the fourth line for the Olympics, which he wasn't happy about, but almost didn't go at all. He suffered a hairline fracture in his ankle just weeks before the games. He worked hard to get back to playing speed, but wasn't a factor in the games. After the Olympics, Wells signed with the Montreal Canadians to play in the NHL, but was quickly traded to the Detroit Red Wings. Wells refused to go, saying his heart was with Montreal. He ended up playing minor hockey in 1981, but called it quits after. Unfortunately, his life started going downhill. In 1989, Wells was in the restaurant business and was unloading crates of turkeys. When he bent down to pick one of them up, he heard a snap and fell to the floor. He had cracked a vertebra in his lower back. He went through an eleven hour surgery to get it fixed; however, this meant he would no longer be able to work. He was nearly immobile, and had to move in with his mom. Nearly five years had passed since the accident when he met Tom Krozak. They spent most of their time together, having lunch and talking about life. At one point, having a friend in Krozak was the only thing that kept Wells alive. In 2001, he had another surgery to reduce the pain. The outcome was astonishing. He was able to walk without pain and live a normal life. Wells is currently finishing up school at Walsh College in Michigan. Coffey's description of the game was brilliant. Readers can feel the intensity and excitement. The body checks, the saves, and the goal celebrations were all vivid and colorful. Just under eight minutes remained. The U.S. defensemen were dropping to the ice at every chance to stop the puck from even getting to Craig. Ramsey met Kharlamov along the boards and flattened him, the Russian's red helmet slamming into the ice, maybe the hardest hit of the night. Fetisov teed up from the left point, but Morrow went down and smothered the shot. Alexander Golikov sped in on the left side and fired from the top of the left circle, way wide. Kasatonov launched another shot from the point, and Craig gloved it. Petrov came down, saw a lineup of four white shirts at the blue line, and cranked a slap shot from sixty-five feet. Craig kicked it away with his right skate (Coffey 237).
The pictures that Coffey creates are exceptional. They really help the readers feel like they were at the arena that night. The Americans beating the Soviets is the greatest underdog story in sports history, and it may never be matched. "The Boys of Winter" shows the hardships, and the triumph of it all.