Herb Brooks Herbert Paul " Herb " Brooks , Jr . ( August 5 , 1937 – August 11 , 2003 ) was an American coach , best known for coaching the U . S . hockey team to a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in an event known as the " Miracle on Ice " . On November 13 , 2006 , Brooks was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame . Biography . Early life . Born in Saint Paul , Minnesota , he played on the high school hockey team that won the 1955 state hockey championship . Brooks later played hockey at the University of Minnesota and was a member of the 1964 and 1968 United States Olympic teams . He almost made the 1960 Olympic team , only to be cut the week before the Olympic games started . He then sat at home and watched the team he almost made win gold . Later , he coached the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers to three NCAA Division I championships ( 1974 , 1976 , and 1979 ) . After being approached by Michigan Tech when head coach John MacInnes died , Brooks coached St . Cloud State University in the mid - 1980s . In Minnesota , many consider Brooks the best hockey coach of all time . In 1980 , he became the first coach of the United States to lead his team to victory against the USSR in 20 years . Later career . Brooks was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990 . Brooks later coached in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers , where he became the fastest coach in Rangers ' team history to win 100 games . He also coached the Minnesota North Stars , New Jersey Devils , and Pittsburgh Penguins . He was a long - time head scout for the Penguins from the mid - 1990s until the day of his death . He also coached France in the 1998 Olympics . He again coached the U . S . hockey team at the 2002 Olympics , this time winning a silver medal . He was inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999 , and the Hockey Hall of Fame , posthumously , in 2006 . Death and legacy . Brooks died in a single car accident on the afternoon of August 11 , 2003 , near Forest Lake , Minnesota , on Interstate 35 . He was 66 . It is believed that Brooks fell asleep behind the wheel before the accident after driving all night , and neither drugs nor alcohol was responsible . Brooks was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash , and according to the Minnesota State Patrol , it is likely he would have survived the crash if he had been . Walt Disney Pictures released a film about the 1980 Olympic team in 2004 called " Miracle " featuring Kurt Russell playing the part of Brooks ( Karl Malden had previously played Brooks in a 1981 television film called " Miracle on Ice " ) . Brooks served as a consultant for the film , which was completed shortly before his death . At the end of the movie there is a dedication to Brooks . It states at the end , " " He never saw it . He lived it . " " Upon the 25th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice , the Olympic ice arena in Lake Placid , New York , where the United States won their gold medal , was renamed Herb Brooks Arena . A statue of Brooks depicting his reaction to the victory in the " Miracle " game was erected in Saint Paul , Minnesota , in 2003 . An award was created in Herb Brooks name , the Herb Brooks Award , is awarded at the conclusion of the Minnesota State High School League ' s state hockey tournament to " the most qualified hockey player in the state tournament who strongly represents the values , characteristics , and traits that defined Herb Brooks . In 2006 , Brooks was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category . Coaching statistics . " Note : GC = Games coached , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , OL = Overtime loss , Pts = Points , Pct = Winning percentage "